Symptm

Inspiration

We were inspired by how often people turn to social media or online forums to describe how they feel, only to receive vague or unhelpful responses. We wanted to build a space that provides a social media-like feedback experience while keeping the platform's information authentic and insightful. Symptm was born out of the idea that your symptoms shouldn't make you feel alone. They should help you connect with others who truly understand.

What it does

Symptm is a personal wellness app that lets users log and share their symptoms in real time. Once a user posts a symptom description, the app analyzes it using similarity matching to find users with comparable experiences, displays real-time community feedback and practical suggestions, and builds a personal log of wellness patterns over time. The platform blends AI-driven insights with community empathy, helping users find understanding, guidance, and support through shared experiences.

How we built it

We built Symptm using a modern web stack for speed, scalability, and seamless user experience. The frontend uses Next.js for server-side rendering and Vercel for deployment, giving us a fast, responsive interface. Supabase handled authentication, user management, and real-time data storage on the backend. We designed a clean, minimalist interface with CSS for a calming wellness aesthetic. The core logic relies on a simple text similarity matching algorithm that groups users with overlapping symptom keywords or conditions. Everything was integrated through a secure login system with dynamic posting and community feedback pages.

Challenges we ran into

Implementing efficient symptom-similarity matching with limited data proved tricky. We used Gemini to compare different entries in the database to find the top matching post and provide a percentage matching score. Balancing community sharing with user confidentiality required careful database structuring and learning how to create authentication. Configuring Supabase authentication with Next.js routes on Vercel initially caused routing conflicts that took time to debug. Designing for both desktop and mobile while maintaining readability and emotional tone was a fine balance.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We built a fully functional prototype with real-time posting, feedback, and user matching. We designed an intuitive, polished UI that users enjoyed interacting with. We integrated secure Supabase authentication and a real-time database from scratch. Most importantly, we created a platform that genuinely helps people feel connected through their shared experiences.

What we learned

How to efficiently connect Next.js, Supabase, and Vercel for rapid deployment.
The importance of designing interfaces that evoke trust and calmness in wellness apps.
That even simple AI-powered matching can create a meaningful sense of community.
How product design and empathy go hand in hand. Technical innovation means little without emotional understanding.

What's next for Symptm

Refining our AI-driven matching mechanism to improve accuracy and reduce false positives.
Adding an AI-driven symptom verifier to avoid false information on the platform.
Introducing direct messaging for users with similar patterns.
Integrating mental health resource recommendations based on symptom trends.
Launching a mobile app version to make journaling and feedback even more accessible.
Adding an anonymous chat feature so users can connect with others who have posted solutions.