Why I'm building Stiva: my antidote to information overload
We are constantly bombarded. We open social media during a lunch break, scroll through the feed, and stumble upon dozens of interesting links, articles we’d like to dive into, or insights that could be useful.
But time is short, and the "snackable" format of modern content pushes us to consume everything at lightning speed.
The result? We read superficially, falling victim to FOMO, accumulating information without actually absorbing it. We end up being consumed by the content, rather than treasurying it.
It is from this reflection, and a personal need, that I started developing Stiva, my "Read It Later" app.
The immediacy of a personal space
There are already excellent apps in this category on the market, long-standing tools that have paved the way and that I respect deeply. However, I felt the need to explore a different path, founded on immediacy and true ownership of one’s digital library.
I wanted an app that was ready to use from the very first launch, one that didn’t ask me to create yet another account before I could even save my first link. I wanted to build an intimately personal space, designed for strictly individual use, where every saved article resides physically and locally on my device to always be available offline.
The goal wasn’t to lean on an external service, but to forge a tool of my own: a quiet corner, ready to welcome me instantly, where it’s just me and the readings I truly want to focus on.
Why "Stiva"?
When I had to choose a name, I wanted something that held real meaning for me. In Italian, a stiva is the cargo hold of a ship, the space designated to store and protect the cargo during a journey.
This is exactly what the app does: it is a safe place to store your precious cargo (articles, essays, long reads) while you navigate the chaos of the web.
It is a name that, while it may sound abstract or purely phonetic in other languages in the future, carries a strong identity and a meaning that matters a lot to me.
My daily rhythm
The app is currently developed and I am using it daily, albeit in an internal testing phase. My ideal workflow, the one I designed it for, is very simple: in the morning or during lunch, I come across interesting links, but I know I don’t have the mental clarity or the time to give them the right attention. I save them to Stiva.
In the evening, when everything slows down, I open the app.
Free from distractions and without algorithms suggesting what to watch next, I take advantage of the clean interface to read calmly.
I assimilate the content and give those pieces the value they deserve.
Building in public (and an invitation)
Developing an app alone as an indie developer is an exciting experience. You have total control over the vision and the code, but you inevitably miss one fundamental thing: real-world feedback.
So far, I’ve gathered thoughts from friends and family, but I’m now looking to build a small group of early testers for the coming months. If you recognize yourself in this need to slow down and regain control over your reading ,and you’d like to help me shape Stiva when the time is right, please reach out to me directly via email.
I am planning to start the first test sessions later this year, so I’ll be sure to get back to you as soon as the first stable build is ready for external eyes.
If you’d prefer to wait for the official release but want to stay updated, you can join the waitlist here to be notified as soon as the app becomes public:
In the next post, I’ll go into a bit more detail about how Stiva is built on the inside, but for now, I just wanted to tell you why I decided to set sail.
