Frequently asked questions
Everything about ONEWORD.ONLINE in one place.
The basics
What is ONEWORD.ONLINE?
A daily global ritual. Every 24 hours a single question lands on every screen on Earth. You answer with one word. After midnight UTC the question is archived forever, and a new one takes its place.
Is it free?
Yes. Free for everyone, in every country, forever. We stay free by showing unobtrusive Google AdSense ads after the answer area and inside the archive. No subscriptions, no paywall, no premium tier.
Do I need an account?
No. There are no accounts, no logins, no profiles. Your answer is associated only with a one-way hash of your IP and browser, used to prevent duplicates. You can answer once per day from any device.
When does the new question appear?
Every day at 12:00 UTC, a new question replaces the previous one. The countdown in the corner shows exactly how much time is left.
How to use it
Can I write in any language?
Yes. Letters from any alphabet — Latin, Cyrillic, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Hindi — are accepted. You can write "love", "amor", "愛", "사랑", "любовь" — all valid.
Why only one word?
Long answers give you time to perform. A single word can't be performed. The word that surfaces is the one already in you, faster than the part of your brain that wants to be liked. You don't write your answer — you discover it.
Can I change my answer?
No. One chance per question. That is what makes the answer honest. The next day brings a new question and a new chance.
What is the streak?
The quiet count of days you showed up. It lives in your browser only — we never send it to our servers. Clear your browser data and it resets. The streak is yours alone, not a competition.
What is the Word Garden?
A small private archive of every word you have ever sent. It lives in your browser, encrypted only by being local. No one can see it but you.
Privacy and safety
What data do you collect?
The one-word answer, the country it came from (and city when our edge network supplies it), and a one-way SHA-256 hash of your IP / browser / random cookie ID. We never store your raw IP address. See our Privacy Policy for the full list.
Can my answer be traced back to me?
No. The cloud you see is built on words alone — never on identities. Even we cannot reverse the hash to find your IP.
How do I delete my data?
Email us at hellooneword.online@gmail.com or use the Delete-my-data form at /forget. We will remove your hashed identifiers within 30 days. Aggregated, anonymous words may remain as public artefacts of that day.
What about children?
The service is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect data from anyone under 13. If you are a parent who believes we have collected from a child, email us and we will delete it without delay.
Are there cookies?
Two essential cookies (your random ID and consent choice). Google Analytics and AdSense cookies load only after you click Accept in the cookie banner. See our Cookie Policy for the full list.
The ritual
Why does this work for self-reflection?
Three reasons. First, it is fast — under ten seconds, so resistance has no time to wake. Second, it is shared — you are part of a global moment, not journaling alone. Third, it accumulates — after thirty days your Word Garden becomes a portrait of who you were that month, without any effort to keep a journal.
Is it therapy?
No. It is not therapy and it is not journaling. It is a moment — ten seconds where you name something true. If you are in crisis, please reach out to a qualified professional.
What if I miss a day?
Your streak resets — and that is fine. Come back tomorrow. The point is not the streak; the point is the moment when you arrive.
Why is the question different every day?
Each day asks something slightly different about being human — memory, future, belonging, surprise, honesty. Over a month you build a small map of yourself across those dimensions.
Behind the scenes
Who picks the daily question?
An AI prompt with strict rules (universal, single-word answerable, never political, never religious, never repeated within a year) generates each day's question. A fallback pool of human-written questions runs if the AI fails.
Where is the archive?
Every past question has its own permanent page at /archive/<slug>. The whole archive is browsable at /archive.
Can I see what the world has been answering?
Yes. The live page at /live shows today's growing word cloud. The archive shows the top words of every past day.
How do I contact you?
Email hellooneword.online@gmail.com or use the form at /contact.
Still have a question? Say hello