Verly Is a Canadian Bible App Built to Make Scrolling Meaningful
Matthew Mbaka · September 18, 2026 · Reviews
Most of us have picked up our phone to check one thing and realized twenty minutes later that we have been watching videos we never planned to see. Verly is being built around that habit, but with a different goal. Instead of asking people to stop scrolling altogether, it wants to make some of that time useful.
The Canadian app combines visual Bible stories with quizzes, prayer, discovery and community features. It was founded by Emmanuel Mbaka and is now looking for internal testers ahead of a proposed public launch on December 16, 2026.
Verly is still being developed, so this is not a review of a finished app. Some features may change before launch. The public website and web beta do, however, give a clear picture of what Emmanuel is trying to build.
What Verly actually does
At the centre of Verly is a feed of biblical stories presented in a format that feels familiar to anyone who uses TikTok, Instagram Reels or YouTube Shorts. The current web beta opens to a full screen story, with buttons for liking, commenting, saving and sharing.
The difference is in the subject. The stories are based on passages from the Bible, and each one shows the passage it comes from. Stories already available include Jesus Walks on Water, Elijah Calls Fire on Mount Carmel, The Raising of Lazarus, Ruth and Naomi’s Loyalty and Nehemiah Rebuilds Jerusalem’s Walls.
The beta also has sections for discovery, prayer, quizzes and user profiles. The idea is that someone can watch a story, find the related passage and then do more than simply swipe to the next video.
Verly plans to bring several things together in one app:
- Visual stories based on people and events in Scripture
- Quizzes and extra context to help users remember what they watched
- Prayer and reflection tools
- Profiles, discussions and messaging
- Recommendations that help users discover different parts of the Bible
That last point is worth noting. Most recommendation systems learn what keeps a person watching and then serve more of the same. Verly says it wants to avoid trapping users in a very narrow loop. Its recommendations are supposed to help people explore more of Scripture, not just repeat the subjects that already get their attention.
Where the name came from
Verly takes its name from “Verily,” a word used by Jesus while speaking to Nicodemus in John 3. The passage talks about being born of water and of the Spirit.
That passage also inspired the logo. One side of the V represents water, while the other represents the Spirit and divine presence. According to Verly, the name and the symbol came from the same idea from the beginning. The biblical meaning was not added later as a marketing story.
How do you turn the Bible into a visual story?
This is probably one of the hardest parts of building an app like Verly.
The Bible does not describe every piece of clothing, building, landscape or expression in a scene. Anyone turning a passage into a video has to make choices that are not written directly in the text.
Verly calls its approach “Scripture first.” Its stories are meant to stay grounded in the biblical account and identify the passage they are based on. When the text does not give a visual detail, the extra scenery or staging is treated as interpretation rather than a new part of Scripture.
That sounds like a small distinction, but it matters. A realistic video can make an invented detail feel as authoritative as the passage itself. Verly says stories will be reviewed for both scriptural and visual accuracy, and that creative choices should support the account rather than contradict it.
The app also says it is not meant to replace reading the Bible or taking part in a faith community. More detail about this standard is available on Verly’s Scripture first page.
The person building it
Emmanuel Mbaka has worked across personal support, cybersecurity, digital systems and software development. He also works in technology leadership with the Ontario Personal Support Workers Association and the Canadian Support Workers Association.
Verly grew from a fairly simple question he had about everyday phone use: if people are already reaching for their phones throughout the day, could some of that time help them understand the Bible?
His background in care and technology also shows up in the app’s plans for privacy and safety. Verly says behavioural recommendations will be optional for eligible adults. Teen users are not currently given recommendations based on behavioural profiling. Birth dates collected for age protection are intended to remain private and will not appear on public profiles.
These are good promises, but they still need to work properly in practice. Testers should pay attention to whether the privacy controls are easy to understand, how reporting and blocking work, and whether younger users are actually kept out of features that are not meant for them.
Verly has published its Privacy Policy, Terms of Service and Community Guidelines for anyone who wants to examine those plans more closely.
Why Verly needs testers now
An internal tester does not need to be a software developer. Verly is looking for people who will use the app normally, notice what is confusing and report what does not work.
There is plenty to test. Do videos load properly on different phones and internet connections? Are the Bible references easy to find? Are the quizzes helpful or do they feel like an afterthought? Can users understand the privacy options without reading several pages of policy language? Are captions, buttons and controls accessible?
Biblical accuracy is another obvious area. Testers who know Scripture well can flag scenes that may give the wrong impression, while newer readers can say whether the app provides enough context to understand what they are watching.
Community features will need careful testing too. Prayer posts and faith discussions can be personal. Reporting, moderation and account controls cannot be treated as something to figure out after the app becomes popular.
How to become a Verly tester
Anyone interested in joining the internal testing team can email support@getverly.app and use INTERNAL TESTING APPLICATION as the subject.
More information is available on the Verly testing page. People can also browse the stories currently featured on the website or open the web beta to see where the project stands today.
Verly is trying to build a Bible app around a habit people already have, rather than expecting them to develop a completely new one. Whether that works will depend on the stories, the learning tools and how safe the community feels. That is exactly why the testing period matters.
Tags: Verly, Canadian startups, Bible apps, Christian technology, mobile apps, internal testing, Emmanuel Mbaka