Bad timing
A pop-up in the middle of a call or a hard problem gets dismissed without a thought. A few of those and the app gets uninstalled.
Chrome extension Β· in development
Meet Creaky, a little wooden drawing mannequin that lives in your browser. The longer you sit, the stiffer its joints get, neck first. Do a quick stretch and they pop loose. It also books short movement breaks into your Google Calendar around your meetings.
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Demo only: time is sped up and the stretch is pretend.
The problem
Hours of meetings and screen time leave a lot of us stiff in the neck and shoulders by mid-afternoon. In studies, 42 to 63% of office workers report neck pain in a given year (Physical Therapy journal). Most of us have tried a reminder app, and here's why they tend to fail:
A pop-up in the middle of a call or a hard problem gets dismissed without a thought. A few of those and the app gets uninstalled.
Generic "time to stretch!" notifications look like every other alert. Your phone is face down and your watch buzz goes nowhere.
Being told you're "very sedentary" or losing a streak over one busy day is demoralizing, not motivating.
How it works
Creaky sits in a corner of your browser and in Chrome's side panel. You're already in the browser all day, so there's no extra app to remember.
Neck and shoulders, quick yoga, tai chi, or general mobility, in 1, 3 or 5 minute versions with illustrated steps and a timer.
Connect Google Calendar and Creaky drops short "Move" blocks into the real gaps in your day, on its own separate calendar, so a break reads like an appointment.
Do the routine, and Creaky's joints click free. You earn sawdust, keep your streak and level up your mannequin.
Meet Creaky
Creaky is dry, self-deprecating and a bit theatrical. It complains about its own stiff neck, never about you. It never gets hurt and never loses progress, it just gets stiffer and recovers the moment you stretch.
Rewards
Three breaks count as a day. Streak freezes and a weekend toggle mean one hectic day won't wipe you out.
Every break earns sawdust, scaled by length. Spend it on hats, outfits and desk props for Creaky.
Fresh paint, then carved details, then golden joints. Your progress is right there on screen.
A body map of the neck, shoulders, back and hips you've worked, plus a weekly recap of minutes moved.
Pricing preview
These are planned prices and may change before launch. Prices are in US dollars.
$0
Forever
$4.99/mo
or $39/year (about $3.25/mo)
Later
Per seat, pricing to come
Join the waitlist
Waitlist members get first invites to the private beta and a say in which routines and features come first. We'll only email you about Creaky.
Creaky will be in touch when the beta opens. In the meantime, roll your shoulders a couple of times. Creaky would.
FAQ
Creaky is being built now. Waitlist members get the first private beta invites, and everyone on the list hears about the public launch.
It's planned as a Chrome extension first, and it should also run in Chromium browsers like Edge and Brave. Google Calendar comes first, with Outlook / Microsoft 365 planned later. Tell us what you use in the survey so we know what to prioritize.
The plan is for Creaky to create its own separate "Movement" calendar and add blocks only there, never touching your other events. To find gaps between meetings it only needs your busy and free times, not meeting titles or details. You can also skip the connection and import a simple calendar file instead.
No. Creaky is designed to stay quiet during calendar events and full-screen calls, wait for a pause in your typing, and back off if you're clearly busy. Snooze options include "after this meeting."
No. Creaky is a wellness and habit tool for taking regular movement breaks. It isn't a medical device and doesn't diagnose or treat anything. If you have pain or an injury, check with a doctor or physiotherapist, and always ease off any movement that hurts.
No ads are planned. Creaky will have a free plan and an optional paid Plus plan.
A team plan with challenges, Slack and Teams nudges, and privacy-first team totals is planned after launch. Tick the team box when you join the waitlist and we'll reach out.
It's used only to send updates about Creaky and beta invites. It isn't sold, and you can unsubscribe or ask for it to be deleted at any time. The privacy policy has the details.