Manifesto

We don't want your attention. We want you to forget we exist.

Most apps are designed to capture you. To hook you, engage you, keep you coming back. Notifications that create urgency. Streaks that punish absence. Social feeds that manufacture comparison. They call it "user engagement." We call it theft.

We built Stillwater with the opposite intention: to give you back the moment.

Our Promises

No notifications. Your phone will never buzz because of us. The river doesn't send push alerts. Neither do we.

No social feed. Your catches are yours. We will never ask you to share, compare, or compete. There are no followers. No likes. No leaderboards.

No streaks. Take a year off. The app will be here when you return, patient as the water.

No dark patterns. Nothing designed to manipulate. Nothing designed to addict. Nothing designed to make you feel behind.

What We Believe

The best technology disappears into the background of life.

Fishing is one of humanity's oldest practices, older than agriculture, older than writing. For millennia, it has been a source of sustenance, patience, and peace. A way to slow down. A reason to be quiet.

Then came the attention economy. Apps that turn everything into a game. Platforms that monetize your distraction. Technology designed not to serve you, but to consume you.

We reject this.

Stillwater is a tool, not a destination. You open it to log a catch. Then you close it and return to the water. That's it. That's all we want from you.

The Stillwater Standard

Before we build any feature, we ask ourselves:

Would this feel at home in a quiet cabin by a lake?

If something feels busy, clever, or impressive, it doesn't belong. If it creates anxiety or urgency, it doesn't belong. If it would make you check your phone more often, it absolutely doesn't belong.

We're building an app that respects your time, your attention, and your peace. An app that knows when to be useful and when to be silent.

Our Compass

Subtraction over addition. The best feature is often the one we don't build.

Silence is a feature. Empty space is intentional. Not every moment needs content.

Trust the user. You don't need hand-holding. You don't need engagement hooks. You came here for peace.

Serve the moment. Technology should enhance experiences, not replace them.

Less App. More Fishing.

That's not just a tagline. It's our commitment.

We measure success not by time spent in the app, but by time spent on the water. Not by daily active users, but by memories preserved. Not by engagement metrics, but by whether we helped you be more present.

If you forget about us between catches, we've done our job.

Here's to the quiet moments.
Stillwater