Show HN: I built an AI optimized for venting, not working
annaai.appHi HN,
I built AnnaAi.App because I was tired of AI "copilots" always trying to make me more productive or efficient.
Sometimes, you don't need a solution, a to-do list, or a lecture on emotional management. You just need to vent.
Most current LLMs are guardrailed to be overly objective or polite. If you complain about a bad boss or a terrible day, they tend to say "I understand, but have you tried looking at it from their perspective?" which is often the last thing you want to hear at 2 AM.
I designed Anna to be strictly non-judgmental and supportive. Think of it as a digital "Tree Hole" (a safe space to shout into the void). She is prompted to take your side, validate your feelings, and even "roast" the things that annoy you, rather than trying to fix them.
It's an experiment in "Anti-productivity" AI. Would love to hear your thoughts on this approach to emotional alignment.
Regarding privacy and security, you don’t collect data, but are you able to speak to whether you’re calling an API of an LLM? Those third parties could be collecting data. A formal privacy policy would be helpful there.
As far as product feedback, I am just not sure this is unique enough to be noteworthy. How is this different than having a simple ~one paragraph of custom instructions in a generic LLM system?
Ya ditto — I’m not sure why I’d use this compared to a new chat with some specific instructions in chatGPT.
The idea is novel and has a great hook IMO, but it needs something that lasts beyond the initial hook.
When I tried a rant the response was.. ok but generic, and definitely not sticky.
I think the real issue isn’t whether this is “just a prompt”.
It’s that venting itself is a dead end if the interaction has no friction, no constraint, and no consequence. An AI that endlessly validates you is comforting… once. Then it becomes noise.
That’s why I ended up building something orthogonal with https://pfff.me . Instead of chatting, complaints are compressed, constrained, and gamified. You don’t talk at an AI — you throw your frustration into a system that reacts, scores, distorts, or escalates it.
No productivity angle, no emotional coaching either. Just turning negativity into a mechanic rather than a conversation.
If an idea like AnnaAI feels interchangeable with a custom prompt, it’s usually because chat is doing too much of the work. Change the interaction model, and suddenly the question isn’t “which LLM is this using?” anymore.
Curious whether people here think catharsis alone is enough, or if friction is actually the missing ingredient.