Most social networks have one job: keep you scrolling. That’s it. Public takes a different angle. It wants to be the place where you connect with real people, chat with AI characters, share content, and actually get things done, all inside a single app. Bold claim. But after spending time with it, there’s something genuinely interesting going on here.
The platform launched recently on Product Hunt and already has 10,000+ active users across 100+ countries, with 50,000+ posts shared. It’s free to join and available on Android. The mix of entertainment features and productivity tools in one place is what sets it apart from anything Instagram or Twitter is doing right now.
This isn’t just a social feed with a coat of paint. Public bundles a community feed, short-form video (called Pulse), real-time chat, group todo lists, focus timers, and even an encrypted password vault into one product. That’s a wide net. Let’s look at what actually works.
Key Features of Public
AI Characters for Entertainment and Learning
This is the most distinctive part of the whole platform. Public hosts a growing library of AI characters you can chat with directly. Some are fictional, like Iron Man and Satoru Gojo from Jujutsu Kaisen. Others are historical figures, like Mahatma Gandhi and Oppenheimer portrayed as a pre-Manhattan Project teacher. There are also productivity-focused personas: a Pair Programmer that helps with Python, Java, and JavaScript, a Brainstormer for lateral thinking, and a Creative Helper for writing projects. Each character has its own personality and conversational style. It’s part entertainment, part utility.
Pulse, Posts, Videos, and Community Pages
The social layer works the way you’d expect. You can post text, images, and videos. Pulse is the short-form video format, similar to Reels or Shorts. There are community pages for topics like humor, news, and nature, with the option to create your own. The feed is split between a public global timeline and a following feed, so you can keep things focused or explore widely. Nothing wild here, but it’s clean and fast.
Productivity Tools: Todo Lists, Group Timers, and More
Here’s where Public gets genuinely interesting for people who want more than a social feed. There’s a personal todo list built right into the sidebar. But the group todo lists are the real standout: you can create a shared task list with other users, which makes it useful for study groups or small teams. The timer feature covers focus sessions, breaks, workouts, meditation, and screen time tracking. You can run timers solo or with a group, which is a clever touch for accountability.
Encrypted Password Vault
Public includes a password vault with client-side encryption. Your passwords are split into encrypted chunks stored in the database, and only your master password can decrypt them. This means Public itself cannot read your stored passwords. It’s a security-first design that you don’t usually see bundled into a social platform. Useful if you want one app for both social activity and secure credential storage.
How Priya Used Public to Stay Focused and Have Fun on a Tuesday Night
Priya, a 24-year-old UX designer in Pune, sat down at 9:00 PM on a Tuesday with two goals: decompress after a long work day and prepare a rough task list for a group project with her classmates the next morning.
She opened Public and spent about ten minutes on the Pulse feed, watching short clips from the nature and humor pages. Quick, low-effort wind-down. Then she switched to the AI Characters section and started a conversation with Nova, the creativity-focused assistant, asking for help structuring a presentation outline. Nova walked her through a three-part framework in about five minutes. Useful. Actual output she could use.
After that, she created a shared Todo Group with two classmates, dropped in five action items for the morning, and assigned them right there on the platform. No separate app, no WhatsApp thread to scroll through. At 9:45 PM she started a 25-minute focus timer with one of her classmates also logged in. They both worked in parallel.
By 10:15 PM, Priya had relaxed, drafted her outline, organized the group tasks, and completed a focused work session. One app handled all of it. That’s the core pitch of Public, and in this scenario it delivered.
How Public Actually Works: Getting Started
Sign Up and Set Your Feed
Create a free account with your email or Google account. No credit card needed. Once you’re in, you can follow people, join pages, and start exploring the public feed immediately. The sidebar navigation on desktop shows your tools: todo list, todo groups, passwords, timers, and XP progress.
Explore AI Characters
Head to the AI Characters section from the top nav. Browse by category or search for a specific persona. Click Chat to open a conversation. Characters remember the context of your session and respond in character. You can favorite characters for quick access later.
Use the Productivity Tools
Todo Lists and Todo Groups are in the left sidebar under Tools. Create a personal list or invite others to a group list. Timers work similarly: pick a timer type, set the duration, and optionally share the session with contacts. The password vault is also in the Tools section, protected by a master password you set on first use.
Who Should Give Public a Try
If you’re a student who wants a platform that handles group coordination, focus sessions, and casual social browsing without switching between five apps, Public is worth your time. It also appeals to anyone curious about AI character interactions beyond a standard chatbot interface. The platform is free, available on Android, and growing fast. Head to public.kim to create your account and see which AI characters catch your attention first.
