About talavo
talavo is built by an independent two-person studio. We make a free iOS browser that strips the engagement-engineered UI out of the modern web (YouTube ads, Shorts, comments, community posts) and gives you the part you came for.
Why we built this
We watched friends and family lose hours to YouTube and TikTok-style feeds they didn’t actually want to watch. The cleanest fix on iOS wasn’t willpower or paid subscriptions, it was removing the entry points to the dopamine loops at the browser level.
We started talavo as a side project in 2024. By 2025 it had grown into the full-time work of two people. We’re self-funded, no investors, no acquisition pitch deck. Ad blocking, Zen Mode, background play, and the sleep timer are free and stay free, because we don’t want to put the user’s attention behind a paywall. That would be hypocritical given what the app exists to fix.
What we believe
- Attention is finite. If a product gets more valuable the more time you spend on it, you’re probably the product.
- Defaults matter more than willpower. The right default is whatever lets you do what you came to do and leave.
- Privacy is structural, not promotional. If your business model depends on user data, no privacy policy will save you from the incentive.
- Indie can ship faster. Two people, no meetings, no roadmap committee. Most features that ship were dogfooded on our own phones for weeks before reaching the store.
How we make money
One brief ad when you open the app, and an optional talavo Pro subscription ($0.99/month or $9.99/year). Pro removes that ad and adds power features on top: Split Screen, a Corner Player, Zen+ for hiding any page element, Shortcut Locks, dark themes, and app icons. Ad blocking and every Zen Mode filter work the same on free and Pro, and every install starts with a 14-day Pro trial.
No browsing data collection, no anonymized browsing-history sale. Our server knows a device ID and whether you have Pro or a trial, and never sees your URLs. Settings, bookmarks, and history stay on your phone. The free version’s launch ad comes from Google AdMob, behind the iOS tracking prompt. The details are in the privacy policy.
Where we’re going
Get in touch
Bug reports, feature requests, partnership pitches: the support page has the email and Discord links. We read everything; replies typically within 1-2 days.