Product studio · Croydon, UK
Southwood Technologies builds small, private apps for the people you actually know — each one built around something you're doing together, not a feed to scroll or an audience to perform for.
Two apps in development. iOS and Android.
The problem
Somewhere in the last decade, the feed stopped being about the people you know. It filled up with celebrities, brands, creators you've never met, and posts marked sponsored and suggested for you. Your friends are still in there, technically — buried under an algorithm tuned to keep you watching, not to keep you close. The apps got very good at holding your attention and very bad at the one thing they were named for. Social media became media. The social part quietly left.
What's different
We build the opposite of an open feed. Every Southwood app is a small, closed space for a group who already know each other — no strangers, no follower counts, no algorithm deciding what you see, nothing to perform for. And each one is built around one real activity, so it has a reason to exist beyond scrolling. When the group is a handful of people and the purpose is specific, an app can go back to being social — not a stage, just a room.
What we're building
Each does one thing, for one small group. Both are in development for iOS and Android.
A private book club for your group. Pick the next read together, then talk about it chapter by chapter as you go — discussion that unlocks with your progress so nothing gets spoiled, and a quiet record of everything you've read together.
A small, closed space for a few people chasing the same goal. Check in, see where everyone's at, and keep each other honest — no audience, no performance, just the people who agreed to show up.
How we work
We'll never sell your attention. No ads, no sponsored posts, no feed tuned to keep you scrolling. If a thing isn't worth paying for, we haven't finished building it.
We use AI across design and build, so a small studio moves faster than its size — more time making things, less time on busywork.
We'd rather put a real, rough version in your hands early than polish in private for a year.
Every app is used by the people it's for — actual reading groups, actual friends — long before anyone else sees it.
A good tool gets out of your way. We measure success by whether your group works, not by hours logged.
Privacy
Privacy isn't a setting we bolted on — it's the whole reason these apps exist. Small, closed rooms only work if what happens inside them stays there. Here's exactly what that means for your data.
Every room is closed. Only the people invited into your group can see what's shared inside it — no public profiles, no discoverable feed, no strangers.
No ads means no ad tracking. We don't build a profile of you to sell, and there are no third-party trackers following you around the app.
We don't sell your data and we don't hand it to advertisers or data brokers. It's used to run the app for you and your group — nothing else.
We collect the minimum required to make things work — no quietly hoovering up contacts, location, or anything a small group app has no reason to ask for.
Everything moving between your phone and our servers is encrypted, so what your group shares stays between your group.
Your account is yours to close. Delete it whenever you like and your personal data goes with it — no hoops, no retention traps.
Both apps are still in development, so these commitments are how we're building — not marketing after the fact. Want the full detail before launch? Email hello@southwoodtechnologies.com and a real person will answer.
Support
We're a small studio, which has one nice side effect: when you reach out, you get a person who actually builds the app — not a ticket number and a bot.
Questions, feedback, or just want to say hello? Drop us a line and we'll get back to you.
hello@southwoodtechnologies.comSomething broken or behaving oddly? Tell us what happened and we'll dig in — bug reports go straight to the people who can fix them.
Send a bug reportWant to help shape Chapterhouse or Resolution? We're looking for real groups to try them before launch. Come and be part of it.
Join the testersSmall team, real replies — we usually get back within a couple of days.
Southwood Technologies