FAQ
Fair questions
What Ho-Hum is, what it isn’t, and what happens to what you write.
What is Ho-Hum?
Ho-Hum is an iPhone app for adults. Write a line or two about the dull parts of your day. Ho-Hum writes a deliberately boring story from those lines and reads it aloud.
Who is Ho-Hum for?
Adults. The stories are about grown-up dullness: inboxes, standups, the laundry.
What counts as a dull part?
Anything ordinary. The long standup, the grey inbox, the meeting that could have been a note, the queue at the post office. A line or two is plenty. Ho-Hum does the rest.
Who writes the stories?
An AI writer writes a fresh opening from your lines each time, and an AI voice reads it aloud. Stories are generated and can be wrong or odd.
Is the whole story about my day?
The opening is. Ho-Hum writes a deliberately uneventful opening from your lines. The rest of the story comes from our recorded library, read by the same AI voice, so it carries on at the same unhurried pace.
Can I change how the story sounds?
Pick a tone and set the pace, from lively to mercifully dull.
What if I don’t feel like writing anything?
Pick a topic instead: ready-made stories about one dull subject, such as a lighthouse keeper’s logbook or a ferry across a flat lake. No writing needed.
What happens when the story ends?
It fades. Then it stops, or continues into a soft loop of room tone, rain, ocean or fan for up to an hour. Afterwards, a short note tells you how long the story played and when your next bedtime is.
Is it a sleep app?
It’s a story app that tries very hard to be boring. Ho-Hum is not a medical device or a crisis service. If you have trouble with your nights that won’t let up, a doctor is the right call.
Does Ho-Hum measure anything about my night?
No. Ho-Hum reports how long a story played. It doesn’t know or record anything else about your night.
What happens to what I write?
Your day goes to an AI writer and a voice service, to be written and read aloud. We delete your notes from our servers once your phone has the whole story. We never put a story written from your notes into the shared library or show it to anyone else. The privacy policy has every detail.
Will my name be in the story?
Only if you want it there. Turn on “Put me in my stories” and Ho-Hum uses your first name in stories from your day. Leave it off and your name never leaves your phone.
Where are my stories kept?
Every story you’ve heard is kept on your phone and backed up to your own private iCloud database, which we can’t read. Delete a story in the app and it leaves your phone and your iCloud.
Do I need an account?
No. Ho-Hum has no account and does not display ads.
What does it cost?
Your first story is free. After that, Ho-Hum is a subscription: up to three stories a night that begin with your day, plus topic and library stories, as many as you like. There are weekly, monthly and yearly plans. Monthly and yearly start with a 7-night free trial for new subscribers; weekly has no trial. Prices are shown in the app and vary by region.
How do I cancel?
Any time, in Settings > [your name] > Subscriptions. The subscription renews automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the current period ends.
What if I write about something heavy?
If what you write suggests you might harm yourself or someone else, Ho-Hum shows a card with helpline options instead of a story from your day. If life feels heavy right now, help is there any time: Find a helpline.
When can I get it?
Ho-Hum is coming to iPhone. Join the waitlist and we’ll email you when it’s out.
How do I reach you?
, or write to support@hohum.app. More on the contact page.