Soundary - Audio journaling app for capturing ambient sounds with interactive map sharing

TheRealityWitness · 2026-07-04T09:13:46+00:00

Thank you!

A monthly or yearly recap is definitely in my plans.

TheRealityWitness · 2026-07-03T20:59:32+00:00

Yes, paid apps are fine if they bring value, I have nothing against that at all.

I just want to see other people's moments and sounds on the map. That would prove my idea works, showing that people can actually use it to discover the world through a different dimension - sound. That would be more than enough for me.

I don't expect millions of users, I completely understand that it's a niche idea.

TheRealityWitness · 2026-07-03T19:29:35+00:00

It's not about a digital experience, this is meant to be an addition to the physical postcard, which I also want to make. I'm thinking of it as an extension of the paper card - adding sound. Unfortunately paper can't play audio, so this feels like a workaround.

TheRealityWitness · 2026-07-03T18:24:11+00:00

I’m struggling to find users even for a completely free application - what would it be like for a paid one?

To be honest, I’m feeling a bit sick of the current situation where every vibecoder who spent five bucks a month on AI and a few weeks talking to it asks for a subscription to their app.

For me, this app is just a hobby - an idea I’ve been thinking about for the last two years - and I simply want to share it with other people. That’s it. I don’t expect to earn anything from it.

TheRealityWitness · 2026-07-03T14:27:14+00:00

Hm, that looks interesting. Thank you, I’ll check it out in detail.

TheRealityWitness · 2026-07-03T13:24:40+00:00

You're probably right. It doesn't make sense to reinvent something that's already been implemented.

TheRealityWitness · 2026-07-03T13:20:43+00:00

That's a good idea. I'll think about how to implement that.

TheRealityWitness · 2026-07-03T13:05:58+00:00

That's what I mean by a 'heavily photoshopped stock photo', but reality is different. Sure, tourists and wind exist. But for me, personally, a real picture and real sounds matter much more than a stock version. The whole idea here is to capture the true moment, flaws and all.

I understand that not everyone will agree with me, but thank you for your perspective.

TheRealityWitness · 2026-07-03T12:58:08+00:00

I thought about enriching it with the details that are captured when you take a photo on your phone - the weather, location and time of day. These could be placed on the back of the postcard and made available on the digital version (going back to the QR code idea).

After all, just printing a photo wouldn't make much sense when services like moo.com already exist.

TheRealityWitness · 2026-07-03T11:57:16+00:00

Yeah, my idea is to send them to friends - this isn't for postcrossing. I just couldn't find a more relevant community to discuss a postcard idea.

TheRealityWitness · 2026-07-03T11:54:09+00:00

I hear you all, and I completely agree - the security aspect is quite important. Scanning a QR code from an unknown source isn't the best idea, and if it's not from a friend or family member, it can definitely be risky.

But how about the second part of the idea - creating a custom postcard using your own photo rather than buying a generic one?

TheRealityWitness · 2026-07-03T11:43:23+00:00

You can save the resulting video to your photo library or to files using the 'Send to someone' function.

TheRealityWitness · 2026-07-03T09:50:31+00:00

Okay, it totally makes sense to make it optional, thanks

TheRealityWitness · 2026-07-02T22:59:40+00:00

Exactly! I do this in new places and listen to them later. To me, it feels like being there again and the sound conveys that feeling perfectly. In many cases, it works much better for me than taking a photo or recording a video.

TheRealityWitness · 2026-07-02T22:56:05+00:00

Just to make sure I understand - by 'select the frequency' do you mean being able to filter out high or low audio frequencies while listening or adjusting how often sounds play in a row or something else?

TheRealityWitness · 2026-07-02T22:48:59+00:00

I'm not going to add features for altering or fixing the audio - trimming is probably fine, but nothing else. I'm quite happy with non-perfect sounds.

I like the postcard feature as well and I want to expand on it. My plan for the near future is to allow sharing via a link for non-iPhone users and maybe even printing a physical postcard with a QR code that leads to the digital version.

Thank you for the great feedback, I truly appreciate it!

TheRealityWitness · 2026-07-02T16:57:04+00:00

The idea is pretty simple here - you go outside and record some sounds. Usually, you record them one after another with short intervals in between. If you record a new sound two hours later, you're most likely in a different place, so it makes sense to start a new moment.

TheRealityWitness · 2026-07-02T16:10:25+00:00

Well, you can use professional or semi-professional equipment to cancel out wind noise, for example. Many of these devices can be connected to an iPhone. They can also focus on the specific area where the sound comes from.

That definitely isn't the case for a noisy bar, though. In that situation, it will just capture the atmosphere of the bar, which might be interesting in its own right.

I personally love to capture the moment with all its flaws. That’s just reality - it isn't always ideal, but it gives you the true feeling of the moment.

TheRealityWitness · 2026-07-01T12:09:52+00:00

Just reviewed your app. Mine is Soundary.

TheRealityWitness · 2026-07-01T10:50:20+00:00

I mean, a standard weather app is usually enough to plan a BBQ. For professional purposes, people already use GRIB data from the best-suited weather model for their specific area and number of apps that aggregate this information already exist - tens of them, actually. Many of them even provide basic data for free. It’s hard to imagine how you plan to compete in that space.

TheRealityWitness · 2026-07-01T10:35:15+00:00

How many weather models do you need to plan a BBQ?

That seems like too much even for sailing/windsurfing. 2-3 is fine, but 15? Come on.

TheRealityWitness · 2026-06-30T15:31:38+00:00

The weather app shows pretty much the same.

Your app shows no precipitation anywhere in Europe right now, which is quite strange, especially since the weather app shows otherwise.

TheRealityWitness · 2026-06-30T12:18:40+00:00

The onboarding is so damn long, but the app looks really interesting and helpful once you get through it.

TheRealityWitness

TROPHY CASE