One thing on screen
The Now screen shows a single task and its next step. Everything else waits on another tab, so the list can’t pile up in front of you.
For people who know what to do and still can’t start
Make starting the easy part.
Bright Shiny Object puts one task on the screen, shrinks it to a first step you can do right now, and gives you a short timer to begin. Routines keep a streak that forgives a missed day.
Coming to theApp Store
Coming toGoogle Play
Free for 2 weeks. No credit card. Then $4.99 a month, $29.99 a year, or $50 once for life.
What it does
Steps small enough to start
Every task opens with a first step. If it still feels like too much, tap once for a smaller one. Big tasks split into parts that fill up as you go.
Short timers
Work 5 minutes with permission to stop, or 25 when you’re rolling. If something distracts you mid-timer, set it aside on your list and keep going.
Routines that forgive
Morning, bedtime and your own. Run them one step at a time. Streaks count your days in a row, and one missed day doesn’t wipe them out.
Learn what helps
Thirteen everyday struggles, like low energy or trouble focusing, each with options rated by how strong the research is and a link to the study.
Something shiny for finishing
Each finish earns a trinket for your magpie’s drawer. There are 50 badges to collect, and a daily tip read aloud during your morning routine.
The shop
Tees, stickers and pins with the magpie on them. The shop is how we keep the app ad-free.
Visit the shopFree for 2 weeks.
No credit card.
Download it and use everything for 14 days. We don’t ask for a card to start, so nothing gets charged when the two weeks end. If you like it, pick a plan below.
Monthly
$4.99/month
Cancel any time
Yearly
$29.99/year
About $2.50 a month
Lifetime
$50one time
Pay once and it’s yours for good. No subscription.
No ads. Ever. We don’t sell your data or share it with advertisers. Plans are paid through Apple or Google, and monthly and yearly plans can be cancelled any time in your phone’s settings.
Draft for review. Have a lawyer check this before launch.
Privacy policy
This policy explains what the Bright Shiny Object app and website collect, why, and what you can do about it. Bright Shiny Object is made by von Striver Technologies, a business based in California (“we,” “us”). If anything here is unclear, email brightshinyobjectapp@gmail.com.
The short version
- We collect what the app needs to work: your tasks, routines, settings and progress, plus your sign-in details if you make an account.
- We don’t show ads, we don’t sell your data, and we don’t share it with advertisers or data brokers.
- Your quiz answers about what gets in your way are treated as sensitive. They are used only to set up the app for you.
- You can download your data or delete your account at any time, in the app or on this website.
What we collect
Things you give us
- Account details. If you sign in with Apple or Google, we receive your name and email address. Apple lets you hide your email, in which case we get a private relay address. You can use the app without an account; it then creates an anonymous ID on your device.
- Your content. Tasks, steps, routines, notes, things you set aside during a timer, rewards and reminders you set up.
- Quiz answers and profile. Your answers about what makes things hard for you, like getting started, time, focus or memory. We use them to pick your starter tools and set up tasks and routines.
- Messages to support. Whatever you send us when you ask for help.
Things the app records as you use it
- Activity and progress. Timers you start and finish, tasks and routines completed, streaks, badges and stats.
- Device and app details. Device model, operating system, app version, time zone and language, and a notification token if you allow notifications.
- Crash and performance reports. Technical details about errors so we can fix them. These don’t include your task content.
Things that stay on your phone
- Calendar. If you connect your calendar, the app reads events on your phone to show them next to your tasks. We don’t copy your calendar to our servers.
- Voice. Adding a task by voice uses your phone’s own speech recognition from Apple or Google. We only receive the text.
- Contacts and messages. When you promise someone you’ll finish a task, the app opens your own Messages app with the text filled in. We don’t read your contacts or see the message.
Payments
Apple and Google handle all payments. We never see your card number. We receive whether your subscription is active, your plan, and renewal dates, through our subscription service provider.
How we use it
- To run the app: save and sync your tasks and routines, send reminders you asked for, and show your progress.
- To set up your starter tools and suggestions from your quiz answers.
- To manage your subscription and free trial.
- To fix bugs, keep the service secure and answer support requests.
- To understand which features get used, using counts that don’t include the content of your tasks.
We don’t use your data for advertising, and we don’t build profiles to sell to anyone.
Who we share it with
We share data only with companies that help us run the service, under contracts that limit them to doing that work for us:
- Cloud hosting and database storage
- Sign-in (Apple and Google)
- Subscription status (our subscription service provider, plus Apple and Google)
- Crash reporting
- Email, for support and account messages
We may also disclose information if the law requires it, to protect someone’s safety, or as part of a sale or merger of the business, in which case this policy would continue to apply to your data.
Health-related information
Some things you tell the app, like quiz answers about attention, energy, sleep or mood, may count as health information under laws such as Washington’s My Health My Data Act. We collect it only to provide the app, with your consent when you take the quiz. We never sell it, never use it for ads, and you can delete it at any time. Bright Shiny Object is not a medical service and does not diagnose or treat any condition.
How long we keep it
We keep your data while your account is active. If you delete your account, we delete your data within 30 days. Copies in backups are erased within a further 30 days. If you stop using the app without deleting your account, we delete inactive accounts after 2 years of no sign-ins, after emailing you first.
Your choices and rights
- See and download your data from Profile, then Download my data, in the app.
- Correct anything by editing it in the app.
- Delete your account and data from Profile, then Delete my account, or see Delete your account.
