About Porch

We believe a feed should end, posts should fade, and the only thing worth counting is conversations started — never impressions or followers. Share the small, true stuff and let it be an invitation, not a performance.

Why we built Porch

Every other feed is a stage. Somewhere along the way the counters turned friends into an audience and posting into a performance — and the quiet, ordinary things, the stuff you’d actually tell a neighbor, stopped feeling worth sharing.

We wanted the opposite: a place that feels like sitting on a porch with the people who’d notice if you disappeared. So we took away the things that make you perform — the like counts, the comment pile-ons, the algorithm deciding who matters — and kept only what makes you reach out.

It’s small on purpose. Capped at the number of people you can really keep up with. And the feed ends — so you can close the laptop and go knock on someone’s door.

How Porch works

Different on purpose.

• ✕No likes. Nothing here is keeping score.
• ✕No comment section. If something moves you, knock — it starts a private chat.
• ✕No algorithm. Newest first, from people you actually know. The feed ends.
• ✓Neighbors, not followers. Every connection is mutual. Max 250.
• ✓Posts fade after 30 days. Share for now, not for a permanent record.

What you can do here

Knock

The only thing you can do to a post. It opens a private chat with whoever shared it, with the post attached. They privately see how many people knocked — no one else ever does.

Keep

Quietly save a post to your own journal. The author is never told. No public “saves,” no signal to game.

Group porches

When a few neighbors knock on the same post, the author can open one shared chat for everyone who reached out. Temporary on purpose — it folds up after 48 quiet hours.

Communities

Local, activity-based crews — run clubs, pickup games, studios. Each has its own porch that never spills into your main feed. Join to make plans and meet people nearby.

Events & RSVP

Post a plan; neighbors say going, interested, or can’t make it. Going pulls you into the event’s chat. Only the host sees the tally — no public headcounts.

Polls & ratings

Ask the porch a question, or get a quick 1–5 star read. Anonymous, no leaderboards — it’s community input on a topic, not a popularity contest.

The Windowsill

A window into your life — a wall of the things that actually matter to you. Each window is a picture with a prompt behind it; an invitation to ask, not a highlight reel.

Video calls

Face to face, from any chat. Video only — no audio-only hiding, no camera off. Being seen is the whole point.

Quiet hours

No notifications from 9pm to 8am. You haven’t missed anything. That’s the point.

What Porch doesn’t have

The absences are the feature.

• ✕Likes, hearts, or reaction counts
• ✕Comment sections and public replies
• ✕An algorithmic feed or “recommended for you”
• ✕Follower counts — your neighbor number is yours alone
• ✕Ads, tracking-for-targeting, or “people you may know”
• ✕Infinite scroll — the feed ends
• ✕A permanent record — posts fade in 30 days

House rules

There’s really only one, and everyone agrees to it on the way in: keep it kind. No likes, no comments, no algorithm, no performing. Knock to start a conversation. Treat the porch like it’s someone’s home — because it is.

The one place neighbors write for the whole town is The Porch Press, your local paper — so every piece there is read before it runs. The Community Guidelines spell out what belongs and how we review it.

Questions

Is it really capped at 250 neighbors?

Yes. Every connection is mutual, and 250 is roughly the most people anyone can actually keep up with. Quality over quantity, enforced.

What happens to my posts after 30 days?

They fade from every feed. You can archive your own to keep them visible only to you; otherwise they’re gone. Share for now, not for a permanent record.

Can people see who I follow, or how many neighbors I have?

No. There’s no “following” — connections are mutual — and your neighbor count is visible only to you.

What happens when I knock?

A private chat opens with the author, with the post attached as context. The author privately sees how many people knocked; no one else ever does.

Can strangers message me?

No. A new one-on-one chat only opens between mutual neighbors (unless you’ve opened your settings to everyone). In a community or on a shared post, you coordinate in the open porch — not a stranger’s DM.

Is there an app?

Porch runs in your browser today. A native iOS app is in the works.

How does Porch make money?

No ads, and no selling your attention. Porch is early — but the rule that won’t change is that the product works for you, not for advertisers.