Brashen
Real-world courage · One challenge at a time

Do the thing.
Keep the win.

The question you haven’t asked. The idea you keep to yourself. Brashen turns the things you put off into small, specific challenges. Practice gives you a way to test expectations, notice what happened, and build on the attempt, even when the answer is no.

75 free challenges5 guided journeysNo Brashen account
Illustrated preview: a work challenge and three earned practice stamps.
The things you keep putting off

You know the list.

Not everything needs a grand gesture. Sometimes it’s a question, a preference, or one sentence you’ve been rehearsing in your head.

  • The idea you keep almost pitching.
  • The question you’re afraid sounds obvious.
  • The message you keep rewriting.
  • The invitation you haven’t made.
  • The small boundary you want to hold.

brash · en

verb.

To try a small act of courage in the real world, without needing a perfect outcome.

“I brashened three times this week.”
Three attempts. Three things worth remembering.

How to brashen

Four steps. One real-world attempt.

Open the app with a clear next step. Close it and get on with your day.

01

Pick your practice.

Choose a focus and a schedule. Get a suggestion within your chosen difficulty limit. Swap it or make it smaller whenever you need.

02

Do the thing.

Choose a suitable moment and a manageable version. A private rehearsal can be the step you choose. You can stop or skip; nobody owes you an answer.

03

Log what happened.

Tap “I tried it” and save. If you rated your fear before you went, rate it again now. A note is optional. An attempt counts without a yes, a no, or a flawless performance.

04

Keep the win.

Bank one permanent stamp for each day you try. Come back on your next practice day. The stamps you earned stay yours.

Social

Start a conversation

Professional

Speak up at work

Romantic

Connect with honesty

Resilience

Make room to try again

Boldness

Ask for what matters

Start here

Real challenges.
For your actual life.

The catalog now has 300 challenges, including 120 new additions. Start with 75 free: 50 everyday activities and 25 steps across five guided journeys. Optional packs add another 225.

EasySocial

A small hello

Say a friendly hello to someone familiar you naturally cross paths with. A nod or wave also counts.

Free to repeat+25 XP
EasyProfessional

Ask one useful question

Ask a colleague one genuine question about the work. A short message or a quiet moment both count.

Free to repeat+25 XP
EasyRomantic

Show a little warmth

Tell someone you know one genuine thing you appreciate about them. It can be a friend; romance is not required.

Free to repeat+25 XP
EasyBoldness

Ask about access

Ask an event organizer one practical question about access you need to participate.

Practice planning participation around your needs.

Free to repeat+25 XP
EasyResilience

Separate a fact from a guess

After an ordinary social moment, privately write one thing you observed and one interpretation you are unsure about.

Practice noticing the difference between evidence and prediction.

Free to repeat+25 XP
EasyProfessional

Check a task's first step

Ask the appropriate person which first step is expected on a routine assignment.

Practice reducing uncertainty with a concrete question.

Free to repeat+25 XP

Every challenge has a specific action, a practice purpose, and contextual tips. An attempt earns the same 25 XP at every difficulty, with no extra reward for rejection or for beating a deadline. Your main milestone is one permanent stamp per practice day.

The psychology behind the practice

Give your confidence
something to build on.

Brashen draws on graded practice and behavioral experiments used in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT): try a manageable action, compare expectations with experience, and repeat what you learn. The aim is more freedom to act, even when some nervousness remains.

Take a manageable step.

A specific action makes a broad goal easier to practice. Start with a brief work question or a familiar conversation. As a step becomes more familiar, you can repeat it in another suitable setting or choose a new challenge. Your difficulty limit stays in your control.

Test the prediction.

“They’ll think my question is obvious.” That’s a prediction you can check. Before you go, rate how strong the fear feels from 1 to 10. After you try, rate it again. Over time, the Evidence Log in Progress shows how your predictions compared with what happened, including the times it went fine and the times it felt awkward.

Make the learning usable.

One attempt is a start. Repeating a useful skill in different appropriate situations gives you more experience to draw on. That means trying the skill again, not repeating a request someone declined. Notice what becomes familiar and what you want to try next; feeling instantly calm isn’t required.

Recognize the attempt.

Brashen’s stamps acknowledge days you practice. The reward doesn’t depend on someone else saying yes, on getting rejected, or on choosing a harder task. Saved wins connect that progress to something concrete you did in your life.

What progress can look like

You have more choices.

Look for changes that matter outside the app: asking a question you used to postpone, stating a preference, or returning to an ongoing, mutually welcome conversation after an ordinary awkward moment. These are things to reflect on, not a clinical score.

Safety, with forward movement

Choose a useful stretch.

Nervousness can accompany ordinary practice; it does not establish that a situation is safe. Consider the people, setting, privacy, and possible consequences. If an appropriate step feels too large, choose a smaller action toward the same goal.

If something feels unsafe or crosses a boundary, stop or skip. Ask once, accept a no or no response, and let people leave. You can return to the goal in a different way without losing earned stamps. Private preparation is available for consequential conversations; spending money, sharing private details, or physical contact is never required for a challenge.

