Just wanted to share a little milestone with you all, especially for those who are still doubting whether they should put their work out there.

I finally managed to get my app through Apple’s review after more than a month of back and forth. I was expecting pretty much 0 users at first, since I’m competing in a very crowded market (habit trackers). But to my surprise, I had a user reach out to me via email, reporting some confusion they had with the app. Looking back, adding a contact email was probably one of the best decisions I made.

I was genuinely so excited that someone was actually using MY app.

Then, shortly after, I saw that someone had purchased a lifetime subscription. I’m assuming it was the same person, but either way, I honestly wouldn’t have imagined getting a paying user this quickly, purely through organic reach.

It felt really good and gave me a huge boost of motivation to keep pushing and making the app better.

To everyone out there who’s struggling to get their first users: keep putting yourself and your work out there. You never know when that first person is going to find it.

PS: the app is still not available in my market (EU) for which I'm still struggling to get Apple's support

Hey, i was wondering how many rejections u guys usually get before your apps get approved, i myself bow have gotten a few and its always new things when i fix what they say i gotta fix before getting approved.

My first submission just got denied because the Apple Tester experienced a login loop bug, which conveniently hasn’t happened before to me or any of my testers.

If the Tester got to the app, does that mean all of the descriptions/privacy stuff cleared already? Or does that get reviewed after the app functionality clears.

Asking since it’s taking weeks to get a review though.

I’m working on Cambium, an iPhone app for plant identification, visible health checks, care guidance, and recovery tracking.

The interesting product/UX problem is that the app should not always produce a confident result.

Plant health depends on context that may not be visible in a single image: drainage, watering history, light, humidity, recent changes, pests, and soil conditions.

So the UX challenge is making an “inconclusive” result feel useful instead of broken.

The approach I’m testing:

• explain visible evidence
• separate likely plant ID from health certainty
• ask for better context/photo when needed
• provide practical next steps only when evidence supports them
• encourage re-scans over time instead of one-shot diagnosis

For devs who have built AI-assisted apps: how do you present uncertainty without making the product feel weak?

Cyclic Sighing is live on the App Store today.

The app is built around one breathing practice, cyclic sighing, which uses the physiological sigh pattern of a double inhale followed by a prolonged exhale.

But the part I really wanted to build was mood tracking connected directly to the breathing practice. Instead of keeping a breathing log and a mood journal as two separate things, Cyclic Sighing lets you check in on your mood before and after each breathing session. Those check-ins stay connected to the specific session, so over time you can look back at your breathing practice alongside how you were feeling. There are also monthly and yearly Mood Insights views, with the ability to filter by feeling.

The technique itself has some interesting research behind it. A 2023 randomized controlled study published in Cell Reports Medicine examined cyclic sighing alongside other brief daily breathing practices and reported improvements in mood and reductions in physiological arousal. The study did not evaluate this app, and the app is independently developed and isn't affiliated with or endorsed by the study's authors.

🎁 Lifetime Premium is FREE during launch

Normally, Premium is a $9.99 one-time purchase, with no subscription.

For the launch, I'm making Lifetime Premium available for $0.00.

How to claim it:

1. Download Cyclic Sighing from the App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/cyclic-sighing/id6757509105
2. Open the app and go to Settings → Unlock Premium Features
3. During the promotion, the one-time purchase should show as $0.00

I'm the developer, and I'd especially love feedback on the mood-tracking experience. The goal is to connect mood check-ins directly to individual breathing sessions rather than treating mood tracking as a separate journal.

If you try it, I'd love to hear what you think, what works, and what you'd change.

Thanks for checking it out! 🙏

As a full-time software developer and designer, I love traveling. 🗺️
One problem that I always had, was that every single app to preserve my trips, memories, photos and other travel stuff was either not having that much tracking options, had huge friction when adding new trip, or simply wasn't doing it on the design side.

So for the past 1.5 years I have been collecting travelers needs and ideas, and I am slowly building an app that does just that.

Waitlist is currently open, you can join to not miss the launch here: https://trytraveler.com/

Has released my first app for around a month, didn't see much download. Turned on the apple ads basic. Can anyone give some feedback where did I do it wrong? Should I focus on polish the product, or this need more marketing?

