What Orca: Formerly Happyfeed does

Orca (formerly Happyfeed) is a consumer mobile application that helps individuals build a daily gratitude and memory-keeping habit through photo, video, and text journaling. The app, founded in 2013 by Matt Kandler and headquartered in Brooklyn, NY, is distributed globally on iOS, Android, Apple Watch, and the web, with cross-device cloud synchronization. Core features include daily prompts, daily throwbacks that resurface memories from prior years, a shakeable Happiness Jar that randomly reveals past entries, monthly recap movies, and Pods, which are private groups for sharing memories with couples, family, friends, or workplace teams.

The underlying technology is a freemium cross-platform mobile stack with cloud sync, iOS home screen widgets, photo and video handling, and optional Zapier-based automation. There is no public developer API. Orca Plus, the only paid tier, is priced at $3.99/month or $39.99/year and unlocks extended posting limits (10 moments/day vs 3, 30-second videos vs 3-second, 4 photos per moment vs 1), full calendar mode, unlimited missed-day fills, extended editing, search, and PDF/CSV exports. The app is ad-free, private by default, and supports data export at any time.

The business is operated as HappyFeed Inc., a private California-incorporated entity that has been entirely bootstrapped since inception, with $0 raised and no institutional investors. Go-to-market is product-led: organic App Store discovery (including 18 consecutive weeks featured in Apple's Best Journaling Apps list in 2025, ranking #1 for iPad), word-of-mouth via Pod invitations, and a blog and research section grounded in positive psychology. The customer base is a horizontal mix of individuals, couples, families, friend groups, and a nascent teams/workplaces segment, all served through self-serve mobile app downloads.

Name

Orca: Formerly Happyfeed

Legal name

HappyFeed Inc.

Website

https://okorca.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Orca is a bootstrapped consumer mobile app (iOS, Android, Web, Apple Watch) that helps individuals, couples, families, and friend groups build a daily gratitude and photo/video journaling habit through private entries and shared Pods, monetized via a $3.99/month or $39.99/year Plus subscription.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Brooklyn

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Orca Plus Subscription: Premium subscription tier offering extended features including unlimited daily moments (10 vs 3), multiple photos per moment (4 vs 1), longer video clips (30s vs 3s), full calendar access, unlimited missed day fills, extended edit window, PDF/CSV exports, and moment search. Available as monthly ($3.99) or annual ($39.99) subscription with 1-week free trial.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Orca (formerly Happyfeed) is a daily gratitude journal mobile app available on iOS, Android, and Web that enables users to record 'good things' each day with photos, short videos, and text. The app surfaces positive memories through features like Daily Throwbacks, a shakeable Happiness Jar, and monthly Mashup Movies, and offers optional private group sharing through Pods. A premium Plus subscription unlocks higher posting limits, longer videos, full calendar mode, and PDF/CSV exports.

Product overview

Orca (formerly Happyfeed) is a single, unified journaling app available across iOS, Android, and Web platforms. The core product offers a gratitude-focused daily journaling habit with photos, videos, and text, private by default with optional social sharing through Pods (private groups) and features like daily throwbacks, a Happiness Jar for random memories, and monthly recap movies. Orca Plus is a paid subscription tier that unlocks higher posting limits, extended video length, calendar mode, data exports, and longer past-editing windows—making it an add-on enhancement rather than a separate product.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Orca (formerly Happyfeed) Gratitude Journal App A cross-platform daily gratitude journal app for iOS, Android, and Web that lets individual users record positive moments with photos, short videos, and text; surfaces past memories through Daily Throwbacks and a shakeable Happiness Jar; and enables optional private group sharing through Pods. Designed for individual consumers seeking to build a daily reflection and positivity habit.
• Orca Plus Subscription

Quantifiable outcome

• Gratitude journaling can increase overall happiness by approximately 10%
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature7 records

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Penzu: Penzu is a private, password-protected online journal. It targets the same privacy-conscious journaling user with similar freemium subscription mechanics and multi-platform access.
• Daylio: Daylio is a popular mood-tracking and micro-journaling app with a freemium subscription model. It overlaps Orca on the positive-emotion capture, daily habit loop, and App Store discovery mechanics.
• Reflectly: Reflectly is an AI-assisted gratitude/journaling app with a chat-based reflection flow. It competes in the same App Store category and overlaps on the gratitude-psychology value proposition.
• Day One (Automattic): Day One is the category-leading journaling app, now owned by Automattic. It directly competes with Orca across iOS/Android journaling, photo/video diaries, prompts, and is the benchmark Orca users compare against in App Store reviews.
• Journey (Two App Studio): Journey.me is a cross-platform journaling app with photo, video, and end-to-end encrypted shared entries. It overlaps Orca on private photo/video journaling and the shared-journal/groups concept.
• Stoic (Pear Health): Stoic is a guided journaling and mental health app with mood tracking, exercises, and a paid subscription. It is a direct competitor in the gratitude/wellness journaling niche targeting overlapping customer personas.
• Diarium: Diarium is a cross-platform journal with media-rich entries and calendar views. It is comparable on calendar-mode mapping, photo/video journaling, and the export-first journaling use case.
• Grid Diary: Grid Diary is a prompt-driven journaling app, the conceptual ancestor of the "three good things" daily habit. It competes in the same gratitude-journaling App Store category and shares similar target users.
• Daybook: Daybook is a classic diary/journal app for iOS and Android with photos, locations, and reminders. It is a comparable direct competitor for users seeking a simple private diary with media support.

Emerging players

• Bear (Shiny Frog): Bear is a markdown notes/journaling app with a Pro subscription and media embedding. It overlaps more loosely — primarily for users who journal via notes — but competes for the same "private daily writing on iOS" use case.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ok_orca
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/12178387

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Orca: Formerly Happyfeed