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A mind-reading thought tracker for when you're already sure you know what they meant

You don't wonder what they meant — you already know, and you're rarely asked to prove it. Mendly logs that certainty the moment it arrives, one tap, before you've built a story around a raised eyebrow or a slow reply. Hourly patterns later show how often the certainty was actually right.

The research

Aaron Beck's cognitive distortion taxonomy names mind reading as a form of arbitrary inference — drawing a conclusion about what someone else is thinking with no supporting evidence. David Burns later folded it into 'jumping to conclusions,' where it became one of the most commonly self-identified distortions. Mendly's hourly pattern view tracks the part neither book measures: your own accuracy rate.

— Aaron Beck, Cognitive Therapy of Depression, 1979

Later expanded by David Burns in Feeling Good, 1980.

Want to understand why this happens? What is catastrophizing — and how to tell when you're doing it

Quiz

What's your mind-reading pattern?

Question 1 of 4

When do you catch yourself assuming what someone's thinking?

“Mind reading doesn't feel like a distortion because it usually contains a grain of real signal — a tone, a pause, a look. The distortion isn't in noticing the signal. It's in how confidently the noticing gets converted into a verdict.”

Features

One-tap logging

One tap marks the thought — no typing, no prompts. The friction is so low it actually works mid-meeting, mid-walk, mid-spiral.

Hourly patterns

See when your inner critic is loudest. Morning spirals? Late-night overthinking? Your data, your story.

Shareable cards

Daily summary cards designed for Stories. Share a win without oversharing.

Not quite your pattern? An app for compulsive thoughts when telling yourself to stop has never worked might fit better

Apps like MindLift ask you to weigh the evidence for a mind-reading thought as you log it. If you already know the term and the technique, evidence-weighing isn't the missing step — proof of your actual track record is. Mendly skips straight to the data.

See the full comparison

Common questions

I already know this is called mind reading. What does logging actually add?
Timing and, if you note outcomes, accuracy. Most people who can name the distortion still can't say how often their specific reads turn out to be correct — the hourly pattern data and your own follow-up notes answer that directly, which knowing the term never does on its own.
Is this a CBT app?
No. There's no evidence worksheet or thought record. Mendly logs when the assumption occurs and shows you the pattern over time — a complement to CBT work, not a version of it.
How is this different from a journaling app?
Journaling asks you to write out the assumption and work through it. Mendly's entry is a tap — the insight comes from the pattern across many entries, not from processing any single one.
What does the free trial include?
The full app, no restrictions, for 7 days. After 7 days you choose monthly ($7.99) or annual ($59.99, about $5/month). Cancel anytime via your Apple subscriptions — no emails required.
A Sunday scaries tracker for the dread that has a start time you could set a clock byAn app for fortune-telling thoughts — the ones that treat the future as already decidedWhat is mind reading (the cognitive distortion, not the party trick)?

See for yourself — 7 days free.

Try Mendly on iPhone. Cancel anytime via Apple subscriptions.

Download on theApp Store