What happened to the Mend app, and what to use instead

You open the App Store, type Mend, and the breakup app that got you through the first weeks is not there. You search what happened to the Mend app, then Mend app alternatives, and find similar names and none of your days. Nothing went wrong on your side: the app closed.

What happened to the Mend app

The Mend breakup app, from letsmend.com, was sunset on March 31, 2024. The Mend FAQ says the shutdown was announced on February 29, 2024, and that subscribers got emails on how to move to Mend Classes. The same page says access to Mend Classes would run through the last day of 2025, when that platform would close too.

The letsmend.com site is still up, with the tagline "Your heartbreak companion", a blog of breakup advice, a breakup guide and two podcasts. Its homepage lists Apple's Best of 2018 and Apple's App of the Day among the places Mend was featured. Nothing on the site says the app is coming back.

Two names cause confusion. mend.com is a different company and has no breakup app, and newer apps with "Mend" in the name are not the original Mend. Rx Breakup, another early breakup app, has gone quiet too: we could not find it in either store in September 2026.

What Mend offered

Mend offered a count of days since you last contacted your ex, short lessons, and journaling. That list comes from how its own users described it on the letsmend.com homepage: one wrote that "the days since I last contacted my ex were constant motivators", and that "the lessons and journaling" helped them face the pain instead of numbing it.

Mend also had a tone: users describe a friend who does not judge, which is harder to replace than any feature.

What to look for in a Mend replacement

A good Mend replacement covers the part of Mend you used every day, for most people the day count, then the lessons, then the journal. List your three in order and judge each app on them only.

The Mend features people miss most

• The day count. A number that goes up each day you do not contact your ex. It is the reason many people opened the app at all, and the no contact rule runs on it.
• Short daily lessons. A few minutes of reading that tells you what this week of a breakup usually feels like.
• A private journal. Somewhere to put the sentences you would otherwise text. The University of Rochester Medical Center says journaling can help by "tracking any symptoms day-to-day so that you can recognize triggers" (URMC).
• A kind voice. A tone that neither lectures nor cheers you on to text them.

The best Mend app alternatives, one by one

We read each app's App Store and Google Play listing in September 2026. Listings, features and prices change, so check the listing before you pay. Icky is our app, so weigh what we say about it with that in mind; we also say where other apps do things better.

1. Icky (our app): all three Mend habits in one app. The day count: a no-contact streak in days, hours, minutes and seconds, with milestones, a next goal and a start date you set to your real last contact; on iPhone it is also a home-screen widget. The lessons: the Emotional Detox, an 8-week program that walks you through each week, from shock and withdrawal to freedom and growth, with what you may feel, why, and what to do. The journal: a daily mood check-in on a six-level scale with a 30-day journal program, then AI-written prompts, and a mood calendar. On top, Icky has what Mend never had: a Panic Room for the urge to text, unsent messages for the text you must not send, breathing and grounding exercises, and an AI companion by text or voice that knows your story and remembers where you left off. What it does not have: human coaches or a community. It is free to download on iPhone and Android in 33 languages, and Icky Pro starts with a free trial.
2. Let it Go. Let it Go replaces the day count and the journal, with a no-contact tracker, a breakup journal, daily affirmations and trigger logging. It is stronger than Icky in one clear way: when the AI chat is not enough, you can book one-on-one sessions with human breakup coaches, which are paid. It also has a community and articles and videos. The limit: the Android version contains ads, and the iOS app is in English only.
3. No Contact: AI Breakup Help. This app replaces the day count most closely, with a streak in days, hours, minutes and seconds, Lock Screen and Home Screen widgets, and milestones. It adds an AI breakup coach, daily check-ins, a trigger log, an unsent letters vault and guided exercises. It is available in 12 languages on iOS and is also on Google Play. The limit: basic features are free after onboarding, and full access requires a subscription.
4. No Contact Tracker & Move On. This one replaces the lessons best, with a personalized 30-day no-contact plan, articles and advice, and daily affirmations. It also has progress tracking, what the developer calls an "AI Therapist" with journaling, a community, and a Temptation Mode for bad moments. It is the most-reviewed app in this group. The limit: the listing says NoContact Pro unlocks full access, and we did not find it on Google Play.
5. Get Over Him. Get Over Him replaces the lessons and the journal, with guided lessons in chapters, quizzes, a daily check-in and a journal. Its text simulator lets you send the message to a pretend ex, so no real message goes out, much like Icky's unsent messages. It also has a streak counted to the second, an urge button, and an AI best friend you can talk to by text or voice. The limit: the listing says you need to pay to use it, it needs a recent iOS version, it is written for women getting over a man, and we did not find it on Android.
6. Breakup Buddy. Breakup Buddy replaces the journal part, with smart journaling that uses breakup prompts, CBT-based exercises, and an AI chat that runs on credits. The limit: the listing does not describe a day counter, the app is iPhone-only and in English, and the Play app with the same name is a different app. We compare it with Icky point by point in Icky vs Breakup Buddy.
7. Daylio and Headspace. These are general tools, not breakup apps. Daylio is a micro-diary and mood tracker, good for the journal habit if you want nothing else. Headspace is a meditation and sleep app, useful for the nights, with no day count and no breakup lessons.

