Kintsugi is made in Belfast by Software and AI Services Ltd. It is a small operation, and the app is built by the person who wanted it to exist.
Why it exists
The wellbeing shelf is crowded, and most of what is on it is built on the same handful of tricks: a streak you will eventually break, a number that goes red, a notification engineered to make you feel behind. Those mechanics work, in the sense that they move engagement metrics. They also do real harm to the people they are pointed at hardest — someone in recovery, someone whose relationship with food is already fraught, someone whose attention does not obey them.
Kintsugi is an attempt to build the useful parts without those mechanics, and to find out what is left. Quite a lot, as it turns out, but the tools have to be honest about being tools rather than promising a transformation.
How it is built
To a written engineering standard, with a data protection impact assessment done before launch rather than after a problem. Access to health data is denied by default and audited both ways. Deletion is a real deletion with a record of it. The dull, expensive parts were done first, because they are the parts you cannot retrofit once there are people in the system.
How it is paid for
Everything that helps someone in difficulty is free, permanently. There are no adverts and there is no arrangement where the data is the product, because both of those change what an app is for. The money comes mostly from the businesses reaching people through it — practitioners, clubs and classes — which means the incentive and the purpose point the same way.
Who is behind it
Software and AI Services Ltd is a software company in Belfast building products in health, wellbeing and connected care. Kintsugi is its own product rather than client work, which is why it can be built to a standard rather than to a deadline.
There is a fuller version of this on the Kintsugi app’s own about page, including the free-forever promise in Warren’s own words.
Where it came from
Kintsugi exists because of my ex-wife. She helped me see the need for it, this helped me have the vision for what it should be. Many thanks Michaela.
I built this app because, honestly, I needed it. I couldn't find anything that was quite right or that did it well enough. I'm a big believer in psychology and passionate about certain schools of it — I wanted to learn more, make it easier to apply, and have my hand on the resources. I wanted to train in certain things and nothing brought it all together. In March 2024 I was confirmed ADHD with Autism (ASD) — AuDHD — much to the amusement of people around me. I don't mean that in a bad way: mostly they said "what, you didn't know?" Well, no, I didn't. I thought many things about me were my isms — turned out they were ADHD traits. I started to read and found out so much more, but realised the tools and resources I needed weren't around. I struggled with many things, but I also now know that handled properly, ADHD is my superpower. In that journey of self-discovery I noticed how many people around me were going through some sort of addiction or rehab — and how many showed signs of a problem they didn't know about or denied. So, time for some inner reflection of my own: I realised I personally wanted to stop drinking. This app helps with that journey if you need it, and brings together resources, help, support and a full community. I wanted to bring together the resources and training that help with past traumas, or a life-changing moment happening right now — depression, anxiety, bereavement, divorce and separation, the list goes on. The app gives you tools, coping mechanisms, and the psychology behind them: Stoic practices, breath work, mindfulness, meditation. It covers your fitness, eating and sleeping, and shows you how each affects the others. It helps you capture thoughts and ideas, journal, and manage your time and focus with principles that actually work — timeboxing, the Pomodoro technique, doing the hardest thing first. Use as much or as little as you want. It's all free. One thing matters enough to say plainly: none of this replaces a doctor or a therapist. Where you're in crisis, this app's job is to point you at real support, fast — and it does. We have a directory of clubs, groups, therapists, physios and related health businesses — please support them. Their listing fees are what keep this app free, and I give my word it stays free for as long as the app exists. If you love it, there's a donate button too — and an honest review on the App Store or Google Play genuinely helps more than you'd think. I'd love your feedback and ideas; whatever's possible, I'll try to build. The app is age-gated: it works from 13+, but certain features stay locked until age is proven and validated. The services and businesses listed aren't recommendations from me or the app — but every one was vetted to be here in the first place. Is this app for you? Do you have an addiction, a past trauma, a life crisis? No? Well — it still offers focus and time management, Stoic practice, mindfulness, breath work, meditation, yoga, fitness and calisthenics training, food and sleep tracking, and hobby, group and club discovery. Good luck. I really hope you enjoy it and it helps a lot. Peace and love — Warren (Batman to some)