IRLpad App Icon

Not a notes app.
A digital notepad, IRL.

IRLpad helps you remember — with fixed pages, no scroll, no delete key. Strikethroughs, haptics, and a custom keyboard keep you moving without breaking flow.

Get IRLpadAvailable on iOS
IRLpad - A digital notepad that works like a real one | Product Hunt
IRLpad app running on iPhone showing note-taking interface with strikethrough text
App Store AwardTop 50 Paid Productivity (June 2025)

Notes are broken.

Most apps give you infinite space, perfect formatting, and endless folders.

You organize everything. Remember nothing.

In a world of infinite canvases and productivity features, IRLpad gives you physical limits — on purpose.

IRLpad gives you:

  • 1

    A digital notepad with real constraints — no scroll, no delete key, no undo.

  • 2

    Structure that strengthens memory and focus.

  • 3

    A single page at a time. Just like paper — but always with you.

Side-by-side comparison of a paper notepad and IRLpad app showing the same notes

Science-Backed Design

IRLpad isn't just minimalist — it's built on how the brain actually works. These aren't design choices. They're cognitive tools.

1

Cognitive Load Theory

Working memory handles ~7 things at once.

(Miller, 1956)

Infinite scroll = cognitive overwhelm. IRLpad = finite page. One idea. Done.

2

Zeigarnik Effect

We remember incomplete tasks — if we can see them.

(Zeigarnik, 1927)

Infinite feeds blur boundaries. Pages = visible edges = memory triggers.

3

Embodied Cognition

Movement builds memory.

(Wilson, 2002)

Page flips, strikes, swipes = muscle memory. IRLpad builds that in.

4

Method of Loci

Memory is spatial.

(O'Keefe & Nadel, 1978)

Physical location boosts recall. IRLpad gives each idea a space.

5

Constraints Boost Creativity

Blank slates paralyze. Boundaries clarify.

(Stokes, 2005)

Infinite notes kill momentum. IRLpad's constraints create focus.

6

The Forgetting Curve

You forget 70% of what you don't revisit.

(Ebbinghaus, 1885)

IRLpad makes review natural — you flip back. Like a real notepad.

Key Features

📄

Finite Pages

Forces clarity. You feel done.

🗑️

Fast Swipe to Remove

Swipe quickly to remove a page. Like tearing it out, but cleaner.

✏️

No Delete Key

Strike out instead. Ideas evolve, not vanish.

✍️

Draw + Type

Two-finger swipe switches mode.

📚

Layered Notes

Flip back and see old pages faintly below.

🔄

No Infinite Feed

You write, flip, revisit. That's it.

The Note Experience

No toolbars. No templates. No clutter.
IRLpad is built to feel instant, familiar, and out of the way — just you and the page.

No Delete Key

Text isn't erased — it's crossed out.
Your edits stay visible, so your train of thought never disappears.

One Page at a Time

Each page is finite.
Swipe forward to continue. Swipe fast to remove. Flip back to see what came before.

Type or Scribble

Use your keyboard, your finger, or a stylus.
Switch modes with a two-finger swipe — no menus or interruptions.

IRLpad app showing math notes with both typed text and hand-drawn triangle

Smart Keyboard Controls

Jump to the end of a line or page with a single tap.
Faster than dragging, designed to keep you moving.

Subtle Haptics

Page turns and removals respond with light feedback.
You don't just see it — you feel it.

Small Details. Big Difference.

Handwriting feels smooth. Pages have weight.
And settings live in Settings > IRLpad — where they belong.

What People Are Saying

"

It reminds me of my pocket Moleskine — except I can't lose it in the laundry.

IRLpad User

IRLpad User

"

I used to overthink everything in Notion. Now I just write and turn the page.

IRLpad User

IRLpad User

"

I used to throw everything into Apple Notes and never look at it again. IRLpad makes me actually reread things.

IRLpad User

IRLpad User

"

There's no productivity guilt with this. I write something, strike it out, turn the page, done.

IRLpad User

IRLpad User

"

Apple Notes is where I store things. IRLpad is where I think.

IRLpad User

IRLpad User

"

I've tried Evernote, Craft, all of them. This is the first one that feels like a notebook, not a system.

IRLpad User

IRLpad User

"

There's nothing to customize. And weirdly, that makes it mine.

IRLpad User

IRLpad User

What it does is give your thoughts a page.

A real one. With edges.
IRLpad is for people who think on paper. Who miss notepads but not the bulk.

IRLpad App Icon

Available on iOS

IRLpad