Rooted is a tiny daily‑prayer companion that trades pressure for peace. Open the app, breathe, move through a few short prompts, and you’re done in about two minutes. Requests are private by default. The tone is kind. The goal is simple: make it easy to show up today and again tomorrow.

Most spiritual apps swing between two extremes: a firehose of content or heavy gamification. People told me they wanted something gentler—less scrolling, more presence, and controls that make privacy obvious.

Design challenge: how do we support a meaningful habit without turning it into homework?

Start tiny. A calm, two‑minute flow beats a busy feature set.

Default to dignity. Private first; visibility is always clear.

Guide, don’t grade. Encourage return visits without guilt.

Ship → learn → iterate. Short loops with real users.

Pray Now: one tap → 3–5 gentle prompts → finish with gratitude.

Requests: post what you’re carrying; choose who can see it (Private → Friends → Group → Public).

Journal: one‑sentence notes or a quick voice memo; tags + search.

Reminders: soft time windows in your timezone.

Kind streaks: progress that doesn’t shame you for missing a day.

Safety: report/flag, block/mute; data export in Profile.

Home keeps a single primary CTA: Pray Now. A Today card shows a theme/verse and your gentle streak.

Prayer flow moves like a calm stepper: breathe → brief passage → pray for someone by name → gratitude → optional journal → set tomorrow’s reminder.

Requests feel contained. Each card carries a visible privacy chip so you always know the audience. Reactions are simple (🙏) and comments are supportive by design.

Tone: “You showed up today.” — short, warm, never preachy.

Look: quiet indigo + soft neutrals; high contrast for readability.

Type: Inter for UI; a touch of Fraunces for headlines.

Motion: 200–250ms ease‑out; no fireworks, just soft confirmations.

Accessibility: big tap targets, clear focus states, one‑hand flow.

Client: React Native (Expo).

Backend: Node/Nest (REST) or GraphQL; Postgres primary; Redis for queues; S3 for media.

Notifications: APNs/Firebase with per‑user cron windows.

Security: row‑level visibility, encrypted PII, moderation audit log.

Experimentation: feature flags for small A/Bs around habit loops.

Activation: completes first prayer within 24 hours.

Habit: 3+ sessions/week during the first 14 days.

Care: % of requests that receive a supportive reaction within 48h.

Safety: time‑to‑review on reports; false‑positive rate.

Keep the first session under two minutes—completion jumps and people feel good.

Private by default builds trust; sharing grows organically.

Forgiving streaks bring people back; the copy matters more than the badge.

“I didn’t feel judged by the app. It felt like it was on my side.”