Our story

Built on a simple belief.

Change by design. Not willpower.

Why we built this

Every other approach we tried assumed the problem was self-control. Lock the apps. Set a timer. Track your usage and feel guilty about it. None of them worked — not long term. Not really.

The science is clear: lasting behaviour change comes from environmental design, honest self-awareness, and the right kind of social support — not discipline, restriction, or shame. We built The Presence Project around that insight.

The situation system is environmental design. The course is honest self-awareness. The Club is social support. Each one works alone. Together, they work in a way no hard-lock app ever has — because they're designed around how behaviour actually changes, not how we wish it did.

The science we build on

Three frameworks. One coherent approach.

Every design decision — from the override questions to the weekly report to the course structure — is built on three of the most robust frameworks in behaviour change science.

SDT
Self-Determination Theory
People sustain change when they feel autonomous, competent, and connected — not controlled. SDT-based design uses technology as a scaffold for self-reflection, helping users internalise their own values over time. The explicit goal: less reliance on the app, not more.
Deci & Ryan (1985, 2000) · The foundation of everything we build.
MI
Motivational Interviewing
Questions that feel exploratory and non-judgmental support reflective processes and intrinsic motivation. We never ask "why are you breaking your rules?" We ask "what's pulling you here right now?" The distinction is not cosmetic — it changes how honestly users respond, and what they take away.
Miller & Rollnick (1991, 2012) · Guides every override question and report.
COM-B
Capability · Opportunity · Motivation
NICE's preferred behaviour change framework. Every override is driven by one of three factors: a functional need (Capability), an environmental trigger (Opportunity), or an emotional state (Motivation). Understanding which is active lets the app respond differently — and intelligently.
Michie et al. (2011) · NHS preferred model · Applied throughout our product.
What we stand for

Five things we'll never compromise on

🔓
No hard locks
The app never prevents access without a user-initiated, user-reversible action. The hard-lock approach means friction — not imprisonment.
❤️
No shame
No language implying the user has failed, is broken, or should feel guilty. Progress is always framed as gain, never deficit.
🚫
No dark patterns
No manufactured urgency, no hidden cancellations, no pre-ticked anything. The product earns trust by being trustworthy.
🔒
No surveillance
We don't monitor, report, or share what users do on their phones beyond what's needed for the Presence Report and Smart Mode.
🎓
Graduation is the goal
The product is designed to make itself unnecessary. Users who succeed leave with sustainable habits — and that's a feature, not a risk.
Transparency commitment

We tell users what we're doing — and why

At onboarding, every user sees this:

"When you override a setting, we'll sometimes ask how you're feeling. Your answers help us understand you better and make suggestions that actually fit your life. You can always skip. Your data is never shared, never sold, and never shown to anyone else."

This transparency is not just ethically right — it is what makes users trust the system enough to answer honestly. Without honest answers, the adaptive coaching doesn't work. Transparency and effectiveness are not in tension here. They're the same thing.

Ready to start?

The 14-day challenge is £5.

No credit card needed until you're done. No lock-in. Just a better relationship with your phone — one small thing at a time.

Start the challenge →