Shadow work app and website: Symponia
Symponia is an iPhone app for shadow work. You choose six animals you feel drawn to and one you cannot stand, then talk or write with an AI companion about what that seventh one says about you. We designed and built the app, its backend and the symponia.io website, and took it through the App Store.
The website, live today.
A shadow work app asks people to be honest about the part of themselves they avoid, so the website has to feel calm and private before anyone downloads it, and it has to be found by people searching for shadow work.
Live site, as it looks today on desktop and mobile. Visit symponia.io → See the app on the App Store →
The job, at a glance.
Problem, build, result.
What they needed
Many shadow work apps hand you a prompt and leave you alone with a blank page. Symponia's founder, an osteopath, wanted a calmer way in: meet yourself through the animals that already feel like you, then talk about what you notice.
The build
A native iPhone app where you talk out loud or write to an AI companion, a backend with sign-in, a protected free trial, subscriptions and account deletion, and a website in nine languages with guides, a free test and pages for the animals people pick.
On the App Store
Symponia is on the App Store, free to download with free messages to try it. The website explains the method, offers the free test in the browser and answers the questions people search for.
What we did.
The app, for iPhone
Designed and built by us with Expo (React Native): the seven animals, a conversation by voice or in writing, check-ins before and after each talk, and your seven kept over time with their dates. What it means for users: a person can talk or type, whichever feels easier, and see how they change.
Backend, sign-in and subscriptions
A Supabase backend, Sign in with Apple and Google, a free trial protected with Apple DeviceCheck, subscriptions through RevenueCat, rate limiting and GDPR account deletion. What it means for users: the unglamorous parts work, so the product feels calm and trustworthy.
Private by design
Remembering is off until the person says yes, and what they said is sent to the AI provider only after they give permission. The app shows no adverts. Account deletion is built in. What it means for users: people know where their words go before they say anything.
A website in nine languages
The home page, about, privacy, terms and refunds pages in nine languages, built by hand, with a guide to shadow work, a free seven animals test and pages for the animals people pick. What it means for users: visitors arrive in their own language and can try the idea before they download.
Guides people search for
Eighteen guides, from what shadow work is and how to find your shadow to shadow work prompts, exercises and whether it is dangerous, each written to answer one question first. What it means for users: people searching for shadow work find a page that answers them, then meet the app.
Set up to be found
Page titles, descriptions, headings, structured data, a sitemap and an llms.txt file, so Google and AI tools can read what Symponia is, who it is for and what it is not. What it means for users: the app is explained clearly to the search engines and AI assistants people already ask.
The problems, and how we solved them.
Every project hits real obstacles. These are the ones on this build, each with what it was and what we did about it.
Calm and private
The challenge. Shadow work is personal. An app that feels noisy or nosy loses trust in the first minute.
How we solved it. A quiet look and feel, a pencil-drawn companion, no adverts, memory switched off until the person says yes, and plain words about where their words go.
Keeping a spoken conversation going
The challenge. Talking to an app out loud only works if it feels like a conversation, not a form.
How we solved it. A voice screen where you tap the microphone and talk, the reply is read back, and the same conversation continues in writing if you prefer.
A free trial that cannot be abused
The challenge. Free messages on an AI app can be farmed by anyone who makes new accounts.
How we solved it. The free trial is protected with Apple DeviceCheck, with rate limiting on the backend, so it stays free to try and fair to pay for.
Subscriptions and deletion done properly
The challenge. Apple expects subscriptions and account deletion to work, and users expect to leave when they want.
How we solved it. Subscriptions run through RevenueCat, and GDPR account deletion is built into the app, with the story kept on the phone until the person chooses otherwise.
Nine languages, one calm voice
The challenge. A shadow work conversation loses meaning when it is translated badly.
How we solved it. The app and the website's main pages come in nine languages, and the companion speaks in the person's language.
Being found, honestly
The challenge. People search for shadow work, not for an app, and the topic is easy to oversell.
How we solved it. Eighteen guides, a free test, pages for the animals people pick and the structured data behind them, with the limits stated plainly: it is reflection, not therapy.
Hand-coded, written down, yours.
Every site we build follows the same rules, so you always know what you are getting and who owns it.
Hand-coded, no template
Written by hand for this business. No theme, no page builder, no pile of plugins slowing it down.
Fast, and better for search
Less code means faster pages, and speed is one of the things Google looks at. It also keeps visitors from leaving.
SEO and AEO, written down
What we do for Google and for AI assistants is agreed in writing before we start, then reported in plain English.
You own it
Once the final invoice is paid, the domain, the code, the words and the pictures are yours.
How we work, step by step → What a custom website includes →
Questions, answered.
What did YektaD do for Symponia?
We designed and built the Symponia iPhone app, its backend with sign-in, subscriptions and account deletion, the symponia.io website in nine languages and the App Store launch, and set the website up so Google and AI tools can read it.
Is Symponia on the App Store?
Yes. It is free to download for iPhone, with free messages to try it before paying.
Is Symponia therapy?
No. It is reflection, not treatment, and the website and app say so. If someone is struggling, a therapist or their doctor is the right person to talk to.
Want an app and a website that explain it?
We design and build the app, the website and the way people find them. Custom apps start from £10,000, quoted by scope after a free call. Read about custom software.
Book a free 20-minute call
