TrustSense

Inspiration:

TrustSense was inspired by two things:

1. “How We Feel”, the emotion‑tracking app created by the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, which showed us how powerful it can be when people have a simple tool to understand their inner world.
2. Our own desire to understand trust more deeply. We wanted to build something that helps people decode the emotional signals behind trust, especially for those who struggle with social cues or have been hurt in the past. ## What it does: TrustSense helps users explore, track, and strengthen their intuitive sense of trust.

How we built it:

We combined: • Emotion‑tracking principles inspired by “How We Feel” • Behavioral psychology research on trust, intuition, and interpersonal safety • User‑centered design, especially for neurodivergent users • A clean, calming interface that encourages reflection rather than judgment • A lightweight backend for storing trust logs, patterns, and insights Our goal was to make the experience feel like a conversation with your wiser self.

Challenges we ran into:

Defining trust in a measurable way — trust is emotional, contextual, and deeply personal. • Designing for neurodivergent users who may interpret social cues differently. • Balancing simplicity with depth — we wanted the app to feel lightweight but still meaningful. • Avoiding anything that feels like “diagnosing” people — the app guides reflection, not judgment. • Creating exercises that feel natural, not clinical or overwhelming.

Accomplishments that we're proud of:

We created a new framework for mapping trust patterns over time. • We built an experience that feels emotionally safe, not analytical or cold. • We designed tools that help users like Alex — people who are brilliant, hardworking, and capable, but struggle with reading trust cues in interviews or relationships. • We turned a complex psychological concept into something simple, accessible, and empowering.

What we learned:

Trust is not just a decision — it’s a sense, shaped by emotion, memory, intuition, and context. • Many people, especially neurodivergent users, want help understanding social signals without feeling judged. • Reflection tools work best when they feel like gentle guidance, not homework. • People crave ways to understand themselves that go beyond mood tracking — they want insight into their relationships and instincts.

What's next for TrustSense:

AI‑powered pattern insights that help users see long‑term trends in their trust decisions. • Scenario‑based practice for interviews, dating, and conflict situations. • A “Trust Profile” that visualizes how a user builds trust and what signals matter most to them. • Community‑driven stories and examples to help users feel less alone in their experiences. • Expanded neurodivergent‑friendly features, including sensory‑aware design and customizable reflection styles. TrustSense is just getting started — our vision is to help people trust themselves more deeply so they can build healthier, safer, more fulfilling relationships.

Built With

• figma