decafDownload

Get space from your texts.

Decaf is a calm iMessage app that notifies you of time-sensitive texts on Desktop or a Light Phone, and organizes the rest. Reply at your own pace.

Download for Mac

Free for 14 days.

Decaf is a Mac app that gives you space from the overwhelming stream of checking and replying to texts.

It organizes your inbox, and notifies you of time-sensitive textsdjulesnowcan you meet at 4:30 instead? on your Desktop or Light Phone.

Unplug, with the peace of mind that you’re not missing an important text or upsetting loved ones.

When you have the space, reply intentionally on a thoughtfully designed Desktop app.

Go decaf.

Two paths to regain headspace.

Decaf Desktop

iMessage at your own pace.

Reply to iMessages without the overwhelm, in a thoughtfully designed app.

Decaf Desktop

A thoughtfully designed iMessage app that organizes your inbox and notifies you of time-sensitive texts.

The Decaf window at rest: Important | All unread, with jules, sam under Later, and the Lake House group chat
The Important list: one has waited since friday, jules
A thread with jules in Decaf: the messages, and the compose box below
The Important list, with nothing else on it
  • no typing dots
  • no unread counts
  • no message previews

  1. Run Decaf on your Mac desktop.

  2. Organize your inbox by groups, threads to reply to later, 2FA codes, and unknown numbers. Decaf intelligently flags time-sensitive texts.

  3. Use it to reply to iMessages intentionally, when you have the space. Designed to help you focus on replying to messages one at a time.

  4. Stripped of distracting or addictive UX/UI — no message previews, unread counts, or typing dots.

Decaf + Light Phone

A system that allows you to switch to a minimalist phone, and still stay connected for logistics, work, and loved ones — on your terms.

A hand holding a Light Phone up against trees

  1. Keep your current iPhone docked at home.

  2. Get a second line (Light/minimalist phone or iPhone) with only the apps you need.

  3. Decaf relays important texts to your second line in real-time, ensuring you're always in the loop on time-sensitive texts. Reply to these messages by texting Decaf directly.

This is the first approach we've found that makes having a minimalist phone realistic. You get the headspace you're craving, but all your chats stay blue, you don't miss out on plans (even spontaneous plans in group chats), and your friends feel like you're still reachable.

Features

Features

On Decaf Desktop

The Mac app, in either setup.

A dot on what's important.

Texts that need you are marked with a small dot. Switch to Important to see only those.

Notifications for the important ones.

Your Mac lets you know when something time-sensitive comes in. The rest waits in the list.

Later.

Set aside a thread you can't answer yet. It waits under the others until you're ready.

Organized by group.

Sort threads into groups you name, like family or the friend club.

Rules in plain English.

Tell Decaf who should always reach you, or what can wait. It reads each rule back before keeping it.

  • “mom always gets through”
  • “group chats wait until 7am”

No message previews.

The list shows who wrote. You see what they said when you open the thread.

Minimalist monochrome.

No addictive UI, nothing blinking.

Everything iMessage does.

Search, images, voice notes, emoji, attachments.

On your second phone

With the full setup. It all works by text, so a flip phone is enough.

Important texts, relayed.

Time-sensitive texts arrive as they come in, in one thread from Decaf.

Reply by text.

Text Decaf your reply. It goes out from your iMessage, so the thread stays blue.

  • “reply maya: be there in 15”

Open a line.

Every text from one person or group comes through until the time you set. Then the line closes.

  • “open friend club until midnight”

Group chats that need you.

A group message comes through when your name comes up or a plan is being made.

Login codes.

Two-factor codes come through the moment they arrive, even overnight.

Ask about your threads. Plus

Text Decaf a question and it answers from your conversations.

  • “what time did sam say for dinner?”

Why we built it

Why we built it

  1. Texts come in all day, all in one place.

  2. The habit: check often and skim for what’s important.

  3. Reading text previews while skimming opens tabs in the mind.

  4. Guilt from not replying creates a cycle of avoidance and overwhelm.

The sea at dusk, one swimmer far out
The Decaf window: Important | All unread, with jules, sam under Later, and the Lake House group chat

  1. Compulsive phone checking is partly caused by the fear of missing an important message.

  2. Checking for something important becomes a neurochemical slot machine — ninety-six checks a day, each one a bet that something important came through.

