How a StudyBuddy room actually works

StudyBuddy is a shared study desk in the browser. You create a room, send a six-character code, and everyone who joins sees the same timers, tasks, and chat. Nothing is streamed. Nothing is recorded. The point is that the group can see who showed up and who is still working.

Create a room, or type a code

On the home page you can start a room as a guest or while signed in. Guests get the same room tools: timer, chat, tasks, themes, and ambient sound. Signed-in hosts keep the room between sessions so the same code still works next week. The code is the only way in. Rooms are not listed in a directory and cannot be searched, so a stranger cannot wander in unless someone hands them the code.

When you join, you pick a display name. That name is what other people see on the member cards and in chat. Guests store the name in this browser only. Signing in lets StudyBuddy attach study time to a profile, which is how streaks and weekly rankings work.

Timers run next to each other, not in a video grid

Each person has a stopwatch (or a Pomodoro) on their own card. Starting yours does not start anyone else’s. Stopping yours does not pause the room. Other people see your elapsed time update on their screen because the app stores a start timestamp once, then each browser computes the seconds locally. That is why the room stays snappy even with several people running at once: the server is not being written every second.

You can still work in silence. A running timer is the presence signal. If you need a break, you stop. If you hide the tab for hours, the timer eventually stops on its own so a forgotten session does not inflate anyone’s numbers.

Shared tasks and chat sit beside the clocks

The task list belongs to the room. Anyone can add an item, mark it done, or see what the group is working through. Completing a task can throw a little confetti — a small cue that the session is moving, not a scoreboard you have to play. Chat is optional and capped at 500 characters. You can edit or delete your own messages, including as a guest. Images in chat are scanned before they appear; guests cannot upload them.

If the room gets noisy, the host can lock it so no one else joins, remove someone, or close the room entirely. Closed rooms return a gone-for-good error if someone tries the old code later.

What this is not

It is not a video call, a classroom, or a matching service that pairs you with a stranger for a booked slot. There is no camera permission, no microphone check, and no “waiting room” host to admit you. If you want accountability without performing on camera, that is the product. If you want a tutor, a lecture, or a face-to-face coworking call, use those tools instead and keep StudyBuddy for the hours you want to sit together quietly.

Stats and leaderboards need an account because guest time is not saved to a profile. Everything else in the room works without one. Open a room, send the code, start the timer.

Create a study room — free, no account required.