Still Near

Together, apart.

For the person you miss. Not on the big days. On a Tuesday morning, when you look up from your screen and wish they were there.

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A spare phone standing upright on a desk like a small frame, showing a warm photo, beside a mug in soft evening light.

Why I built this

For nearly two years, the person I love and I lived on opposite sides of an ocean: me in Europe, them in the United States. We texted, called, and sent photos all the time, but I still missed having them in my day.

That was the hard part. Not the big calls. The small moments around them. Sitting at my desk in the morning and wishing they were somehow part of the room, not another app I had to open.

We had every app. Messages, photos, video calls. They helped, but they never stayed with me. A chat thread wants you to keep up with it. A camera roll you forget is even there. None of it felt like having them in the room.

So I tried something simple: one photo of us on both desks, already there when I looked up. I took an old phone out of a drawer, stood it up next to my monitor, and set it to show the same image that stood on theirs.

That small object changed the day. Not because it did much. Because it stayed there. It didn't ask anything of me. It was just them, in the room, while I worked.

Still Near grew out of that setup. If your relationship lives across two desks right now, I'd love for you to follow along.

A desk by a window in the morning, with a phone propped up beside a mug.
Morning desk, Zürich side.
An older phone standing on a desk showing a full-screen photo of two people.
Always there when I look up.
A hand placing a spare phone upright on a desk next to a notebook.
An old phone, one job.

What it is

You send a photo from your phone and it shows up on a screen at their desk. Not as a notification they have to tap, but on a small display that just stays there in the room. They see the same photo you see on yours.

Most people use an old phone they already have. Prop it up on your desk like a picture frame. There's nothing to check, nothing to keep up with. The photo is just there when you look up.

It's private. Only the two of you can see what's in your room.

Why not just use a shared album?

Shared albums exist. They work fine. But they live inside your phone, behind a tap, mixed in with everything else. You don't look at them unless you decide to.

A digital frame or a Nest Hub rotates through hundreds of photos. That's fine too, but it's wallpaper. Nobody chose that photo today. It doesn't mean anything in particular.

Still Near is one photo, chosen by one of you, visible to both of you right now. That's the whole difference. The choice is what makes it feel like something.

What stays private

Questions

Do I need to buy anything?

No. Most people use a phone they already have. An old one from a drawer works perfectly. Stand it up on your desk and that's it.

How does it stay in sync?

When you send a photo, it shows up on both screens. You'll always be looking at the same thing.

What happens if we break up?

You can remove paired displays and delete your data. You're always in control of what's in your room.

What will it cost?

One subscription for the room, shared between both of you. We'll be upfront about pricing before you ever pay anything.

When does it launch?

We're still building it. Join the waitlist and you'll hear first. We won't promise a date we can't keep.

Follow along

If that feeling is familiar, leave your email. I'll let you know when it's ready.

Optional: do you already have a spare phone you could use?