Case study // My own product

QuietStrength Body: designing a body tracker without targets

Type: My own product
When: 2025–2026
Team: Just me, working with AI tools
Platform: iPhone
Built with: SwiftUI, Apple Health
Disciplines: UI, UX, writing, brand

QuietStrength Body's Overview screen, showing photos, measurements and weight over time. Example data. — Example dataThe Overview screen, in light and dark.

The same Overview screen in dark mode. Example data. — Example dataThe Overview screen, in light and dark.

The situation

It started in September 2025. I'd been made redundant, the job search felt endless, and every scroll through LinkedIn made my stomach tighten. I wanted something simple I could control without it controlling me, so I started taking three photos of myself each week.

I spent a while working out what I wanted from an app and trying the ones on the App Store. Every one I found wanted a monthly subscription, and I didn't want that. So I made my own. It started as a basic photo comparison app, because I wanted to use it straight away.

My part

I did most of it myself, working with AI tools: the product thinking, interface design, writing, brand and the iPhone build. Other people helped by answering my questions, and I learned a lot from trying other apps.

What I did

1. Built it around how I'd actually use it

The rest came later, including the sleep section with its sounds. I shaped each feature around how I'd want to use it, then asked friends and family what they'd want it to do. It's a very personal app, so I had firm views on how it should work, and I put my main project on hold to get it right.

Looking back at the photos turned out to be as much about how I was feeling as about my body. I noticed my posture, and how my face looked, not just whether I'd lost any fat. That shaped the tone of the whole app.

The first onboarding screen, "See how your body is really changing", above two example updates shown as front and side silhouettes, 30 Aug and 23 Oct. Example updates. — Example updatesThe first onboarding screen. Photos appear as silhouettes by default.

2. Cut it back to one clear idea

Along the way the app grew into three parts: Body, Mind and Ground. That made it too broad, without a clear idea of who it was for. So I cut it back to Body and rebuilt it as QuietStrength Body.

Diagram. Before: QuietStrength in three parts, Body, Mind and Ground. Now: QuietStrength Body, one focus covering photos, tape measurements, weight, sleep and Sleep Sounds. — DiagramThe old three-part structure beside the new single-focus structure.

3. Designed out the pressure

Many tracking apps push you towards a target number. I left all of that out. There are no targets, streaks or guilt, and no BMI anywhere. Photos are shown as silhouettes by default, with a setting to show the real photos. One switch hides weight and body fat numbers without deleting anything, and the app is honest about what weight on its own can't tell you.

The Photos screen: the latest set from 23 October shown as front, side and back silhouettes, with "Shown as silhouettes" and a link to change it in Settings. Example data. — Example dataPhotos shown as silhouettes, and the Settings switches that control what you see.

Settings: units for weight and measurements, then "What you see" with switches for "Show weight and body fat" and "Show photos as silhouettes". Example data. — Example dataPhotos shown as silhouettes, and the Settings switches that control what you see.

The Weight screen: a weekly average of 78.2 kg, an eight-week chart of weekly averages and daily readings, and the note "Weight alone can't show whether a change is fat, muscle or water." Example data. — Example dataWeight as a weekly average, with a note on what weight alone can't tell you.

4. Kept it simple to own

It's pay once, with no subscription and nothing to buy inside the app. Apple's privacy label for the app is "Data Not Collected". Units cover kg, lb, stone and pounds, cm and inches. Sleep Sounds (white, pink and brown noise) are generated on the phone, so they work fully offline. I added them because hotel rooms were noisy and the white noise apps I tried came with subscriptions and adverts.

The Sleep Sounds screen in dark mode: white, pink and brown noise, pink noise playing with 28:40 left on the timer, a volume slider, timer options and a fade-out switch. Example data. — Example dataSleep Sounds with its timer, and the Sleep screen.

The Sleep screen in dark mode: an average of 7 h 01 m over the last seven nights and a 28-night chart of hours asleep, read from Apple Health. Example data. — Example dataSleep Sounds with its timer, and the Sleep screen.

Where it is now

QuietStrength Body will be coming to the iPhone App Store in November.

The QuietStrength Body website home page in development in light mode: the headline "A quiet way to see how your body is changing." beside an iPhone showing the Overview screen. Example data. — Example dataThe QuietStrength Body website, in development, light and dark.

The same website home page in dark mode. Example data. — Example dataThe QuietStrength Body website, in development, light and dark.

One thing I'd do differently

I'd plan for updates from the start. The app will keep growing, and as functionality is added, existing users will get those updates free.