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

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