Textlore
Download Buy $20Buy $39

About

Hi, I'm Raja, and I make Textlore.

I run The Useful Media Co from Chennai, India, and I've written about iPhones, Macs and the apps that make them better since 2016. Textlore is built with the same rule as everything I publish: it has to be useful the same day.

Visit The Useful Media Co
2016The year I published my first Apple post on Medium
78K+Readers following The Useful Tech on Medium
500+Articles on Apple devices, apps and workflows
250+Members in The Useful Tech Club on Discord

Why Textlore

Years of your life live in your messages.

Plans, addresses, photos, inside jokes and the first message from people who became family. Messages is great for the conversation in front of you, but finding one text from years ago means a lot of scrolling, and older photos can quietly leave your Mac when it needs space.

Textlore fixes that on your Mac, with no account and no server. It lists the things your friends told you to try and the promises you made, finds any message in under a second, keeps its own copy of every message and photo from the day you install it, turns your years of texting into a story you can relive and share, and answers questions with Apple Intelligence, on your Mac.

It only reads. It never sends, edits or deletes a message, and nothing about your messages ever leaves your Mac. It costs $20 until 28 October, then $39$39 once, with every 1.x update included, and you can try every feature free for 14 days first.

The story so far

From a night-time blog to a Mac app.

  1. The first Apple postI started writing about iPhones and Mac apps on Medium at night, after full days at an early-stage startup.
  2. 500+ articles laterThe Useful Tech grew into the most followed Apple blog on Medium, with 78K+ readers.
  3. Full-timeI left my job and turned the blog into The Useful Media Co, with 4 brands under one roof.
  4. Newsletters, a shop and appsThe Useful Tech and The Useful Life newsletters launched, and the Gumroad store passed 30 guides and templates.
  5. Textlore 1.0A private home for your whole texting life, on your Mac.
  6. Textlore 1.1Recs, Promises and WhatsApp for Mac, found and read on your Mac.

The Useful Media Co

4 brands, one rule: be useful.

The Useful TechThe settings, apps and shortcuts Apple never shows you in a keynote.Read on Medium ↗ The Useful LifeThe best ideas from 70+ books a year, turned into steps you can take this week.Read ↗ The Useful CreatorHow a blog turns into sponsorships, digital products and a full-time income.Read ↗ The Useful GamingShort videos on the PS5 games, settings and gear actually worth your money.Watch ↗
See everything at theusefulmedia.com

How Textlore is made

3 rules for every release.

Useful the same dayEvery feature has to help you find, keep or understand your messages the day you install it.
Private by designNo account, no analytics, no tracking. Your messages, photos and stats never leave your Mac.
I use what I sellTextlore runs on my own Mac, with my own history, before any version reaches yours.

Say hello

Questions, ideas or a bug?

Email me at , or ask in The Useful Tech Club on Discord, where 250+ members trade Apple tips.