Shorebound

Write a message, seal it in a bottle, and release it into a digital ocean. Hours or days later it washes ashore on a stranger's phone somewhere in the world. Shorebound is a slow, calm alternative to instant social media. No feeds, no likes, no followers, no ads — just genuine little moments from real people in 200+ countries. HOW IT WORKS • Write a note — writing prompts included if you need inspiration • Choose one of 10 illustrated bottles and release it into the tide • Your bottle drifts, then washes ashore on someone's phone • They face the same choice you will: keep it, or release it back for the next shore EVERY BOTTLE TELLS A STORY Each finder can react and comment, and the thread travels with the bottle — later finders read what earlier ones wrote, like it, and reply. Follow your bottle's journey: every shore it reached and how far it travelled. Keeping a bottle saves it to your collection forever and ends its journey. Releasing sends it onward — but every release raises the chance it sinks. Sunk bottles can be revived with Revive Tokens. 10 BOTTLES, REAL PERKS • Classic — the standard bottle, up to 500 characters • Soda — 1,000 characters and half the sink chance • Milk — extra karma for you and whoever keeps it • Wine — delivers to people near you • Jam — a camera polaroid with a short note • Beer — travels ~30% faster and splits into two bottles • Whiskey — self-destructs after being read once • Drift — voice message only • Ink — dual-camera photo, front and back at once • Rum — 2,000 characters plus photo and voice, sent to a country you choose COLLECT, CONNECT, TRANSLATE • Earn karma when your bottles are kept, and unlock new bottle types • Collect 233 country flags and a wall of polaroids; keep daily streaks and earn achievements • One-tap translation for bottles and chats — processed in the EU, never stored • Private chat opens only when you both choose it after a bottle connection • Anonymous usernames and illustrated avatars; report and block tools, moderation, and age assurance at onboarding WHAT USERS SAY "The idea of messages slowly 'washing ashore' feels surprisingly calming compared to the instant nature of most social apps." — king, CN "It's a unique form of community and collection building with the right amount of nostalgia." — ahmedsabeck, IT PRICING Shorebound is free to try, then a plan that fits — or lifetime access forever. No ads, ever. Paid access keeps the ocean free of bots and spam. Free trials when eligible. If your plan ends, you keep every bottle, conversation, and connection you've made, and can still message existing connections. Subscriptions auto-renew unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the period. Payment is charged to your Apple Account; manage or cancel anytime in Settings. Any unused trial time is forfeited on purchase. Privacy: https://shorebound.io/privacy/ Terms: https://shorebound.io/terms/ Support: https://shorebound.io/support/ Made for iPhone and iPad. Designed for iOS 26.