For years, your phone’s Camera Roll has served as a catch-all for more than just personal photos. Screenshots of recipes, fashion inspiration, travel ideas, product recommendations, and memorable tweets accumulate by the hundreds, often forgotten soon after they are saved. A new app called Pool, launching today on iOS, aims to change that by using artificial intelligence to organize, categorize, and make those screenshots genuinely useful again.
What Pool does differently
Pool is not just another bookmarking tool. Unlike services such as mymind, Fabric, or Raindrop, which help users organize links and images, Pool focuses exclusively on screenshots. After granting the app permission to access your photo library, it automatically sorts your screenshots into personalized categories it calls “pools.” These pools are unique to each user, based on the types of things they have saved over time—whether that is products, places, recipes, or quotes.
The app then uses AI to trace each screenshot back to its original source. A screenshot of a product, for example, links directly to the retailer’s website. A recipe captured from Instagram pulls up the ingredients and instructions shared by the creator. This functionality transforms static images into actionable links, making it easier to actually follow through on things you intended to revisit.
From a van in Lisbon to a funded startup
Pool was originally built about three years ago by co-founders Maxime Junique and Piet Terheyden, who met in a co-working space and bonded over a shared frustration: they would screenshot things they wanted to remember, but could never find them again. The first version of the app was developed in Lisbon over a couple of weeks while the founders lived out of a van. But they soon shelved the project to focus on building profitable B2B SaaS products, including the CRM software Waitless, which was acquired last year.
The idea was revived when the founders realized that recent advances in AI made it feasible to make sense of large, unstructured personal datasets. “It seemed like a perfect time to go after this idea,” Junique told Bitcoin World. “It also seemed to us like it’s a super untapped, unexplored data set for AI. Everyone goes after emails, bank transactions, chat logs—all of those productivity-first datasets. Who is going after this really, deeply emotional data set we all own?”
How the app handles memories and time
Pool treats screenshots not just as static files, but as memories that have a natural lifecycle. Some screenshots are more relevant at the moment, while others fade over time. For example, a screenshot of an event ticket barcode might disappear from the active view after the event has passed. Meanwhile, a screenshot of a flyer for an upcoming event could trigger AI agents to help you find where to buy tickets and link directly to the ticketing site.
Users can search for specific items or ask Pool’s built-in AI assistant to help locate something. The app’s mascot—a small rubber duck that you press and drag across the screen to enter Pool—is designed to become part of the brand for a planned second app that will function as a more general personal assistant.
Funding and availability
Pool has raised a pre-seed round of just over $2 million from General Catalyst, Kima Ventures, Paris-based Source Ventures, and several angel investors, including Winston Du, Julian Blessin, and Thomas Ricouard. The founders are currently based in Lisbon and plan to travel to San Francisco in late May to meet with additional investors.
The app is available now as a free download on iOS. While the current version focuses on screenshots, the founders have indicated that the underlying technology could eventually expand into other forms of personal data management.
Why this matters for consumers
For the average smartphone user, the problem Pool addresses is both universal and deeply personal. Screenshots have become a default method for saving anything that catches our attention online, but the lack of organization means most of that saved content is never revisited. By applying AI to automatically categorize and link screenshots back to their original sources, Pool offers a practical solution to a problem that affects nearly everyone who uses a smartphone.
As AI continues to evolve, the ability to organize and act on personal data will become increasingly valuable. Pool’s approach—focusing on the emotional and practical value of saved content rather than just productivity—represents a distinct direction in the consumer AI space.
FAQs
Q1: Is Pool available on Android?
Currently, Pool is only available as a free download on iOS. The founders have not announced plans for an Android version, but expansion to other platforms is possible in the future.
Q2: Does Pool access all my photos or just screenshots?
Pool requires permission to access your photo library, but it is designed to specifically identify and organize screenshots. It categorizes them into personalized pools based on content type, such as products, recipes, or travel ideas.
Q3: How does Pool handle privacy?
The app processes screenshots on-device and uses AI to link them to original sources. The founders have stated that privacy is a priority, though users should review the app’s privacy policy for detailed information on data handling and storage practices.
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