iPromise - Bring "Body Doubling" to your Mac notch
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Freedom kills focus. iPromise is a new deep work protocol built on the principle of Body Doubling, the idea that having a "witness" boosts accountability. // Your AI Buddy lives elegantly in your Mac notch. It understands your active window’s context. When you drift into distractions, it gently nudges you back. // Make a promise. Your buddy helps you keep it.
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Cubox
The trust killer for this kind of tool is the first false positive I guess? Buddy nudges me while I'm actually deep on something that just looks like drift (HN thread that's real research, Twitter that's competitor recon). How does the current heuristic handle 'looks like distraction, is the work'? By all means, good launch great work!
Cubox
@artstavenka1 I think that’s a very fair concern. We've tested over 100 cases, but still thinking, giving users some control is really important, we don’t think a fully AI-driven definition can fit everyone perfectly. Different kinds of work can look very similar on the surface, so part of the direction is letting the system gradually adapt with feedback and personalization over time.
distraction usually starts as a tiny “just one notification” moment and then quietly breaks the whole flow.
I like the body-doubling/witness angle because it feels more human than another blocker.how iPromise knows when to intervene versus stay quiet. Does it learn each user’s work patterns over time, or does the user define what “focused” means for each promise?
Cubox
@harshalvc_ai Exactly, a lot of distraction usually starts with a tiny “just one second” moment, then the whole context quietly slips away. And yes, we’ve been thinking a lot about the difference between “blocking” and “companionship.” The goal is more like a gentle witness that helps bring you back.
Right now, the focus judgment is a combination: the current promise/task you defined, and contextual signals like apps, window titles, window content etc.
We plan to gradually add: user-defined rules and customization, feedback signals (so users can correct or reinforce judgments, and longer-term learning from patterns and session history.
Grass
Great idea! as someone with ADHD I've been trying to build myself an interstitial journal, the body doubling via the notch is a great idea. Downloaded and excited to try this :)
Cubox
@raunaqvaisoha “interstitial journal” is an interesting describe. I’ve always hoped iPromise could be especially helpful for people who share some of these ADHD-like traits. 👏
Grass
@todd_j Used the product for 2 focus sessions. I loved the notch buddy and the summary of what I did during the session too! I would like to be able to extend the session time once I start it, I found both times I took longer than I estimated, but the focus session had ended so it couldn't be tracked. Also, I loved the opening interview which helps me clarify the task, would be great if it could end a focus session with an interview too, so that it can help me track what went well or wrong in my task session.
minimalist phone: reduce your screentime
Good job with the copywriting for the name of the product :)
Cubox
@busmark_w_nika Thank you. I’ve always loved that sense of emotional connection too
Congrats on the launch! Personally, my biggest distraction is basically a "quick check" loophole. I'd open a new tab to look up one piece of documentation and end up in a completely different rabbit hole.
Quick question about the ambient sound: Will we be able to import or bring our own custom soundtracks or background audio loops or do you have/are you planning an integration with external players like Spotify or Apple Music?
Cubox
Thanks for sharing. For now we’re staying very focused on improving the core focus experience first. Interestingly, we’ve heard very similar requests from @Focast users too, so it’s definitely something we’re paying more attention to now.
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Cubox
@myrto_skourletou Thanks for asking 😅 That’s actually a really interesting direction we’ve been thinking about too. I think personal daily promises could become much more meaningful alongside iPhone support in the future. Either way, we definitely hope iPromise will eventually grow into a cross-device experience, with Mac and iPhone working together naturally.
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@todd_j sounds great! good luck! looking fwd to try it out. What about those without mac/iphone? are they on your roadmap?
hey todd! this is right up my street :) body-doubling shrunk to the notch, smart! the hard part is presence without surveillance. does it sit there as an awareness signal, or does it actively nudge when focus drops? and how do you draw the line. congrats on your launch, and good luck with it!
Cubox
@hiyamojo Thank you, right now it’s a mix of both, mostly quiet presence, with gentle nudges when attention seems to drift for a while. But we’re trying hard to make it feel supportive rather than controlling. I think people are much more sensitive to that difference than many productivity apps realize.
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Cubox
@adam_sardo Thanks! Really glad the concept resonates with you. For the AI models, we’re currently balancing capability, stability, and cost efficiency, so we started by supporting a smaller curated set first. We definitely plan to gradually open up more model options recently, including custom/OpenAI-compatible providers as well.
Congrats on launching! As someone who's sat in virtual study rooms this is intriguing, also an awesome name :) I guess one thing I got from people-populated study rooms was the feeling of reciprocity (the other people there also doing their own work) rather than surveillance. Curious what it will feel like to not have that, will take this for a spin.
Cubox
@ferdi_sigona Thank you! And yes, that distinction is really important to us too. I don’t think AI can fully replace the reciprocity of real humans working together, but maybe it can still help create a gentler sense of presence.