The beacon
Send one up and it broadcasts to your circle for an hour — here, come find me. Answering takes a single tap: on my way, or can't make it 🫶. Or nothing at all. Nobody is ever told you stayed quiet.
Connection,
through presence
Low friction and temporary invitations with peers, a compass to always feel connected
Free to download · iOS 17+ · Limited release
What happened
Two decades ago, Americans spent an hour a day with friends, face to face. Today, twenty minutes. Half of us are lonely — and it's not a youth thing. It's the carpool line, the empty rec center, the church that closed.
The idea
Loneliness isn't a lack of people. It's the loss of the easy hours.
The porch. The long, pointless hangout. The friend who just came by. Time together that didn't need a reason, an invitation, or a text that starts “hey, are you free —”. Most of us lost that layer without noticing. It's why you can be around people all day and still not feel near anyone.
What filled the gap is awake at 2am and never asks anything of you. Not because it's better company — because it's the only door you can walk through without first admitting something's wrong.
You shouldn't have to be in trouble to want someone near.
And it's built to keep you there. Beaconaut would rather you left — no feed, no streak, nothing waiting. Just an hour where your people know you're around, and then your evening is your own again.
A no‑intervention way to feel connected — and then to go be with them.
Read the research behind this →What Beaconaut is
The circle
Sixteen people, maximum — invite‑only, one shared thread. That's not a tier you can pay to raise, it's the product. No feeds, no followers, no audience to perform for.
The hour
When the hour is up, the beacon is gone — it ends on its own, with nothing to close or cancel. What stays is one line in your circle's memory: who came, who sent love. A beacon nobody answered leaves no scoreboard at all.
What it looks like
Four screens.
That's most of the app.
Someone wants
you near.
No reply required, no performance. A no‑intervention way to feel connected, built for however you're wired.
Free to download.