why make this? you don't need an app to meditate.
I've had amazing experiences with practices like the ones in this app and wanted to make them accessible to everyone. exploration mode resembles both human-guided somatic exploration and the AI-powered meditation I did on my Jhourney retreat; I've had light jhana experiences with both. I've also done a lot of group noting sessions and find that it helps me go deeper than I would usually on my own. it's best with humans but most of the mechanics still work well here.
there are also many deeply valuable inner-work and meditative practices where an app would just be a distraction; please try them too.
why out loud?
speaking is really helpful in maintaining alertness, and enforces the practice of choosing a word (noting mode) or longer bit of speech (exploration & felt-sense modes) for your experience; this helps build your internal vocabulary, and a better internal vocabulary lets you understand yourself better.
plus, in my experience there's something special about voice-based practice that I don't have a complete explanation for; my best guess is that it's because when I'm speaking naturally, the language part of my mind gets a job that actually helps me engage with what I'm paying attention to.
how do I start - do I need to install, sign up, or pay?
running aloud. on your own device needs no account and costs nothing unless you choose to use aloud cloud for convenience. aloud cloud uses an account and payment system to provide text-to-speech, speech-to-text, and AI facilitator brains; you'll receive a few free credits when connecting a Google or Apple account. you can always use your own device's capabilities or API keys instead of paying.
the web app needs no installation and runs right in your browser at aloud.rest/app. for technical reasons, the web app cannot connect to services in the same way as the desktop app does. so, depending on your browser and device, aloud cloud may be your only option for text-to-speech, speech-to-text, and AI brains on the web app.
aloud. is open source and free to run; tips are deeply appreciated - hundreds of hours of care have gone into making this app the best it can be. tips also help offset expenses like developer licenses, hosting, and signup credits.
why AI? won't it feel cold or too sycophantic?
exploration and felt sense modes by nature need a partner that gives useful responses. the prompts have been carefully crafted to reflect the idea that the AI is here to be a facilitator for your own exploration, not to tell you what to believe. it isn't perfect, but in my experience works pretty well. the newer models seem to have enough emotional intelligence to suggest useful avenues of inquiry in open-ended exploration.
in noting mode, AI speaks just a word or two at a time, and is entirely optional.
aloud. is designed to give you maximal freedom, including in choice of AI/LLM; sycophancy has been a problem with some AIs such as GPT-4o, but efforts are made to reduce this in newer models. please use one that you prefer. if you'd like to do a deep dive into metrics, there's this sycophancy analysis for various models on GitHub.
what's parts work / IFS?
Internal Family Systems (IFS) is a popular framing of parts work - in parts work, the mind is seen as having a collection of "parts" rather than a single voice. you've probably said something like "part of me wants to be productive but another part just wants to binge Netflix" - this just takes that idea seriously. it can be a really powerful way to investigate internal conflict or deeper emotions.
aloud. can be a partner for your parts work if you choose the "parts" focus.
are my conversations or other data stored anywhere?
we never store any user conversations. by default, your session transcripts are saved on your own device (in the desktop app, or in your browser for the web app). you can opt not to save them, or delete them later.
when you run aloud. and your own LLM/TTS/STT, your data never leaves your device. when you choose to use a cloud LLM/TTS/STT (including aloud cloud), we relay the minimum necessary information to those service providers. for sessions using aloud cloud, we retain a limited amount of non-personal metadata such as LLM choices and API costs to help us make the app better. see privacy for details.
how is this different from other meditation apps?
most apps play the same recording to everyone. with aloud. every session is a live conversation that follows your experience in the moment.
it also cares a lot about details. here's a few:
- the facilitator can check in proactively, and sense how long to remain silent
- you can ask for quiet while you ramble; the facilitator will come back when you ask
- the optional session timer reminds you at the time you set, with natural speech
- a guidance dial lets you request anything from spacious reflection to more direction
- glowing orb
is this therapy?
no. it's a practice tool for meditation and self-exploration, not a substitute for an experienced human therapist. if something difficult or overwhelming comes up, please don't push it and please do reach out to a professional for support.
