Ghostly — Floating Ghost Pet

Ghostly is a small ghost who lives on your screen.

He drifts over whatever you are doing — your home screen, another app, nothing at all — bobbing and swaying, hem rippling, eyes following what's going on. Taps go straight through him, so he never gets in the way of a button or a keyboard key. He is see-through, quiet, and about the size of a thumbnail.

He is also a pet. He gets hungry, tired and bored, and he notices when you have not been round for a while.

HIS BOX, HIS RULES

Everything you do with him happens in his box on the Home tab — feed him, play fetch, hold him to pet him. He is either in the box or out floating, never both. Tap Feed while he is out and he flies back in, does the thing, and drifts off again on his own.

HE HAS A MIND OF HIS OWN

Ghostly reads the time of day, his own mood, your battery, whether you are plugged in, whether your headphones are in, how long it has been since you last said hello — and picks from hundreds of written reactions. He tumbles head over hem, hops along the floor, paces, loops in circles, ducks off the side of the screen and leans back in. Now and then he says something in a small speech bubble above his head.

Nothing is generated on your phone and nothing is sent anywhere to decide what he does. The writing is authored ahead of time and shipped with the app.

MAKE HIM YOURS

• Three kinds — a ghost, a cat ghost, a dog ghost
• Three sizes and four shades, from near-solid Bone to see-through Vapour to inverted Ink
• Give him a name, and he goes by it in his notification and on his home-screen widget
• A share card, so you can show him to someone

LOOKING AFTER HIM

• Feed him, play with him, let him nap when he is worn out
• A small daily allowance of tokens for playing and treats
• A streak for coming back, and he says so when you have been away

PERMISSIONS, AND WHY

• Display over other apps — this is the whole app. Without it he cannot leave the app's own screen.
• Notifications — Android requires an ongoing notification while he is floating. It carries his name, how he is doing, and a Stop button.
• Run at startup — so he comes back after a reboot, if he was floating before.
• Vibrate — the optional little buzz when he bolts.

SIGNING IN IS OPTIONAL

Ghostly works completely without an account. Sign in with Google only if you want to keep your ghost when you change phone — then his name, look, stats and token balance are saved to our own server, and to nothing and nobody else. You can delete that copy from inside the app at any time; the ghost on your phone stays either way.

No ads. No in-app purchases. No analytics, no trackers, no third-party advertising SDKs.