The evidence and its limits. NICE’s guidance for clinical social-anxiety treatment includes behavioral experiments and graduated exposure within structured CBT. Exposure research also examines new learning, expectations, and practice across contexts. These support the ideas informing Brashen’s design; they do not establish that Brashen itself is an effective treatment.

Brashen is a self-directed practice tool, not therapy, clinical assessment, or safety monitoring. If anxiety is restricting your work, relationships, or daily life, a qualified mental-health professional can help you choose an appropriate approach.

Five guided journeys

Five journeys.
Choose your starting point.

Each journey connects five small actions to a goal. All 25 steps are included in the 75 free challenges. Open a path below, then repeat a useful step or explore the next one in the app at your pace.

01SocialFrom hello to conversation
  1. A small hello
  2. Notice something good
  3. Ask a little question
  4. Stay for one more sentence
  5. Make room for a connection
02ProfessionalFind your voice at work
  1. Ask one useful question
  2. Name a contribution
  3. Share one thought
  4. Suggest a small improvement
  5. Ask for what helps
03RomanticConnect with honesty
  1. Show a little warmth
  2. Share something you enjoy
  3. Be curious
  4. Say what you prefer
  5. Make a clear invitation
04BoldnessAsk for what matters
  1. Name a preference
  2. Ask for clarification
  3. Make a small request
  4. Offer an alternative
  5. Hold a small boundary
05ResilienceMake room to try again
  1. Let a small pause happen
  2. Say you don’t know
  3. Try without perfecting
  4. Return to the conversation
  5. Give a useful step another go

All five journeys are included free. A day off doesn’t reset your progress.

Built for the long game

Give yourself a reason
to come back.

A useful next step. A record of what you tried. Progress that doesn’t disappear because life got busy.

See what’s new in Brashen →

Stamps that stay earned.

One stamp for each day you try. Milestones at 1, 3, 7, 14, and 30 practice days, then beyond. Badges appear on screen the moment you earn them. Miss a day or a week, and your stamps are still there.

Your days. Your reminders.

Choose a schedule, reminder time, and a cue like “after lunch.” Notifications are optional, and tapping one opens today’s challenge. Skipping pauses reminders for the rest of the day. Brashen never sends “we miss you” messages when you take a break.

Repeat what works.

Unlimited swaps, smaller alternatives, and 300 activities across the full catalog. Revisit what helps; the 75 free challenges never expire.

A journal with a purpose.

Log an attempt or a response as appropriate to the activity. Add a note if useful, bookmark meaningful wins, and look back at your week. If you log something by mistake, swipe to delete it, and your progress updates to match. Private rehearsals do not need an imagined yes or no.

On your wrist.

The Apple Watch app shows today’s challenge and your practice days. Tap “I tried it” on your watch, and the practice is saved to your iPhone, even if your phone was out of reach when you logged it.

See what your fear predicted.

An optional fear check before and after each practice builds your Evidence Log. After a few entries, it shows how often the fear ran higher than what actually happened.

Rest days that cover you.

Every seven days in a row banks a rest day, up to two. Miss one day and Brashen uses it to keep your streak going, then tells you on Today. If a streak ends, Today shows a short note about it.

Keep a copy of your progress.

Save a dated backup to your personal iCloud Drive through Files. Bring your journal, history, plan, and custom challenges to another device, with a preview before restoring. Backups are manual.

Write your own challenge.

Create a custom activity and choose when to try it. Custom activities stay out of automatic suggestions; they haven’t been reviewed by Brashen. You can also pick the tone of Brashen’s suggested lines, from gentle to playful.

Ask Siri.

Check your challenge, log an attempt, swap a suggestion, or check a streak through Brashen’s App Shortcuts.

Remember the right place.

Set an optional location reminder from a challenge’s help section. You choose the place and control location permissions.

Easier to read and use.

The core flow supports larger text, VoiceOver labels, stronger contrast, and reduced motion. Challenges allow notes, seated participation, and accessible formats. Full WCAG conformance has not been assessed.

Don’t lose the thought

Your challenge.
On your screen.

Tap “Keep this challenge visible” on Today or inside a challenge. A preview and setup guide help you put the reminder where you’ll see it.

Set up a visible reminder →
Challenge preview

Ask one useful question

A short message or a quiet moment both count.

Home Screen widget
A permanent spot for your daily suggestion. It marks the day done once you log a practice.
Lock Screen widget
The rectangular widget shows the challenge title.
Live Activity
The challenge you choose, on your Lock Screen and supported Dynamic Islands. Active for up to 8 hours.
Apple Watch
Today’s challenge on your wrist, with a button to log it.

Widgets follow your daily suggestion. Live Activities show the selected challenge. Lock Screen text is visible to anyone who can see your screen.

Master Class packs

More to practice.
When you want it.

Start with 75 free activities. Add a pack when you want more variety in a particular area. Each one adds 75 challenges.

Master Class: Dating

Warmth, clarity, and choice.

