Field Unit · the never list
What we will never build
Field Unit is a regulation tool for children. Most engagement mechanics are designed to make apps hard to put down — and on a kids' wellness product those mechanics don't just cross a line, they undo the work the product exists to do. So here is our list, in writing, where you can hold us to it.
No streaks you can lose
There is no chain to protect, and nothing your child has earned resets at midnight.
Why it's on this list: Streaks convert practice into fear of breaking the chain — the opposite of regulation. Here, consistency is a constellation: stars only ever get added.
No countdowns, no limited-time anything
Nothing your child earns expires, and no offer is ever 'ending soon'.
Why it's on this list: Manufactured urgency trains exactly the nervous-system state this product exists to settle.
No randomized rewards
No loot boxes, no mystery prizes, no spin-to-win. The same action earns the same recognition, every time.
Why it's on this list: Variable rewards are the slot-machine mechanic — they teach compulsive checking, not calming.
No energy meters, no lives
Nothing in your child's world depletes, recharges, or runs out — no energy bars, no hearts, no lives. The only thing counted is how many new missions we generate in a day; that count is the paid part, and it never touches the crisis tools.
Why it's on this list: Rationing access teaches scarcity anxiety and turns a calming tool into a thing to worry about.
No losing
Attempting a step IS completing it. 'Not yet' is a fine answer everywhere, with equal dignity.
Why it's on this list: A failure state in a regulation app punishes a child for being dysregulated — the one thing they came here with.
No punishing 'not yet'
'Not yet' is a fine answer everywhere. Nothing is lost, nothing is taken away, and every tool your child tries counts as skill practice — whether or not the storm passed.
Why it's on this list: Rewarding only the happy answer teaches children to report feelings they don't have (psychologists call it overjustification). Practice has to count on the attempt.
No taking progress back
Stars never go out, badges can't be un-earned, ranks never go away — structurally: the counters only increment.
Why it's on this list: Loss-aversion mechanics keep users anxious about what they might lose. A child's history here only ever grows.
No exit friction
Leaving mid-anything is one tap, always allowed, never shamed, never guilt-tripped with 'are you sure?'.
Why it's on this list: An app about self-regulation should be the easiest thing in the world to put down.
No social comparison between children
No leaderboards, no sibling rankings, no sharing feeds. Each child's sky is their own.
Why it's on this list: Comparison turns practice into performance — and someone's regulation practice should never be another child's scoreboard.
No ads, no data sales
No advertising of any kind, ever. Child profiles are a first name or callsign, an optional age, and an optional note you choose to write about what's been hard lately. Our analytics carry no names, no notes, no mission text; session recording is off.
Why it's on this list: A product for dysregulated children must never have a second customer.
The two promises that anchor it
Storm mode is free forever
A child mid-storm will never hit a paywall, and never waits on an AI model. The crisis tools are built into the app as instant, deterministic content — no model call, no meter, nothing your child waits on. (Afterward, the session saves to your family's private log; the tools never wait for it.) Charging a family in a hard moment is the founding refusal of this product.
The deck closes at 20 a day
Even with a paid pass, new training missions stop at 20 a day — a guard rail, there so nothing automated can ever run up your account. When it closes, it closes warmly and reopens tomorrow; replays and storm mode never close. And honestly: past that point, we'd rather your child go play.
What the paid part actually is
3 personalized training missions are a gift with every account. After that, the Mission Pass is $4.99 for 30 days — a one-time purchase that never auto-renews, with nothing to cancel and nothing lost when it lapses: every mission your family generated stays replayable free, forever.
This page is the contract. If we ever ship something that breaks it, tell us — we'll fix the product, not the page.