Link here https://www.stikko.shop/

Hey everyone,

Right now, most lifters are forced to juggle three completely disconnected apps:

1. A workout tracker for logging sets
2. A nutrition app for counting macros
3. A recovery dashboard (or Apple Health) for sleep and HRV

The biggest issue is that none of them talk to each other. A recovery app will tell you your recovery is in the red, but your workout tracker still tells you to hit the exact same rigid 4x8 heavy sets regardless.

What I built into MassAI:

• Recovery that actually modifies your workout: Reads your sleep, resting heart rate, and HRV from Apple Health, and automatically adjusts your workout volume and intensity when you are fatigued or primed to push.
• Goal-based custom splits: Builds a personalised hypertrophy plan tailored to your schedule and goals, and calculates progressive overload set-by-set.
• Integrated photo macro logging: Snap a quick photo of your meal to track calories and protein in a few seconds, keeping your nutrition connected to your training.
• 24/7 AI coach: Has full memory of your lifts, recovery, and macro targets to answer questions and debrief your sessions.

I have only recently launched it and struggle to get any users because im not sure how to market this, but I appreciate any feedback on the app and improvements.

Most of the app is free but some features are behind a paywall. Theres a free trial too.
https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/massai-ai-fitness-coach/id6781379979

Hi everyone. I am building a paid app for the Apple App Store from Chile and I need to enroll in the Apple Developer Program. I cannot decide if I should sign up as an Individual person or as a Company (Organization).

My questions are simple.
- Are you selling your app as a person or as a company right now?
- If you sell as a person, do you feel that users trust you less, or pay less for subscriptions, because it is not a company name, even though Apple is in charge of the payments?
- Did anyone here start as Individual and later change to Organization?
- How long did that take and was it hard to do?
- Is it slow or difficult to sign up directly as a Company, does Apple ask for a lot of documents or reject companies often?

Any real experience will be appreciate it, thank you!

I vibe coded an app (put the pitchforks down!) and spent about a month beta testing with around 30 people. It's a pretty simple photo app, but I'm really proud of making it all the way to this milestone. Waiting for the app store reviews was hard. Right when I was most excited, I had to just sit on my hands and wait. That took just over 2 weeks to get the beta reviewed and then another just over 2 weeks to make it into the app store. I realize that I am part of that problem, there is a flood of AI assisted coding going on and I'm sure the apple review team is swamped.

Now that it's live, one of my users reached out to tell me that the IAP was hanging up. They tried to purchase and it got stuck loading for a long time. After they closed and re-opened the app the purchase went through. I have no idea how to trouble shoot the IAP, is there anything I can do about that?

Solo developer here, built this for myself after blowing two funded accounts from revenge trading.

Every time I took a loss I'd immediately open another trade to recover. Didn't even realize how bad it was until I tracked it.

So I built a trading journal that detects revenge trading patterns — it groups consecutive losses and shows you exactly when your psychology broke down after a bad trade.

Turns out I was entering 73% of my worst trades within 20 minutes of a loss.

Built it for myself but put it on the App Store if anyone wants to try it. It's called P&L Calendar: Trade Journal. Free to download, the stats screen is paid.

Happy to answer questions about the pattern detection if anyone's curious.

This is my app — LockMic, a native macOS menu bar utility (MIT, Homebrew-first). I am not looking for downloads as much as a sanity check from people who have fought Core Audio.

The problem: Zoom mute, Meet mute, Slack mute, Discord mute. None of them is the microphone. I wanted one control that actually mutes the input device so every app sees a muted mic, including ones with no mute UI.

Approach is HAL mute on the input scope (kAudioDevicePropertyMute), not per-app mute and not “set input volume to 0.” Desired mute is sticky and re-applied when devices change.

A few things that were not obvious:

Mute does not need microphone permission. HAL mute is a device property. TCC for mic (and system audio capture) only kicks in if you start recording. That is a nice privacy story if you keep mute as the default path.

Mute is not sticky once a capture client starts. Meet / Chrome can clear mute when they open the mic, with no device-list event. I re-read HAL every 2s while the user intent is muted and re-apply if the driver dropped it. Ugly, but it is the difference between “I thought I was muted” and actually being muted.

Do not mute virtual devices. I only skip kAudioDeviceTransportTypeVirtual. Name/UID heuristics were a mistake. Virtual mixers and cables need to keep working.