Clear invitations, shared plans, and relationship communication. Practice digital boundaries, consent checks, and expressing preferences. Choose live practice or a private rehearsal.

  • 75 dating-focused activities
  • Romantic and social practice
  • One-time purchase

Master Class: Career

A useful voice at work.

Ask useful questions, clarify work, share ideas, and request focused feedback. Pay, workload, and other consequential conversations start with private preparation; acting is a separate decision.

  • 75 work-focused activities
  • Professional and boldness practice
  • One-time purchase

Master Class: Everyday Boldness

Participate on your own terms.

Join willing groups, share creative work, make useful requests, and try a familiar skill in a new setting. Small starts and prepared practices, at the difficulty you choose.

  • 75 additional activities
  • Choose what fits your situation
  • One-time purchase

All three are also available in a bundle. Current prices appear in the app in your local currency.

Pricing

Free isn’t a trial.

The everyday practice loop stays free. Packs are optional, one-time purchases. No subscription.

Everyday Practice

Free
  • 50 everyday challenges
  • 25 steps across five guided journeys
  • 75 free activities in total
  • Unlimited swaps and smaller practices
  • Permanent stamps and milestones
  • Journal, saved wins, and weekly review
  • Schedules, widgets, Live Activities, and the Apple Watch app
  • Manual backup and restore through Files
See the free challenges →

Pack Bundle

All three
  • 225 additional activities
  • Dating, Career, Everyday Boldness
  • A single one-time purchase
  • Keep access to all included packs
  • Your daily difficulty limit stays yours

See the current bundle price in the app before you buy.

Individual Packs

Pick one
  • 75 activities per pack
  • Choose the area that matters to you
  • Permanent pack access
  • No recurring billing

Each pack’s current local price is shown in the app.

Private by design

Your journal.
Your choice.

No separate Brashen account. Your history and reflections save locally. Save a private backup to your personal iCloud Drive whenever you choose. Progress does not sync automatically between iPhones or iPads.

AdvertisingAnalytics SDKsBrashen login

Optional Apple services, such as purchases, map search, and Game Center, have their own data handling. Game Center leaderboards stay off unless you turn them on. Saving to a Files provider, sharing a win, or emailing support sends the information you choose to that destination.

Read the privacy policy →
Honest answers

Questions, nerves,
and small objections.

How do safety and progress fit together?

The aim is a meaningful step you choose, with room to feel nervous. If a suitable challenge feels too big, try a smaller action toward the same goal. If the situation feels unsafe or involves unwanted contact, stop or skip. Look for progress in what you can do and learn, not how much discomfort you can tolerate.

What if I actually get rejected?

Accept the answer and let the other person move on. The attempt counts. You earn the same XP either way. There is no extra reward for rejection or for pushing for a response.

Will the app push me into harder challenges?

Daily suggestions stay within the difficulty limit you choose. Difficult feedback can make them gentler. XP doesn’t raise the limit, and manually exploring a harder activity doesn’t change your plan.

What happens if I miss a day?

Your practice stamps and milestones stay earned. If you keep a streak, every seven days in a row banks a rest day (up to two), which covers a single missed day for you. If a streak does end, Today shows a short note, and your stamps stay put. Choose practice days that fit your life, or leave the schedule open.

Is Brashen a replacement for therapy?

No. It draws on ideas used in CBT, including graded practice and reflection on predictions, but it does not deliver clinical treatment. The research linked in the psychology section is not evidence that the app treats an anxiety disorder. A qualified professional can help if anxiety is limiting daily life.

Can I use it without talking to strangers?

Yes. Choose familiar conversations, private rehearsal, work questions, everyday boundaries, or a creative activity. Eye contact, public performance, physical contact, and approaching strangers are not requirements for using Brashen.

What changed in the challenge catalog?

Every existing challenge was reviewed, and 120 were added. Actions now have clearer purposes and contextual guidance, with private preparation for consequential decisions. The former Socially Bulletproof pack is now Everyday Boldness. Existing purchased access and earned progress are preserved. Read about the update →

What devices is it built for?

The app is built for iPhone and iPad running iOS 17 or later. The Apple Watch app needs watchOS 26.4 or later and a paired iPhone with Brashen installed. Widget and Live Activity availability depends on the device and system settings. Contact support for the current download or testing link.

Do I need to buy a pack to keep using it?

No. The 75 free activities, including all five journeys, remain available to repeat. Stamps, journaling, schedules, and the core practice loop do not require a purchase.

Can I back up progress to iCloud?

Yes. Open Settings → Backup & restore → Save backup to Files, then choose iCloud Drive. The dated file includes history, journal notes, progress, your plan, and custom challenges. Restore it from the same screen on this or another device. Backups are manual snapshots; iPhones and iPads do not sync automatically. Backup and restore guide →

One challenge. Your call.

Make the ask.
Keep the attempt.

Choose a useful challenge. Try it when the moment fits. Come back with something real to remember.

iPhone and iPadGet BrashenFind a first challenge →