Hey everyone,

I'm a solo indie dev (designed and drew every illustration myself, wrote all the code myself — no AI-assembled app here). Wanted to share something I've been building called TinyReads.

The idea actually came from doomscrolling TikTok/Reels. I wanted that same "just one more" pull, but pointed at something that leaves me a little smarter instead of just entertained. So the goal became: one article, 3-4 minutes, genuinely interesting — not a quick skim, not a huge time sink either.

How it works: no feed, no algorithm. You build your own little library across topics — science, history, philosophy, psychology, finance, and more — and the app hands you one card at a time from what you've actually chosen. Swipe to save or skip, tap to read the full thing. Everything is hand-illustrated: ink-style book covers on a torn-paper background, categories as shelves, topics as books, saved stuff as an archive, even little collectible stamps for finishing a topic.

Because the whole point was quality over quantity, I was pretty careful about the content itself and how it's presented — not just cranking out articles. The idea is that it doubles as a small reading habit and a bit of general self-improvement, without needing a "free evening" for it.

It's free to use (10 free books, \~1400 cards), with optional one-time purchases for extra topics — no subscriptions.

Would genuinely love feedback, especially on the reading flow and whether this idea actually holds up in daily use. Happy to answer anything about the build too (SwiftUI, Firebase, Core Data).



[https://apps.apple.com/us/app/tiny-reads-short-articles/id6774196230](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/tiny-reads-short-articles/id6774196230)

I built an app that uses your doomscroll addiction to build a reading habit instead