If you want a wider list

A wider list with more apps and other criteria is in the best breakup apps.

Mend features compared: which app covers what

The table maps each Mend feature to the apps that cover it, based on their store listings in September 2026. A dash means the listing does not describe it.

Which one to pick

Pick by the Mend feature you opened the app for. If you want the number, the lessons and the journal in one app, start with Icky. If it was only the number, No Contact: AI Breakup Help and Let it Go count your days too. If you want a 30-day plan or lessons in chapters, try No Contact Tracker & Move On or Get Over Him, and if you need a real person, Let it Go is the only one here with human coaches.

How to switch without losing your progress

Switching apps does not reset your progress, because the progress is the date, not the app. Take ten minutes and move the facts over by hand.

1. Write down your last-contact date. Find the day you last texted, called or messaged your ex, and write it in a note. If you are not sure, check your message thread for the date.
2. Save what you wrote. If an old phone still opens Mend, screenshot the journal entries you want to keep. Mend's FAQ says nothing about an export, so screenshots are the safe route.
3. Start the new streak from the real date. Most no-contact apps let you set a start date; in Icky it is one tap on the home screen. Enter the date from step 1, so day 58 stays day 58.
4. Copy three lines into the new journal. Pick the three entries that still sound true and paste or retype them as your first entry. That turns the new app into a continuation.
5. Set one daily reminder. Choose the time you used to open Mend, often late evening, and put the new app on your home screen where Mend used to sit.
6. Give it two weeks before judging. A new app feels wrong for a few days. Decide after fourteen days whether it covers your three features.

The part people skip

The part people skip is the date check. Guessing a round number, such as "about two months", makes the streak feel fake, and a streak that feels fake is easy to break. Take the real date, even if the number is smaller than you hoped.

Common mistakes when you replace Mend

Most switching mistakes come from treating the new app like the old one. Each has a cheaper version.

• Mistake: downloading an app because it is called Mend. The name alone tells you nothing, so check the developer and the listing date before you pay.
• Mistake: installing four apps at once. Four streaks and four journals split your attention, so keep one breakup app and, at most, one general tool.
• Mistake: starting the count at zero. A reset you did not earn feels like a failure, so enter your real last-contact date.
• Mistake: paying before you test the one feature you need. Many of these apps ask for a subscription early, so read the listing for what is free and try that part first.
• Mistake: letting the app replace sleep. Scrolling a breakup app at 2 a.m. is still scrolling. The NHS says "getting enough sleep can support your mood, energy, immune system and overall health" and suggests putting devices away before bed (NHS).

When an app is not enough

An app is not enough when the hard weeks stop moving. The National Institute of Mental Health suggests talking to a professional about "severe or distressing symptoms that have lasted 2 weeks or more", such as trouble sleeping, appetite changes or losing interest in things you enjoy (NIMH). Your primary care provider is a good first call.

If you are thinking about hurting yourself, call or text 988 in the US, where the 988 Lifeline is free, confidential and open around the clock. No app is a crisis service, and Icky is not a crisis service.

Your Mend replacement checklist

The checklist fits on one screen.

• Your three features, in order. Day count, lessons, journal, or whatever your order was.
• Your last-contact date, written down. The one number that carries over.
• One breakup app, chosen by feature. Check the developer, the store, the language and what is free.
• Your best journal lines, saved. Screenshots or retyped, before the old phone goes in a drawer.
• A two-week check. A date in your calendar to decide whether the app stays.

If you miss Mend, Icky gives you all of it back and more: the streak, an 8-week program, a 30-day journal, the Panic Room for the nights, and an AI companion that remembers what you told it. For the plan behind the number, read how to get over an ex.