About Rift
We just wanted to have fun
with our friends
As a kid, I had a very active imagination. It would run wild with depictions of futuristic bunkers, hideouts, and software. Part of that stuck with me, and I’ve always been waiting for a sleek, loaded dashboard that did everything. I was disappointed for decades.
Instant messaging came close. It defined my young adult years, and for a while it kept getting better. But for the last ten years, I’ve mainly lived in one app. It was fine. It scratched the itch, then it stagnated, then it started making choices my friends and I didn’t want to be around for.
Those childhood dreams surfaced to meet my current need.
Just one window, where I could chat with my friends in my dashboard, with all the other things I wanted to see and do at the same time. I showed some friends. They were ecstatic, and wanted to help.
Now we have Rift.
The obligatory promises section
How Rift stays in good hands
Centralization doesn't have to be the bad guy. It just has to stay in good hands. Here's what that looks like in practice.
Nobody upstairs
No investors, no board, no growth targets. There is no upstairs. The only people we answer to are the ones actually using Rift, which works out well, because we're in voice with them every night.
Nothing here worth stealing
Signup is a username and a password. That's the whole form. No email, no phone, no ID, no stored IP addresses, and DMs we couldn't read if we wanted to. If someone ever cracked Rift open, they'd walk out with a pile of unreadable gibberish that isn't attached to anybody. We sleep fine.
Subscriptions pay the bills
Everything you actually need is free, and free means usable, not a demo. Rift+ adds the cosmetic extras and covers the genuinely expensive stuff like storage. If a small percentage of people subscribe, the lights stay on for everyone else. Your attention was never part of the price.
Adults only, like a lounge
How do we make sure Rift never turns into the thing everyone is fleeing? By not having the problem in the first place. No minors means no ID scans, no data rules written for children, no algorithm babysitting anyone. Grown-up rooms, run by grown-ups. Sorry, kids. This one isn't for you.
My wife hates the app we left with the burning passion of a thousand suns. She loves Rift more than she loves me. At this point I keep it excellent out of pure self-preservation.
Founder, primary engineer, husband