What it does
'I am' is a mental wellness app focused on improving users' mindsets through daily affirmations. It delivers positive statements as notifications and through a swipeable feed. The experience is heavily personalized based on an extensive onboarding quiz that covers user goals, moods, and even personal beliefs to tailor the content.
Where it shines
The app's greatest strength is its commitment to creating a bespoke user journey right from the start. The onboarding quiz is exceptionally detailed, asking for everything from the user's name (00:27) to their zodiac sign (00:39), making the user feel seen. Another highlight is the aesthetic control it gives users, allowing them to choose a custom app icon (01:27) and feed theme (01:34), which fosters a sense of personal ownership. Once in the app, the interface is clean and minimal, keeping the focus entirely on the affirmations themselves (03:21).
UX highlights
- Deep Personalization: The onboarding quiz is exhaustive, covering demographics, beliefs, and goals to tailor content.
- Aesthetic Ownership: Users can select their app icon and theme during setup, making the app feel like their own personal space.
- Minimalist Feed: The core experience is a simple, swipe-based feed that removes distraction and centers the user on the affirmation.
- Comprehensive Sharing: The sharing options for each affirmation are robust (03:57), allowing users to save, copy text, or share directly to social media.
- Streak Animation: A subtle but rewarding animation of a growing plant (03:26) reinforces the daily habit and visualizes progress.
- Actionable Settings: The settings menu (06:01) is well-organized, providing granular control over everything from the text-to-speech voice to muted content.
Monetization & growth
The app uses a free trial model, gated by a paywall presented at the end of the long onboarding quiz (02:33). The offer is a 3-day free trial that converts to a yearly subscription, with the price broken down to a smaller monthly equivalent to reduce sticker shock. An interesting growth tactic appears mid-onboarding, where the app cross-promotes a 'Self-Growth Essentials' bundle (01:39), encouraging users to subscribe to the developer's entire suite of apps.
Who it’s for
This app is designed for individuals seeking to improve their mental wellness, build self-esteem, and cultivate a more positive mindset. The target user is likely someone invested in self-help and personal development, who appreciates a customized experience and is willing to engage with daily prompts. The focus on topics like love, anxiety, and personal growth suggests a broad audience interested in mindfulness and self-care.
Notes & opportunities
The onboarding flow is very long, which could lead to high drop-off rates for less motivated users. While the personalization is a strength, its value is only realized after the user has invested significant time upfront. The app could potentially test showing a sample of a personalized affirmation earlier in the flow to demonstrate the payoff of the quiz sooner. Additionally, the app bundle promotion (01:39), while a clever upsell, could be distracting and interrupt the user's primary goal of setting up the 'I am' app.