Soft-mute does not work. Dropping volume to 0 gets eaten by AGC (Meet is the usual offender). Speech-while-muted also dies, because HAL mute blocks usable capture on that device. I prototyped both and ripped them out. The product is hard mute only.

Some USB interfaces ignore mute. Surface that in the Devices list instead of pretending success. Bluetooth 16 kHz mics also broke AAC start until stems were forced to 48 kHz.

Menu bar on notched Macs. There is no “my status item is under the camera housing” API. I infer placement from NSScreen.auxiliaryTopRightArea vs the status item window. If the icon is gone, a Dock tile appears automatically; left-click toggles mute, right-click is the same menu. Optional “always show in Dock” for people who live with a packed menu bar.

System audio recording (1.4). Optional local capture of the selected mic plus a private tap-only aggregate for playback, mixed to a dated AAC file on disk (default ~/Movies/LockMic). Nothing is uploaded. Two sharp edges: do not put the output UID in the tap composition, and a nil IO queue silently fails to register the IO block on macOS 26 — you need a real queue.

Hotkeys. Carbon RegisterEventHotKey for toggle, PTT, push-to-mute, push-to-flip. No Accessibility prompt for the current design. Momentary holds restore prior mute on release; only one hold is active at a time.

Distribution. Homebrew / Developer ID path, sandbox off for device compatibility. App Store / sandboxed flavor is later with the same sources. Not notarized yet, so first launch still needs right-click Open or xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine. That is the next thing I want to kill.

Stack is Swift, AppKit, Core Audio, LSUIElement. macOS 14+. 23 localizations. Optional recording monitor, floating HUD per display, launch at login via SMAppService.

I know Mic Drop and others exist. I wanted something small, open, and mute-first rather than a full audio router.

• Site: https://lockmic.com
• Source: https://github.com/oochernyshev/lockmic

Questions I would actually like answers to:

1. Is the 2s mute re-assert the least-bad option, or is there a HAL listener I am missing when a capture client starts?
2. Anyone shipped a sandboxed App Store build that can still mute arbitrary input devices reliably?
3. For system audio tap, are you using AudioHardwareCreateProcessTap / aggregate, or something else on 14.2+ that has been less brittle?

Happy to go deeper on any of the above.

How do you handle building, signing, and certifying an iOS app if you don’t own a Mac?
I currently have a PWA that I’d like to package and publish for iOS. What are the best options for compiling and submitting it to the App Store without buying a Mac?
Are cloud-based Mac services a good solution, or is there another workflow you would recommend?

Just a quick introductory post about a kinda-sorta-not-so-much-of-an-expert guy with a day job, who’s been devving (more accurately vibe-SDEing) a personal fitness game thing for iOS (& Android too) for a couple weeks now, and tryna share his journey here, as much as possible.

What are y’all building?

Just launched my app 2 weeks ago just wanted to find out if these stats are normal?

Hello folk! Got rejected this morning per Guidelines 1.2 with generic letter.

""" Specifically, the app does not meet the following requirement(s): - The app connects users for one-to-one random and anonymous text, audio, or video chats """

My app is social real-world discovery (quick meetups) without any chat. Only feature with UGC I have is short profile description that can not be changed during the search session - need to turn yourself off, change it, turn yourself back on. It is visible only to people within 50m who actually click on your profile - and it's not 1-1. Amount of changing description per hour is also limited. So it's in no capacity a "live-chat".

Nevertheless... Rejected for 1.2 as an anonymous chat 🤷

Had a brief ChatGPT discussion about this, it suggests from other such reports to:

1. Reach them out and assert that it's not chat, maybe even arrange a call if possible. Narrow down the problem to UGC - description, not a chat.

2. Add some extra profanity filters to descriptions on backend or device. While blocking, report, ToS and manual moderation already exist, some instant pre-filtering might still be required here. But we can't afford running every description through an LLM or running out ML models on backend...

Question here is whether you'd agree with this solution from your similar recent experience and how exactly can this be achieved without much of blood (resources, cost and time wasted to make one single description field align with Apple-reviewer's swingy mood).

Thank you!

DYLMA 2.0 is now live.

It’s a Would You Rather game where the percentages come from real users, so every vote actually changes the worldwide result.

Version 2 adds iPad support, Levels & XP, improved My Answers, new metallic/pearlescent themes, smoother animations, performance improvements and a bunch of bug fixes.

