First Bird is a voice-only app for practising a new language with real people. You work up the nerve, say something out loud, and send it into a public pool; someone somewhere hears it. If they answer with their voice, a conversation begins.
There is no text box anywhere in the app. That is the whole point.
Why voice only
Reading and listening are easy to practise alone. Speaking is not — it needs someone on the other end, and it needs you to be willing to sound imperfect.
Removing the text box removes the escape hatch. You cannot edit, polish, or hide behind written words. What the other person hears is your actual voice, accent and hesitations included — which is exactly what you need to practise.
It also lowers the stakes: whoever hears you does not know you and will probably never meet you. That is what makes it easier to be the first one to speak.
Where your voice goes
A voice message you send goes into a public pool. Any user of the app may receive it and listen to it. You do not choose who receives it, and you cannot take it back once it is out.
A private one-to-one chat only comes into existence when someone replies to your message with their own voice. Until that happens, there is no conversation — just a recording waiting to be heard.
Safety
Every message you receive can be reported. Pick a reason, submit, and we review it. Content confirmed to break the rules is taken down, and accounts that abuse the service are banned.
You can also block a user, after which you will receive nothing further from them.
Who makes it
First Bird is built and run by [TO FILL: developer name], an independent developer based in [TO FILL: country or region].
Questions, bug reports and feedback are all welcome at support@yuxiaohei.com.