Steps is micro journaling in iMessage. It sends your questions one at a time, and a few words back is a full entry.
“I never know what to write.”
Your questions arrive in iMessage, built from three quick answers at sign-up. Each asks about one small thing, yesterday or today, so there's always somewhere to start.
“It started to feel like a chore.”
A few words is a full entry, and there's no length to live up to. Miss a day and there's nothing to catch up on.
“I want to remember these days.”
One question about yesterday, one about today, like “What's a moment from yesterday worth keeping?” Every answer is dated and kept, in your own words, to read back later.
I have four kids and a company, and I've kept journals on and off for years. The long entries never lasted, but a few words over coffee did, so I built Steps to send me a few questions in iMessage while I drink it.
— Tiago, father of four in Porto
Pick your mornings and the hour, like 7, or 9 after drop-off. The message is the reminder, so there's no app to open. If the morning gets away from you, one follow-up comes in the early afternoon, and one reply stops it.
At sign-up, a short configurator asks what brings you here and how much time you really get. It suggests two to four questions, like “What's a moment from yesterday worth keeping?” or “What do you want to notice today?” Swap any, reword any, or add your own, up to five, with a line on why it matters to you.
Every question carries a note to self, the reason it matters to you. Skip it, and the next morning your note comes first. Counting skipped mornings is off unless you turn it on.
Not sure yet? Read a plain introduction to micro journaling →
A line about yesterday and one about today is a minute on the day you're in. Each is dated and kept, so a year from now you have a year of them, to read back or download.
Some of the questions Steps can ask, each about yesterday or today.
Or write your own, with a line on why it matters to you.
At home, a question from Steps' list. At work, Tiago's own, word for word, because he wants to stop working from an office by the end of the year. Add one of your own at sign-up, or later in iMessage, with a line on why it matters.
Kids get sick, and some weeks nothing gets written. That's allowed here. Your score reads like “You answered every question on 18 of your last 24 mornings,” and the next hello comes on schedule.
Micro journaling is keeping a journal in very short entries, such as a line, a few words or a quick list, usually written in a minute or two. Steps brings it to iMessage. On the days you pick it says hello, then asks your questions one at a time, and whatever you send is saved with that day. There's no app to open, and a few words are plenty.
Answer the question and stop. One honest line is a full answer, like "Pancakes on a Tuesday." A question about one small thing is easier than "How was yesterday?" If nothing comes, write that nothing comes. The next morning asks again, with nothing to catch up on. The note-to-self method starts here, with a question about one small thing.
Maybe not, and we won't pretend otherwise. Most journals wait for you to find the notebook or open the app, and a week of sick kids is enough to end that. Steps comes to you instead, at the hour you pick, and a few words answer a question. A skipped day costs you nothing. If you stop for a while, every word stays saved, and the next hello comes on your schedule.
No. Keep a notebook, a one-line-a-day book, morning pages, a planner or Day One as it is. Steps is micro journaling in iMessage, a few questions on the days you pick. To move an answer into your journal, copy it by hand, or download everything as a Markdown or JSON file at app.steps.org. Steps doesn't connect to other apps.
No. Steps is micro journaling in iMessage. It asks your questions, saves your answers and reads them back when you ask. It never analyzes you, scores your mood or gives advice. It's for adults, so kids don't get an account, and it isn't therapy or medical care. If anything you write suggests you're in danger, Steps stops and points you to real people at steps.org/safety. If things feel heavy, please talk to someone who can help.
A journal only works if it's private. What you write is encrypted on the way to us and while it's stored, in the EU, under European privacy law. Some services Steps uses, like Anthropic, are in the US.
Steps is software, not a person. An AI model from Anthropic writes its short replies and, once a day, labels your entries so you can find them later and so a word you keep repeating can be counted. Nothing you write is used to train AI, and Steps never analyzes you or gives advice. Those labels are never a reading of you.
Someone at Steps may read a conversation record to make replies better. Before anyone can, we automatically hide the names we can find in it (yours, your kids', anyone you mention) and every email and phone number.
Nothing is sold or shared for ads, and no child needs an account. Take everything with you, or erase everything, whenever you like. Read our privacy promises →