University of Texas students' app helps track down toilet paper, Clorox wipes, other products

Help is here for those in the market for hard-to-find necessities like hand sanitizer and toilet paper. Two computer science majors at the University of Texas at Austin have created Instok.org to assist consumers with tracking down items in high demand as people panic about their household supply amid the coronavirus pandemic. less Help is here for those in the market for hard-to-find necessities like hand sanitizer and toilet paper. Two computer science majors at the University of Texas at Austin have created Instok.org to assist ... more Photo: Denis Farrell, STF / Associated Press Photo: Denis Farrell, STF / Associated Press Image 1 of / 11 Caption Close University of Texas students' app helps track down toilet paper, Clorox wipes, other products 1 / 11 Back to Gallery

Help is here for those searching for hard-to-find necessities like hand sanitizer and toilet paper.

Two University of Texas at Austin students, Rithwik Pattikonda, 19, and Darshan Bhatta, 18, have created Instok.org to assist consumers with tracking down items in high demand as people panic about their household supply amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The two friends, both computer science majors from Dallas, built the website over spring break and launched it on March 23.

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“When we came back home from college, we noticed our parents were having problems finding certain groceries,” said Pattikonda. “People were going to six or seven stores to find one item. With social distancing, it is better to go to fewer stores.”

Instok works by combining inventory information from various store websites and breaking it down by zip code. The site also features a built-in community forum where users can post if they've found items at a specific store, allowing others to see the information in a real-time feed.

While Instok initially included only stores in the Dallas area, it’s grown beyond the Texas border. As of Thursday, the website had more than 700,000 users located throughout the U.S.

Searches are the highest for hand sanitizer, toilet paper, Clorox wipes and Lysol, according to Pattikonda. But consumers can find other products as well.

“One person used Instok to get distilled water for his continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine used for obstructive sleep apnea,” said Pattikonda.

Along with adding new stores to the website, Pattikonda and Bhatta are working to set up an alert so users will know when an item is back in stock.

“A lot of people have emailed us about how the tool has helped them. It's been really cool seeing how it directly impacts people,” said Pattikonda.

There is no charge to use Instok, nor is there funding for the website. Those who’d like to help cover server costs can click the "buy me a coffee" button on the homepage to donate.

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