- Turn off notifications, calendar access or sound in your phone’s settings or the app.
Depending on where you live, including California, the EU and the UK, you may have legal rights to access, correct, delete or move your data, and to object to or limit some uses. Email us to use any of these rights. We’ll answer within 30 days and won’t treat you differently for asking. If you’re in the EU or UK, we rely on our contract with you to run the app, your consent for quiz answers, and our legitimate interest in keeping the service secure and working. You can also complain to your local data protection authority.
Security
Data is encrypted in transit and at rest. Access inside our business is limited to what’s needed to run and support the service. No system is perfectly secure, and we’ll tell you promptly if a breach affects your data.
Children
The app is not meant for children under 13, and we don’t knowingly collect their data. If you think a child under 13 has given us data, email us and we’ll delete it.
Changes
If we change this policy in a way that matters, we’ll tell you in the app before the change takes effect. The date at the top shows the latest version.
Contact
von Striver Technologies
California, United States
brightshinyobjectapp@gmail.com
Draft for review. Have a lawyer check this before launch.
Terms of use
These terms are an agreement between you and von Striver Technologies (“we,” “us”) for using the Bright Shiny Object app and website. By using them, you agree to these terms.
Using the app
You need to be at least 13 to use the app. If you’re under 18, a parent or guardian should agree to these terms with you. Keep your sign-in secure; you’re responsible for activity on your account.
Free trial and subscriptions
- New users get a 14-day free trial with full access. No credit card is needed, and nothing is charged when the trial ends unless you choose a plan.
- After the trial, continuing to use the app requires a plan: $4.99 a month, $29.99 a year, or a one-time Lifetime purchase of $50, in the US. Prices may vary by country and include any taxes your app store applies.
- Monthly and yearly plans are subscriptions sold and billed by Apple or Google. They renew automatically until you cancel. You can cancel any time in your App Store or Google Play subscription settings; you keep access until the end of the period you paid for.
- Lifetime is a single payment, not a subscription. It never renews and gives you access to the app for as long as we offer it, on the Apple or Google account you bought it with.
- Refunds are handled by Apple or Google under their policies.
- If we change prices, we’ll tell you ahead of time, and the change will apply from your next renewal.
Your content
What you put in the app is yours. You give us permission to store and process it only to run the app for you, as described in our privacy policy.
Not medical advice
Bright Shiny Object is a tool for planning and habits. It is not a medical device and does not diagnose, treat or replace care from a doctor or therapist. The Learn section summarizes published research for general information. Talk to a qualified professional about your own health, medication or treatment.
Fair use
Don’t misuse the app: no breaking or probing our systems, no copying or reselling the app, no using it to harass anyone or break the law. We may suspend accounts that do.
Our app
The app, the magpie, the artwork and the writing belong to us. We give you a personal, non-transferable license to use the app while these terms apply. Research studies linked from Learn belong to their publishers.
Changes and ending
We may update the app and these terms. If a change to the terms matters, we’ll tell you in the app first. You can stop using the app and delete your account at any time. We may end access for anyone who breaks these terms.
Disclaimers and limits
The app is provided as is. We work to keep it running and your data safe, but we can’t promise it will always be available or error-free. To the extent the law allows, we aren’t liable for indirect or consequential losses, and our total liability is limited to the amount you paid us in the 12 months before the claim. Some places don’t allow these limits, so they may not apply to you.
Law
These terms are governed by the laws of California, United States, except where your local consumer law says otherwise.
Contact
brightshinyobjectapp@gmail.com
Support
Email us any time and a person will write back, usually within two business days.
brightshinyobjectapp@gmail.com
Common questions
How do I cancel my subscription?
Subscriptions are managed by Apple or Google, so cancel there. Deleting the app doesn’t cancel it.
- iPhone: Settings, then your name, then Subscriptions, then Bright Shiny Object, then Cancel Subscription.
- Android: Google Play, then your profile picture, then Payments & subscriptions, then Subscriptions, then Bright Shiny Object, then Cancel.
How do I get a refund?
Apple and Google handle refunds. On iPhone, go to reportaproblem.apple.com. On Android, open your order in Google Play and choose Request a refund.
I got a new phone. How do I keep my tasks and streaks?
Sign in with the same Apple or Google account on the new phone. Everything comes back. If you never signed in, open Profile on your old phone first and choose Save my progress.
My subscription isn’t showing.
Open Profile, then Restore purchases. Make sure you’re signed in to the same Apple or Google account you paid with.
Reminders aren’t showing up.
Check that notifications are on for Bright Shiny Object in your phone’s settings, and that Focus or Do Not Disturb isn’t hiding them.
Can I get a copy of my data?
Yes. Open Profile, then Download my data. You’ll get a file with your tasks, routines and history.
Delete your account
You can delete your Bright Shiny Object account and all its data at any time.
In the app
- Open Bright Shiny Object.
- Tap your profile picture at the top right.
- Tap Delete my account, then confirm.
Without the app
Email us from the address you signed in with, and put “Delete my account” in the subject. We’ll confirm by email and delete it.
brightshinyobjectapp@gmail.com
What gets deleted
- Your sign-in details, tasks, routines, quiz answers, settings, streaks, badges and stats.
- Everything is removed within 30 days, and from backups within a further 30 days.
What isn’t affected
- Your subscription. Deleting your account doesn’t cancel it. Cancel it in App Store or Google Play settings first. See Support for the steps.
- Purchase records kept by Apple or Google under their own policies.