Principles

What kith is built around.

A short list of rules we hold ourselves to. They are not aspirational. If we ever break one, we owe you an explanation, in plain language, before it ships.

Local by default.

Your profile lives on your phone. Encrypted at rest, with a key only your device holds. We do not keep a copy on a server. We do not have one to lose, leak, or hand over.

Nothing leaves without your hand on it.

No background sync. No silent uploads. No analytics on your answers. Every time something leaves your phone, it is because you asked it to, and you can see what was sent.

A fingerprint, not a profile.

When you compare with someone, only a mathematical fingerprint of who you are and what you're looking for is shared. The raw answers stay where they were written. The fingerprint can be compared. It cannot be read back into a diary.

Mutual, or not at all.

Compatibility is a two-sided question. Both people have to fit each other's picture for kith to suggest the connection. There are no one-way interest signals, no shadow scoring, no optimisation for who can be persuaded to talk.

Self and seeking, kept apart.

We keep two distinct representations: one for who you are, one for what you're looking for. They are not collapsed into a single signal. Keeping them separate is what lets matching be reciprocal, and what lets you change one without rewriting the other.

Inspectable, not magical.

You can see the traits the app uses to think about you. If something looks wrong, you can correct it. We do not hide behind "the algorithm." Where there is a model, there is a way to read what it concluded.

One job.

kith exists to help you find a few people you click with, then get out of the way. We do not optimise for time spent in the app. A good outcome is that you stop opening it for a while.

Plain language.

The product talks like a person. No "AI-powered." No "revolutionary." No tracked uppercase labels. We say what something does, in the smallest number of words that are still true.

Slow on purpose.

We let people in slowly, in small groups. It is more important that the people on kith are the right shape for it than that there are a lot of them.

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