Bead

Coming soon to iPhone and Android

Three minutes of classic attention exercises.

One bead a day. Honest numbers.

Each day Bead gives you three short exercises, about three minutes in all. Finish them and you string a bead. Every 18 beads, the same four tests come back, so you can see what changed in your own numbers.

iPhone · coming soon Android · coming soon
Bead's Home screen: a strand of wooden beads around a large ink drop, Bead 15, and the three exercises for today.

How it works

  1. Three short exercises

    Find the numbers in order, follow the middle arrow, hold a path of lights in mind. About three minutes a day.

  2. One bead a day

    Each day you finish strings one bead, and 18 make a strand. There are no streaks: skip a day and nothing is lost.

  3. The same tests every 18 beads

    A check-in repeats the same four tests, so you compare with your own first day, not with anyone else.

The Count Up exercise: a five-by-five grid of numbers to tap from 1 to 25 in order.

18 exercises, four skills

Most follow tasks from published attention and memory research, rebuilt for a phone and explained in plain words. Each one has 30 levels, from Starter to Master, and starts easy.

Speed

  • Count UpScanning fast for what you need
  • Count DownScanning fast, counting the other way
  • Two ColorsSwitching between two orders as you search
  • TwinSpotting the one repeat in a crowd
  • Odd OnePicking out the one that differs
  • Put TogetherSeeing a whole from scattered parts

Control

  • Middle ArrowGoing with the middle arrow while the others pull
  • InkAnswering the ink, not the word
  • BiggerJudging the number, not how big it looks
  • MotionFollowing the rule when the word says otherwise

Memory

  • Light PathHolding a path of squares in order
  • Path BackHolding a path and giving it back reversed
  • SequenceHolding a short list in order
  • MissingHolding a picture of what was there
  • Look BackKeeping track of where things were, a few steps back

Stamina

  • Not 3Holding back on the rare 3 while tapping a steady rhythm
  • Long WatchStaying with a long, plain stream
  • TrackFollowing several moving things at once
Your progress: each exercise with the level of the first try, the level now, and the same-test numbers side by side.

Progress you can read

Bead shows where you started on each exercise, where you are now, and the numbers from tests that never change, side by side. Levels never go down, and every level has its own bead: clay, wood, stone, bronze, jade, amber, ink pearl.

What we don’t claim

Bead is practice, not treatment. It is not a medical device and does not diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any condition.

We don’t claim that practice in Bead makes you better at work, school, or anything else in daily life. Early gains are often just getting used to a task, and Bead tells you so.

If attention or memory problems get in the way of your life, talk to a healthcare professional.

Private by design

No account. Your answers, beads and results stay on your phone. No ads, no tracking.

Subscriptions go through Apple or Google, so we never see your card. The privacy policy says everything in plain words.

Bead Plus

Your first check-in is free. Daily practice needs Bead Plus.

Yearly

$29.99per year

Monthly

$7.99per month

Prices in US dollars; sales tax may apply. Subscriptions renew automatically until you cancel. Cancel anytime in your App Store or Google Play settings, or in Bead › Settings › Manage subscription. See the Terms of Use.