About this app
What Strand does
Free. All features included. Strand is the calmest way to keep a one-second-a-day video journal — no subscription, no ads, no account, no upload. Tap once. Record a second of your life. Tomorrow, do it again. At any moment, hit 'Compile my reel' and Strand stitches every saved second into a single continuous video — a recap of your week, your month, your year. Unlike 1 Second Everyday, Strand is free. Forever. — Tap-to-record: one tap on the camera button captures exactly one second. No long-press, no fiddling. A thin ring fills as the second elapses, then you're done. — Import from Photos: pick a longer clip you already shot, trim it down to one second visually. — Calendar grid: every day is a square. Filled squares show a thumbnail of that day's clip. Tap to play. — Compile your reel: pick a range — last 7 days, last 30 days, this year, all-time — and Strand exports a single MP4 to your Photos. Share via system sheet. — Daily reminder (optional): one gentle notification, at the time you choose. No streak shame. — Privacy by default: no account, no email, no analytics SDK, no third-party tracker. The core capture + compile experience will always be free.
Features
Built to be useful, not noisy.
Tap-to-record one second
Single tap on the shutter triggers a 1.0-second AVCaptureSession recording. A ring fills around the shutter to indicate progress. Auto-stops at 1.0s; no need to hold.
Import + trim from Photos
Open the Photos picker, choose a video, scrub a 1-second window in a custom trimmer view, hit Save.
Calendar grid
Month-grid where every filled day shows a thumbnail of that day's clip. Tap to play; tap a blank day to record it now.
Compile reel
Pick a range (last 7 days / last 30 days / this year / all). AVAssetExportSession stitches every clip in chronological order into a single MP4. Save to Photos or share.
Gentle daily reminder
Optional UNCalendarNotificationTrigger fires once daily at your chosen time. One notification, never spammy. Off by default.
Privacy by default
No account, no email, no analytics SDK, no third-party tracker. Video files live in the app's Documents directory. SwiftData stores file URLs only. We do not have a server.
Why it exists
The problem
1 Second Everyday is the category leader but paywalls long-term use at $49.99/year. Smaller free alternatives are poorly designed with ads + IAPs. There is no iOS app today that is (a) beautifully crafted, (b) fully free with no subscription/no ads/no IAPs, (c) on-device only, and (d) iOS-native.
What's different
How Strand stands out
Other free competitors are ad-supported with poor design. Strand competes on craft + the promise of staying free.
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FAQ
Questions about Strand
How much does Strand cost?▾
Strand is free. All features are included from day one — no subscription, no in-app purchases, no paid tiers. Everything you see in this listing works the moment you install it.
Where does Strand store my data?▾
On your device. Strand is built privacy-first: no account is required, no analytics SDKs, no third-party trackers. Nothing is uploaded to a server we control — the app works without one.
What platforms does Strand support?▾
iOS, on iPhone and iPad. You can find the latest availability on this page.
How do I get support for Strand?▾
Use the Support link on this page, or email support@allthingsn.com. We answer every message and keep responses on the same thread.
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