An independent app studio
Little apps that help with the big things.
Made by one person, for real jobs in everyday life. No ads, no accounts, no tracking. Just something useful that’s kind to you.
Free for the first monththen £3.99 a month or £34.99 a year
My Chapters: Letters
Letters for children in foster care. Coming soon to iPhone and iPad.
Write the weekly or monthly letter your fostering agency asks for in a few quiet minutes. Over time, the letters become a keepsake.
Free for the first month
Write
In your own words, with ideas that suit their age and photos with captions.
Send
To their social worker from your own email, with their reference number.
Keep
Every letter numbered and saved, then bound into a book for their life story.
For foster carers, kinship carers and supported lodgings hosts.
See everything My Chapters: Letters doesWhat’s on the shelf
One app so far, with more being made. Each one does one job, properly.
- My Chapters: Letters
- soonBeing made
- laterAn idea
Made by one person
Powered By Thistle is a one-person studio. I build the apps I want to exist, for the jobs in everyday life that deserve more care than they usually get.
Every app is designed, built and tested here, and each carries a small “Powered by Thistle” at the bottom so you know where it came from. That’s the only advertising you’ll find in them.
How the apps are made
Our promises
One job, done well
Each app starts with a single thing worth doing. If a feature doesn’t help with that, it doesn’t go in.
Nothing pulling at you
No ads, no streaks to protect, no notifications begging you back. You open the app when it’s useful.
Your stuff stays yours
No accounts, no tracking. What you write, photograph and keep stays on your iPhone, not on our servers.
Fair, clear prices
No ads and no surprises. You can try every app before you pay, and you’ll always know what you’re paying for.
Made for everyone
Large text, VoiceOver, reduced motion and colour-blind-friendly design are part of the build, not a later patch.
Finished, then polished
Tested on real phones, in real life, with another pass on the details. Then it ships.
Guides
From the notebook
- 12 October 2026Guide
A simple letter template for foster carers
A free, fill-in template for the weekly or monthly letter to a child in foster care: what goes in each part, with prompts you can copy.
- 12 October 2026Guide
Example letters to children in foster care, by age
Four short example letters for a baby, a toddler, a primary school child and a teenager, with what makes each one work. - 12 October 2026Guide
What foster carers can keep for a child's life story
A practical list of the photos, papers, keepsakes and everyday details worth keeping for a child in foster care, and how to keep them so they mean something later.
What is Powered By Thistle?
Powered By Thistle is an independent, one-person app studio that makes small iPhone and iPad apps for real jobs in everyday life. The apps have no ads, need no account and keep your data on your device.
What apps does Powered By Thistle make?
The first app is My Chapters: Letters, which helps foster carers write the weekly or monthly letter to the child in their care, send it to the child’s social worker and keep every letter as a book for the child’s life story. More apps are being made.
When is My Chapters: Letters available?
My Chapters: Letters is coming soon to iPhone and iPad on the App Store, and the first month is free. Email hello@poweredbythistle.com to hear the day it launches.
Can a fostering agency buy My Chapters: Letters for its carers?
Yes. Fostering agencies and local authorities can pay for their foster carers on one invoice, and each carer gets a code to redeem in the App Store. Email hello@poweredbythistle.com with how many carers you support.
Do the apps have ads or track me?
No. There are no ads, no tracking and no accounts. What you put into the apps stays on your device, and nothing you write in My Chapters: Letters is ever sent to us. Each app has its own plain-English privacy policy.
How much do the apps cost? Is My Chapters: Letters free?
My Chapters: Letters is free for the first month, then £3.99 a month or £34.99 a year, cancel any time. Every app can be tried for free before you pay, and the price is always shown in the App Store before you buy.
How do I get in touch?
Email hello@poweredbythistle.com. Every email is read by the person who made the app.
An idea, a bug, or a kind word?
Every email is read by the person who made the app.
hello@poweredbythistle.com