Letterboxd is the default name people reach for when they think “track the films I’ve watched.” It’s excellent at what it is: a social network for cinephiles — reviews, lists, four-star ratings, followers, a public diary.
Seen is built on a different premise. It’s a private catalog, not a feed. There’s no one to follow, no profile to perform, nothing pushed at you. You search a title, mark it seen, and move on. That’s the whole loop — and when you do want a suggestion, you ask for it rather than have it shoved into a feed.
If the social side of Letterboxd is the reason you use it, Seen isn’t trying to replace that. If the social side is the part you quietly tolerate to get to the tracking, this is the comparison for you.
At a glance
| Seen | Letterboxd | |
|---|---|---|
| Core model | Private catalog | Public social network |
| Social feed / followers | — | ✓ |
| Pushed recommendations | — (ask, don’t get pushed) | ✓ |
| TV shows | ✓ (season-level) | Films only |
| Reactions & notes | ✓ private | Public reviews |
| Aesthetic | Minimal, text-first | Poster-grid, image-heavy |
Where Seen is different
Private by design. No follower count, no likes, no public diary — your catalog is a tool for you, not content for anyone else. Full data ownership lands with self-hosting (on the roadmap, not ready yet); for now the hosted app simply keeps your catalog to itself.
It tracks TV, not just film. Seen treats shows at the season level, so “watched” means something precise — not a single checkbox for an eight-season run.
Nothing pushed at you. No engine nudging you toward the next thing, no feed to scroll. When you do want a suggestion, you go to an intelligence layer that actually knows your taste and ask — advice you reached for, not a recommendation sold to you.
Text-first, deliberately quiet. Where Letterboxd leans into poster grids and imagery, Seen is typographic and calm. Less to look at, less to manage.
Where Letterboxd is the better pick
Be honest with yourself here. If you want the social layer — writing reviews, reading friends’ takes, building public lists, the year-in-review stats — that ecosystem is Letterboxd’s whole strength, and Seen deliberately doesn’t compete on it.
Coming from Letterboxd?
A Letterboxd CSV/ZIP importer is on the roadmap so you can bring your watch history across. It isn’t shipped yet — follow the roadmap to know when it lands.
Want the quiet version of tracking what you’ve watched? Try Seen.