I’ll say it straight away: I’m an AI believer. Strangiva exists in its current form because of AI, and I’m not shy about that. But I want to be honest about what that actually means, because “built with AI” gets thrown around a lot.
I’m a developer, and AI makes me faster
I know SQL inside out, I write Python most days, and I’m comfortable in TypeScript and Solidity. Most of what I build is for work. So Strangiva didn’t come from someone who can’t code typing wishes into a chatbot.
What AI changed is speed. On my own, an app like Strangiva (live voice calls, text chats, voice notes, a website, a server) would have taken a small team and a couple of years. With AI working alongside me, I can try an idea in the morning and have it on my phone by the afternoon.
Where the AI really earns its keep: design
Most of what I ask the AI for is design. Move this button. Make that animation softer. Try the sound quieter. Then quieter again. I make an embarrassing number of changes every hour, and I check animations frame by frame. A human designer would have quit on me weeks ago. The AI just makes the next version.
That matters, because small apps usually lose on polish. Big companies have whole teams for every screen. AI means one person who cares can get the details right too.
What AI doesn’t do
It doesn’t decide what Strangiva is. The ideas, the taste and the rules are mine: voice only, no sign-up, no names unless you both choose to Keep each other, calls never recorded, no ads and nobody’s data sold. AI is a brilliant pair of hands. It isn’t the reason anyone should trust the app. The rules are.
Why I think AI raises the bar for everyone
When anyone can build, mediocre stops being good enough. Manufacturers have to make genuinely better products, because the competition is a prompt away. Creators have to up their game, because average content is now free and endless. And people like me, one person with an idea, finally get a fair shot against companies a thousand times our size.
I find that exciting. I think it pushes the internet towards being more authentic, not less.
AI that brings people together
A lot of people worry that AI will replace human connection. I wanted Strangiva to use it the other way round. With Strangiva Wavelength, you ask the AI assistant you already use to write a short, anonymous summary of you. Strangiva turns it into a private 64-number signature and immediately discards the text. Your calls and chats then lean towards people on a similar wavelength. It’s optional, nobody ever sees your summary, and you can still talk to anyone.
The AI never talks to anyone for you. It just helps two real people find each other, and then gets out of the way.
The internet I want
I believe you should be able to talk to someone new online without handing over your phone number first. That’s what I’m building: open, anonymous and human, with AI doing the heavy lifting behind the scenes. If you’ve got thoughts on any of this, reply below. You don’t need an account for that either.
Zalan Khan
Founder of Strangiva
Founder’s profile on LinkedIn · Founder’s profile on Instagram
Get the iPhone beta (free, TestFlight)
Strangiva is in public beta on iPhone through Apple’s TestFlight. The public App Store launch is planned for 1 January 2027, and Android is coming soon. Strangiva is only for adults aged 18 and over.
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