Meet Noscroll: The AI bot that doomscrolls for you
▼ Summary
– Noscroll is an AI-powered bot that browses social feeds and news sites, then texts users only important updates, aiming to replace doomscrolling.
– Founder Nadav Hollander built Noscroll to stay informed on X without its toxic culture, comparing the platform’s content to “fast food.”
– Users connect their X account and chat with the AI agent to specify topics of interest, receiving curated news digests via text at a chosen cadence.
– The bot pulls information from sources beyond X, including news sites, Reddit, and research papers, and can alert users to breaking news in real time.
– Noscroll costs $9.99 per month after a seven-day free trial, and users can reply to the bot for conversations or add it to group chats.
What if you could delegate the endless scrolling to an AI? That’s exactly what Noscroll offers: a bot that monitors your social feeds, news sites, and online conversations, then texts you only when something matters. No feed. No brainrot. No ragebait. Just signal.
The concept is straightforward: an AI reads the web for you. But making that work requires serious engineering under the hood. Nadav Hollander, former CTO of OpenSea after selling his decentralized finance startup to the company in 2022, built Noscroll out of personal frustration. While taking time off after leaving OpenSea, he found himself trapped in a love/hate relationship with X.
“It’s phenomenally entertaining and really informative in ways you just don’t get from normal media,” Hollander told TechCrunch. “But it’s so toxic culturally, and it’s just very upsetting to read.” He compared the experience to fast food: “You just feel terrible after it.”
Hollander wanted to quit the app without missing the news and content. That impulse led to Noscroll, which launched publicly just days ago. To start, you simply text the AI agent at (415) 718-4828. It sends a link to connect your X account, granting access to your likes, bookmarks, and followed accounts.
The bot runs on a mix of off-the-shelf AI models customized through extensive prompting, giving it a distinct voice and communication style. You chat in natural language, telling it what topics to track and what to ignore. It then prepares a sample digest.
Beyond X, the AI pulls from news sites, blogs, Reddit, Hacker News, Substack, and more. It can even tap research papers, local politics, or any sources you specify. You can recommend specific outlets to ensure coverage.
Instead of endless scrolling, Noscroll sends news digests via text at whatever cadence suits you. A casual user might get weekly updates; a news junkie might want multiple texts daily. Each digest contains links with brief AI summaries. Tap a link to read the full article in your browser.
You can also reply to the bot to ask questions and discuss the news, much like other AI chatbots. Add it to a group chat or Telegram group for shared engagement. Other chat apps will be supported later. The bot also recognizes breaking news and texts you immediately.
Over time, the AI learns your interests and refines its curation, the company says. Currently, Noscroll costs $9.99 per month, but you get a free seven-day trial with a sample digest to customize. Cancel anytime. Hollander notes the pricing may become variable in the future.
While tech professionals struggling with the daily AI news deluge are an obvious audience, Noscroll isn’t limited to tech. You can track reality TV, your favorite band, local news, friends’ posts, unread newsletters, or anything else. Hollander has been surprised by the range of uses.
“People [are] following really niche anime industry news and local restaurant openings in Kyoto,” he says. Users track job listings, layoff updates, and more. Journalists use it to follow local politics and events.
“I think the archetype that’s been interesting is anybody who has a professional need to be very online and follow things very closely,” Hollander adds. “It’s quite useful to have a deputy who’s kind of doing that for you on whatever your beat is.”
The bot has seen rapid adoption and drawn investor interest. Hollander built it with a friend, an open source developer from the crypto world known only as @z0age on X. The pair haven’t decided how to handle the inbound attention yet.
Noscroll is available at Noscroll.com by clicking the “Text your agent” button.
(Source: TechCrunch)
