About DontSnooze

Who we are

DontSnooze is made by Simple Scale FZ-LLC, a small independent software studio. We ship one product at a time. We do not raise money, we do not run ads against your sleep, and we do not sell data. The team is named in the footer of every page on this site.

The app was started because we kept watching ourselves — and the people around us — set goals on Sunday and quietly drop them by Wednesday. Habit trackers, journaling apps, paid coaching, public tweets: none of it stuck. The thing that did stick was having a real person who would notice if we no-showed.

DontSnooze codifies that mechanism. You pick a challenge. You name witnesses. You set a real stake. You prove it on video. If you fail, the cost is public and friction-free to apply. If you succeed, the streak is public too.

What we believe

1. Self-discipline is mostly a story about other people.

The research on commitment devices, observer effects, and implementation intentions is unambiguous: people perform better when someone they care about is watching. We built the product around that empirical core, not around streak gamification or willpower mantras.

2. Real stakes beat aspirational stakes.

Punishments only work when they actually happen. We use a random camera-roll photo as the consequence because it is irreversible, mildly embarrassing, and impossible to fake. There is no opt-out after you have committed.

3. Witnesses are not coaches.

DontSnooze does not pair you with strangers, certified counselors, or AI lifecoaches. Your witnesses are your existing friends. Their job is to notice — not to motivate, fix, or judge.

4. Goals are bigger than wake-ups.

People use DontSnooze for marathon training, study schedules, sober streaks, gym consistency, language practice, screen-time limits, one-off dares like a skydive, and yes, getting out of bed. The product is built for any challenge a friend can watch you do.

How we write

The DontSnooze blog publishes a mix of original frameworks (the Accountability Stack, the Observer Effect taxonomy, the proof-evidence hierarchy) and synthesis of peer-reviewed work in behavior change. Authors we lean on regularly:

• Gail Matthews (Dominican University) — written-goal accountability research
• Peter Gollwitzer (NYU) — implementation intentions
• Robert Zajonc — social facilitation
• Bibb Latané — social loafing & the bystander effect
• Wendy Wood (USC) and Ann Graybiel (MIT) — habit circuitry and context-dependence
• Richard Thaler & Cass Sunstein — commitment devices

Articles are written by the DontSnooze Team. Where a piece relies on first-person field observation from a user, we flag it inline. Where a piece relies on a published study, we name the researcher and the year. We do not publish AI-rewritten listicles, link-bait, or content variants whose only purpose is to game search.

What we do not do

• We do not give medical, psychiatric, or addiction-recovery advice. If you are in recovery, work with a licensed professional. Use DontSnooze as a supplement, not a substitute.
• We do not sell user data. Punishment-pool photos never leave your device unless a challenge fails and you have given explicit permission.
• We do not partner with brands in articles. There are no sponsored posts on this blog.

Press & contact

For press, partnerships, or correction requests: contact@simplescale.tech.

For app support: dontsnooze.io/support.

The legal entity behind DontSnooze is Simple Scale FZ-LLC, registered in the United Arab Emirates. The founder of record is Johann Buscail.