We set ourselves a challenge

Building in public. Two weeks in, fourteen to go.

Here is the challenge we have set ourselves: eight sprints, sixteen weeks, to build a messaging app that is genuinely safe. Safe for young people, and for the people who support them. The clock started on the first of June and runs to late September.

For a year and a half this lived in research: hundreds of conversations with practitioners, charities, and young people, all pointing at the same gap. Now it gets built in the open, sprint by sprint, so you can watch it take shape.

Sprint one: the foundations

This first sprint was the groundwork that lets everything else be trusted:

• Secure servers in Europe. Locked down, with the data staying in Europe and very strict control.
• Safety checks on every change. Every change is scanned for security holes, leaked secrets, and personal data before it ships.
• A private, throwaway copy for every change. Each one gets its own safe space to be tried out first.
• Regular encrypted backups, with the restore tested. A backup only counts once you have restored it, so we test it.

Some might consider this the boring work, but I love it. Getting everything as right as possible. Devs I’ve worked with might recognise that in me. Seeing the foundation take shape gives me a huge confidence boost.

Funny how “field engineer” is a thing now. I’ve felt like one for the past year or more, deep in the sector and deep in the code at the same time.

Why the clock matters

Sixteen weeks is tight, and that is the point. I keep hearing how hard people have it right now, and the honest response is to ship something that helps. My son turns one soon, and he is a big part of why I keep going.

Sprint one is done. The foundation is solid. Next up is the part you will actually use.