  3. Each check lowers your baseline dopamine and derails your attention for twenty-three minutes¹ — diminishing clarity of thought, presence, and creative momentum.

    ¹ Gloria Mark, University of California, Irvine — research on attention and task interruption.

  4. Decaf calms this fear by notifying you only if something time-sensitive or important arises to reply to.

  5. Peace of mind means less phone checking. And subsequently, less interruptions from creativity, presence, and focus throughout the day.

  6. Come back to an organized inbox. Read one conversation at a time, reply, or leave it for later.

The setup

The setup

Push notifications and replies on your desktop app, no change to phone.

Important messages relayed to a minimalist second phone line, reply to them by texting Decaf directly.

An iPhoneiPhonedocked at home
A Light Phone IIIMinimalist PhoneLight Phone / iPhone SE
Decaf Desktop on a MacBook Pro: the important | all unread toggle, with jules and Lake House listed
Decaf Desktopnotifies you when something important comes throughrelays important texts to your second line, in real-time

Plugged in, on Wi‑Fi: your laptop relays while it's awake. Always on: run Decaf on an old laptop or Mac Mini (~$300) for always-on text-relaying when your laptop is offline.

The model

The model

What does it run on?

Completely private, open-sourced AI — a local model on your Mac, and a larger sealed model on Tinfoil.

Is it private?

Completely. Your texts are scrambled on your Mac before they leave, and only unscrambled inside a sealed Tinfoil computer that no one can look into. Not us, not anyone. 2FA codes never go to any server.

Pricing

Pricing.

$20 one-time purchase

Decaf for Mac. It sorts your iMessages, relays the important ones to your phone, and lets you reply by text.

Add Plus for $4 a month Recommended

A fully secure model that’s better at understanding context for filtering texts. You can also ask it about your threads.

Ask itdid anyone reply about the tickets?

Free for 14 days.

FAQ

Questions.

My number is already on my Light Phone. Can I still use Decaf?

Yes, with one change. Decaf needs your main number in an iPhone at home, because that keeps your texts on iMessage. Move the number back to the iPhone and give your Light Phone a number of its own. Your carrier can usually do both in one visit.

Does my iPhone have to stay on?

Yes. Leave it plugged in at home with Text Message Forwarding on, and enter its passcode at least every three days. If it needs you, Decaf says so on your Mac.

Does my Mac have to stay on?

Decaf relays while your Mac is awake. To keep it relaying with your laptop closed, run it on a Mac that stays home, plugged in, like an old laptop or a Mac mini.

What does it cost in all?

$20 once for Decaf, plus $4 a month if you add Plus. Your Light Phone or flip phone needs its own phone line, billed by your carrier as usual.

What's the smallest way to try it?

The desktop app alone. Run Decaf on your Mac, turn on notifications, and keep your iPhone exactly as it is. Nothing moves, and you can stop any time.

What if the group chat is planning something tonight?

Decaf relays time-sensitive group chat logistics, like when your name comes up or plans are being made, so you're never out of the loop.

What about 2FA codes?

Codes texted to your number land in Decaf's codes group and relay to your second line, so banking, work, and tickets keep working.

Does it work with a flip phone?

Yes. From a Light Phone or flip phone, you can text Decaf in plain English over SMS, and it asks before anything sends as you.

Do I need to be technical?

No. You download the Mac app and follow the setup. If you want the always-on option, an old laptop or Mac Mini does the job.

What leaves my Mac?

With Standard, only what you text Decaf from your phone, with the names of your open conversations. With Plus, also a copy of each incoming text with names, numbers and links taken out, and the conversation you ask about. Login codes, photos and voice notes never go. Anything that leaves is scrambled first, and only unscrambled inside a sealed computer at Tinfoil that no person can look into, including us and Tinfoil. With Standard, turn plain-English texting off and nothing leaves at all.

Decaf for Mac.

Free for 14 days.

Download for Mac

Download for Mac

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