What is a non-social network?

Why do we need a non-social network?

Social networks are designed to pull people outward: comparing, showing off, fear of missing out. Whatever can be measured, people will race for; whatever scrolls forever, people will scroll forever.

A non-social network does the opposite: it removes the numbers, gives every list an end, and leaves what you write for yourself on your own device.

How is it different from a social network?

Ten principles for looking inward

These are the limits we set for ourselves at the start. Whenever we hesitate over a new feature, we read this list again.

1. No numbers to show off No likes, no followers, no public view counts. Nobody is scoring you.
2. No endless feed No recommendation algorithm. Every list ends: “That's all. Time for bed.”
3. Talk with strangers ends at dawn At 5:00 a.m. Vietnam time the chat rooms are swept clean. Nothing is kept.
4. Private by default Diary, letters and photos are encrypted on your device. Not even SAIGONSCIENCE can open them.
5. Anonymous by nickname and pixel avatar No real portraits in shared spaces, no profile for others to study.
6. Deliberately slow Letters to strangers travel for hours, like the post office. Chat rooms stay small.
7. Gentle reminders to stop Sit too long and you'll hear “Your mum's calling you for dinner!”. Too late at night and grandma tells you to sleep.
8. No comparing Games have no global leaderboard, only your own record.
9. No tracking ads, no selling data We count a few plain numbers ourselves, without cookies: page views, how often each game, each program and each toolbox tool is opened (only the name, never what you do inside), button presses in the café downstairs (never who pressed them; pressing “I've treated you” while signed in sends a thank-you letter to your own Mailbox; if you pressed it before the café learned to send letters, your device remembers, and the letter arrives the next time you open Gác Xép signed in), and the days you visited (to see how Gác Xép is used). The chat lobby shows how many people came in today and when a stranger was last there: numbers only, no names. For the once-a-day Tarot draw the server remembers the layout, the shuffle seed and the cards you picked (so reloading can't re-deal), for a year and then deletes them; your question and reading notes stay in your vault. The one exception is Matching in Feng shui: when you compare two people, the server keeps their names, birth dates and genders with your account, visible only to the site owner; the list of people you save stays in your vault. The sky outside the porch window in Little Pet Corner: if you allow it, your location rounded to about 10 km goes straight to Open-Meteo (a free weather service) to fetch the weather, and Gác Xép never receives or stores it; if you don't, the porch shows Saigon's sky. Never sold, never tied to an advertising profile; diaries, letters, photos and your reading journal are encrypted and unreadable to anyone else.
10. Kindness is the default Only gentle replies: 🫂 a hug, 🤝 me too, 🌱 thank you for sharing. There is no downvote.

We would rather drop a good feature than break one of these ten.

Frequently asked questions

Is a non-social network still a social network?

It's how we describe the design, not a classification. The Attic has no public profiles, no feed, and nobody follows anybody. We kept the warm parts of the internet and dropped the parts that make people compare.

Is The Attic free?

Yes. There are no ads and there won't be. The Attic runs on the team's own pocket money and a few coffees from friends at the café downstairs.

Do I need to sign up?

Not to play the 90s games or visit the 90s museum. To keep a diary, raise pets or ask the Five Fates, you climb up (sign up) with just a nickname and a password, no email or phone number.

Where is my data?

Your diary, letters to the future and photos are locked on your own device with your own password. The server only keeps meaningless characters, so even we can't read them. No tracking ads, no selling data.

Who is The Attic for?

People aged 18 and over, especially anyone who grew up in the 90s and wants a moment back in childhood: Line 98, caro, ô ăn quan, the frog-shaped fan, cassette tapes, pagers.

Why the Windows 98 look?

Not only nostalgia. An old computer has something modern apps lost: an ending. Windows can be closed, programs finish and stop, and the Shut Down button is right there.

How do you say “Gác Xép”?

Gác xép (roughly “gahk sep”) is the low loft under the roof of a Saigon tube house. People also type it as “Gac Xep”. The English name is The Attic: Childhood Edition.

Who makes The Attic?

The SAIGONSCIENCE team in Saigon. The two who get asked the most are Koi (CTO) and Tobi (Head of Product).