People want backup before something goes wrong.
The highest-value moment is often the walk home, the rideshare, the commute, or the first uneasy minute.
Start -> Record -> Retrace
A private timeline for the moments you want remembered.
StringStep turns a visible safety Step into a beautiful encrypted replay: map, movement, audio, transcript, check-ins, sharing events, and a delete receipt. Live location for one trusted viewer. Private audio and transcripts for later.
3 mo
Free access so users can build the safety habit before they pay.
$10
Monthly subscription after the free period, with a $90/year annual option.
300ms
Target feel from tapping Start to active local UI. The app should feel instant.
60fps
Timeline, map, and audio scrubbing should feel local, smooth, and independent of network.
The company story
The archive is not a storage drawer. It is the product.
Location sharing is shallow. Voice memos are isolated. Emergency buttons overpromise. StringStep connects motion, audio, transcription, sharing, and deletion into one beautiful Step the user starts before they need proof.
Trusted people need presence, not surveillance.
Exact live location and check-in state are enough for P0. Audio is recorded, not live-streamed.
The Step becomes searchable context.
Map replay, movement, audio, transcript, sharing events, and delete receipt make the Step useful even on normal days.
Product
A visible Step that becomes a private, searchable timeline.
The app is not a spy tool, not public livestreaming, and not an emergency dispatch promise. It is a visible Step that creates a private map/audio/transcript record the user controls.
Product tour
The key screens users touch.
The user journey is deliberately small: choose transcript privacy, start a Step, share live location if needed, stop, then retrace the Step through map, audio, transcript, and events.
Screen
Loading
Live sharing
Share live location without broadcasting your life.
StringStep starts with exact live location through a one-time link. Audio is recorded for later review and transcription; P0 does not live-stream audio.
- Location controls: off or trusted live link for P0.
- Audio controls: private encrypted recording, transcribed after explicit preference.
- Recipient view: secure web link, no app install required, no live audio.
The daily habit
Every Step becomes a beautiful replay.
The magic is not just feeling safer live. It is opening a private, searchable timeline of what happened: route replay, movement, audio, transcript, check-ins, sharing events, and a deletion receipt.
- Review: map and audio stay synchronized on one timeline.
- Transcribe: private on-device when available, cloud enhanced after explicit opt-in.
- Delete: route, audio, transcript, grants, and local cache are visible before deletion.
Implementation
Built around Start -> Record -> Retrace.
The codebase is organized around the hard part: instant local capture, encrypted chunks, map replay, privacy-enabled transcription, live location links, auditable events, and deletion receipts.
SwiftUI Step recorder
Instant local active state, visible audio/location capture, local encrypted queue, check-ins, urgent markers, and snappy review.
Encrypted chunks and transcript segments
Audio, route, and transcript artifacts are encrypted before durable storage. Metadata keeps the timeline searchable without plaintext server storage.
TypeScript API, Postgres, R2
Metadata and audit events live in Postgres. Encrypted blobs live in object storage. The server does not need raw private audio or exact private route plaintext.
Live links first
stringstep.com hosts trusted live location links now. The owner web dashboard waits until paired browser key management is clean.
Trust
The trust model is part of the product experience.
Users should not have to read a whitepaper to understand the promise. Every active Step shows what is recording, who can see location, whether audio is locked, and what will be deleted.
No hidden recording.
Steps are user-started and visually obvious. The app should never feel like surveillance.
Honest private storage.
Private route, audio, and transcript outputs are encrypted before storage. Cloud transcription is optional and auditable.
Easy delete and export.
Deletion is not buried. Users see what disappears and get a receipt.
Business model
Free for three months. Then subscription.
$10/mo
Let users build trust and habit before asking for money. After three months, ask them to subscribe monthly or choose $90/year.
Why investors should care
A new category between location sharing, voice notes, and private proof.
StringStep starts with one sharp loop: Start, Record, Retrace. If that loop feels magical, the product can later expand into families, travel, hiking, workplace safety, and richer private memory without weakening the privacy foundation.