Launch: Doomscroll
The story begins with me getting overwhelmed by RSS.
When I first set up my RSS reader, I stupidly subscribed to some “general” news sites. Soon, I was flooded with news from all of them. Then I unsubscribed from them all. I concluded that RSS is good for blogs that update 3 times a year, but not for constant news.
Then I found the Wikipedia news page. But every time I visited that page, I had to figure out what was new and what had been updated. The page sometimes had layout issues that made it difficult to scroll on my phone. So I decided to make an app for that.
I don’t use Facebook, but I was fascinated by the short-lived Facebook Paper app and its MikeMatasMikeMatas design. I wanted to use that design, but with vertical scrolling because no one likes horizontal scrolling.
Then I realized, isn’t this design just like TikTok? So I went with that. I named the app Doomscroll as a joke and made a silly icon for it.
Doomscroll Overview
Doomscroll is a news reader app that helps you stay informed without feeling overwhelmed. It shows you about 10 curated news items each day. You are supposed to open the app, spend a minute browsing through the news, and then get back to your day.
Doomscroll shows you “world news,” which are mostly bad news that are mostly irrelevant to you. This way, you can use your RSS reader for tech news (or finance, or politics lol) and get your general news from Doomscroll.
(Yes, I know this could have been an RSS feed, but most RSS readers don’t pick up updates to entries. Ongoing news items in Doomscroll update themselves.)
If you are a completionist, good news for you because it’s easy to scroll through the whole list. There’s a very obvious indicator at the end of the list.
Doomscroll Pricing
Doomscroll isn’t free, but it’s very affordable at just $0.25 per month or $3 per year. For comparison, Apple News+ is $13 per month, which is 52 times more expensive. I know Apple News+ offers more, but it also offers Taboola chumbox ads...
I’m trying to find a balance here. Subscriptions are expensive and annoying, and one-time fees aren’t sustainable for apps. Although Doomscroll is a subscription, I’m really just selling a $3 app that, if you still use it after a year, consider paying another $3.
If you’re tired of the constant flood of news and want a simpler way to stay informed, Doomscroll is for you. It’s designed to be used for just a few minutes each day, helping you stay updated without getting sucked into the 24-hour news cycle. I hope you find Doomscroll helpful.
Doomscroll Privacy Policy
Doomscroll doesn’t collect, store, or transmit any personal information.
Doomscroll Support
If you have any questions, feel free to contact me via email or Mastodon. I read all my emails and Mastodon mentions, but sometimes I’m too socially awkward to reply. Sorry about that in advance.