A tiny critter stays on the original webpage, tracks real reading time, saves your place, and quietly celebrates progress. No new reading inbox.
Join the 30-person betaFree for selected testers · Chrome desktop · 2 weeks
The problem is not saving. It is staying long enough to finish, or remembering where you stopped.
Most read-later tools ask you to build another habit: leave this page, save it somewhere else, then remember to return.
Your critter does the opposite. It stays where the reading is already happening.
This is the working Chrome extension. The bookmark is temporary art; the reading behavior is what the first cohort will test.
You have the main thread now.
It pauses when the tab disappears or you step away for two minutes.
The article you came back toexample.com · 8 min · Well paused
ResumeA long essay you finishedpublication.com · 13 min · Finished
OpenResume the original page with your last position, progress, and reading time.
6:18 active reading · 42%
An intentional stop becomes a saved next step, not a failed session.
Save it. Add it to an inbox. Forget the inbox exists. Feel mildly guilty when you find it again.
Start on the page you opened. Read with a little company. Finish it, or save a good stopping point.
No copied article, stripped reader view, or separate content queue.
The timer pauses when the tab disappears or you step away.
Small reactions at 25%, 50%, 75%, and completion. Never full-screen.
Save your place without turning every unfinished article into failure.
The extension sees only the page you start manually. Your companion can be dragged, docked, and tucked into the edge whenever you want less UI.
PageCritters stores the URL, title, active time, numeric progress, and last scroll position in Chrome. It does not store article text, screenshots, quotes, summaries, or the rest of your browsing history.
I’m looking for English-speaking Chrome users who can try it on at least three long articles over two weeks. No ADHD diagnosis required.
I’ll invite testers in small batches. Check your inbox for the confirmation.
The first 30 tell us whether PageCritters earns repeat use before I spend on final character art, accounts, or sync.
No one is charged in the private beta. The price is visible now so the test measures willingness to pay, not just whether the character is cute.
All current beta features for two weeks.
$79/year when paid annually. Planned after the retention test.
Planned features are not in the current beta yet. Final character art is being developed separately.
No. It is a consumer reading and focus tool designed with distractible readers in mind. It does not diagnose, treat, or make medical claims.
No. Reading happens on the original website. The beta stores URL metadata and numeric reading records, not article content.
Automatic messages are rate-limited and disappear after a few seconds. Celebrations stay around the character and never take over the screen.
No. The beta uses temporary interaction art while the illustrated PageCritters cast is developed separately.
Not during the 30-person private beta. If the cohort returns in week two and enough testers would pay, a separate 10-person paid founding cohort opens at the stated USD price.