Why Peopoll
An alternative to doomscrolling that ends in an opinion
Same thumb, same bed, different result. Peopoll is a feed of questions instead of takes: you answer one in a tap, then see how the world answered it, by country, age and gender. You put the phone down knowing what you think and what everyone else does.
Sample result: Yes, completely 44%, Only during class 29%, Only for under-16s 12%, No 15%, of 12,500 answers.
Sample dataShould phones be banned in schools?
No answer, no insights. Tap an answer above to unlock the result.
Illustrative sample data. Nothing you tap here is recorded, not even the like.
A Peopoll card. One question, four answers, one tap. The bars appear only after you have picked. Sample data.
The problem with the feed is not the phone
Doomscrolling has a shape: a feed that never ends, built from whatever provokes the strongest reaction, read by someone who is tired. Every item is somebody's take, delivered with maximum certainty, and the only thing you can do with it is keep going. You finish with a head full of other people's outrage and no idea what you actually think.
Most advice is to scroll less. That is fine, and hard. The other option is to scroll something with a different shape.
One question at a time, on topics you did not pick
A Peopoll feed is questions, not takes. Should phones be banned in schools? Would you take a four-day week for ten percent less pay? Is it OK to check your partner's phone? Each card asks you something across fourteen topics: Food, Politics, Technology, Lifestyle, Entertainment, Sports, Education, Health, World News, Business, Science, Relationships, Travel, Culture. You cannot answer without deciding, and deciding is the part the other feeds skip.
Answer first, then see everyone
Nothing is revealed until you have answered. That is the one rule, and the app's server enforces it. It matters more than it sounds: you form your opinion before you see the crowd's, so the count you then see is a comparison, not an instruction. Then the split by country, age and gender shows you who agrees with you, and who does not, with the number of people behind every slice.
Why it doesn't trap you
Peopoll has an Explore feed that surfaces polls people are actively answering, and a Following feed that is simply the people you follow, newest first. Neither one is a bottomless pull of outrage, because every card stops to ask you something and then hands you a number. The results are never weighted or promoted, and nobody can pay to put a poll in front of you. When you have answered what you came for, there is nothing pulling you further.
We will not claim it is impossible to overdo. We will say the session ends with something in your hands.
Take the argument offline
Compare your answer with a friend's, get an agreement score on rankings, and then have the conversation with a person instead of a comment thread. The best thing Peopoll can do for your evening is give you a question to ask at dinner.
- How it worksAnswer a question in one tap, see the split by country, age and gender, then compare with a friend.
- Compare with friendsSee a friend's answer next to yours on any poll you have both answered, get an agreement score on rankings, and take the argument to dinner.
- AboutStarted at a kitchen table.
Get Peopoll, free
Answer yourfirst question.
Free on iPhone, Android and the web. One tap, and you find out what we think.
Questions first? Read how it works