A privacy-first, offline-capable recovery companion built for Marijuana Anonymous, a 12-step fellowship supporting recovery from marijuana addiction. The app digitizes printed pamphlets, sobriety chips, and meeting directories into a single, always-available mobile experience.
It combines a real-time sobriety tracker, an offline EPUB library, a PDF reader, meeting discovery, and a secure donations flow, all wrapped in a calming, trust-first design that's private by default and fully usable offline.
The Issue At Hand
Individuals seeking support for marijuana addiction faced a fragmented landscape, recovery literature locked in printed books, pamphlets scattered across formats, and meeting directories rarely kept current.
Any server-based solution storing sensitive sobriety data also carried real privacy risk for a community built on anonymity, while members often needed access without reliable internet, all of which pointed toward a mobile-first, offline-capable solution built on the organization's existing WordPress backend.
Sobriety tracking was manual with no positive reinforcement, and any account- or server-based model for storing a member's sobriety date carried real privacy risk
MA's literature only existed as printed books and static PDFs, with no central, downloadable, offline-accessible home for pamphlets and readings
Meeting locations and times were outdated across existing platforms, with no reliable 'near me' discovery
No centralized hub existed for the 12 Steps, daily meditations, support, or contributions, despite an underused WordPress backend that could power it all
Our Collaboration
Phase 1
Discover
Phase 2
Design
Phase 3
Build
Phase 4
Launch
We mapped emotional journeys with community leaders to prioritize privacy. This research confirmed two critical decisions: an offline-first architecture and a no-login, local-storage approach to ensure maximum user trust.
Key Activities
Community Leader Interviews
Sat down with sponsors and recovery program coordinators to understand the emotional sensitivities users face at every stage of sobriety.
Emotional Journey Mapping
Plotted the highs, lows, and relapse-risk moments of a typical recovery journey to identify exactly where digital support mattered most.
Competitive Tool Audit
Reviewed existing sobriety apps to identify gaps in privacy, tone, and reliability that were eroding user trust.
Privacy & Connectivity Research
Found that members open the app in moments of need, cravings, milestones, before or after meetings, often without reliable internet, and that any login/account model would add friction and risk around sensitive recovery data. This pushed the architecture toward an on-device, secure-storage model with no login, and made offline-first a core requirement for the library, pamphlets, and sobriety counter rather than a nice-to-have.
Platform & Backend Strategy
Discovered the organization already ran on WordPress, so the most resourceful path was integrating with its existing REST API through a clean, typed service layer rather than building and maintaining a separate backend, saving budget and keeping content management in the MA team's hands.
Reading Format Research
Compared static PDFs against EPUB for long-form recovery literature and landed on EPUB.js for reflowable text, bookmarking, annotations, and full-text search, a far better reading experience for titles like A New Leaf and Living Everyday with Hope.
Design & Prototypes
Before writing a single line of code, we crafted a comprehensive Figma design system covering every screen the app would need, from onboarding through the sobriety dashboard, library, and donations flow. Explore the interactive prototype below to see the components, palette, and flows that guided development.
Open in figma
Delivered
Sobriety Tracker & Home
A personalized dashboard tracking sobriety time with milestone celebrations and secure on-device storage.
Service & Meeting Resources
Digital access to core literature, traditions, and a 'near me' meeting discovery tool.
Offline EPUB Library
A full-featured, offline-capable e-reader for essential recovery literature with search and bookmarking.
Pamphlets & PDF Viewer
An integrated viewer to browse, download, and save essential pamphlets and meeting readings.
Daily Reminders
Local, server-free push notifications to keep members engaged with their recovery journey.
Secure Donations Flow
A frictionless, secure contribution system supporting cards, PayPal, and bank transfers.
Gallery
Build with:
“
Mango Coders were a reliable partner in updating the Marijuana Anonymous App. They improved the Meeting Finder, added calendar integration, enhanced the Support page, and implemented the Life with Hope Workbook as an in-app ebook. They also supported updated branding and the app's relaunch in stores. Responsive, collaborative and adaptable throughout. We will definitely work with them again!
— Andrea F.
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