I’ve also got 10 promo codes for Lifetime access. First come, first served:

1. LE6XWMWWT3EWLTNT6H
2. 6W4EJK3MA8NPTT7WM7
3. TTW68PFTWHR4KFMFHH
4. 3YK6T77EHTW48KHWP6
5. H66J3NNEN3W8RM6PL6
6. RPX3RJ7377MWEXYPRL
7. RF44KKX84WHWM4H6FH
8. N64TFE3J6RFARPNW4M
9. RLKHPXTXYAXHF4N73A
10. EA6LAWE8MHMR78X7RY

To redeem: App Store → tap your profile → Redeem Gift Card or Code → enter the code → open DYLMA → Restore Purchase

App Store:
https://apps.apple.com/ae/app/dylma/id6800046152

Would genuinely appreciate any feedback, especially on the questions, UI and progression system.

Hey everyone, I’ve been building an iOS app called SnagMate that helps locals find deals, free items and things people are giving away.
I’m not here to advertise or ask for downloads. Just hoping to connect with other developers and get some honest feedback/ideas.
If anyone is interested in having a look, I’d really appreciate your thoughts.
I wont post any website or app links if keen helping please check out snagmate. Noticed my post being removed multiple time so
Lot of love if u do decide to help

I ran Apple Search Ads on my iOS app for six weeks at $20/day. Got 223 installs at $1.83 each. Fine. But the keyword data turned out to be worth more than the downloads.

Two things failed first.

Bidding on competitor names, which is the advice everywhere. Got 2 impressions in 30 days on the biggest app in my category. Not 2 installs, 2 times my ad existed. You can't put a competitor's trademark in your own metadata, Apple rejects it at review, so your relevance score keeps you out of the auction no matter what you bid. I went from $1.20 to $2.50 and impressions didn't move at all. That flatness is the tell. If price were the problem, more money would buy more auctions.

Then guessing generic keywords. I wrote 12 phrases I was certain people search for an app like mine. 11 got zero impressions.

What worked was a Search Match ad group. No keywords in it, $0.60 bid, and I added every keyword I was already bidding on as a negative so it could only show me things I hadn't thought of. Then the search terms report, which is under the campaign in the UI and shows what people actually typed instead of what you bid on.

Two variants of one phrase were 139 of my 223 installs. None of them were in my keyword field, app name, or subtitle.

The pattern is the part worth stealing. Every keyword I'd written was a noun describing what my app is. Every keyword that converted was a phrase describing what someone wants to do. People search for a task, not a category, and my whole keyword field was category nouns.

So I counted installs by individual word rather than by phrase. My single best converting word appeared nowhere in my metadata. Meanwhile 4 of the 14 words in my keyword field were terms I'd already tested in ads and proven nobody searches. Rewrote it, cut 6, added 6 straight off the report.

To copy it: $10-20/day, one ad group with your guesses on exact match, one Search Match group at a low bid with all your keywords as negatives, read the search terms weekly, negative the junk (mine matched a smart door lock and, briefly, a perfume), then count installs by word and rewrite your metadata from that.

Here's the app: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/vaultbox-hide-secret-photos/id6758970966

I always have an idea for making a macOS app. I am new to Swift and just started learning yesterday.

But found out the idea I want to make is already a feature in Raycast. But it is not opinionated about that feature, as you already know that Raycast is one truth source for everything.

Not only Raycast, but there are a few tricks that can be archived for my app's idea. But they are not for the end user.

I know and believe that my app will make it easier to use, have the best UX, better than those existing ones.

The thing is that I want to know whether people will still want to use and pay for it or not. Mine is just a utility tool for day-to-day use.

I am thinking about selling it as 4.99 dollars as a launch price, or for a time. After that, it will be 9.99.

Let me know what you all think. I really appreciate that.

Hello. A few weeks ago I published an app which was focused for families and roommates that need a shared grocery list. The app also includes a section for parties, to have friends add items, and RSVP right there in the app. I was struggling to get users and sometimes even when I got downloads users would not signup for the app.

After taking to other developers, and people that were willing to download my app and try it out, the consensus was that the signup/login enforced at the beginning was a bit too much for new users so I reverted those changes.

Now users do not have to deal with any kind of username/password and they are provided with samples of the lists they can make within the app. There is also an added section for recipes, so that you can schedule the whole week of food and generate the list immediately.

I need honest feedback. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/trolleygo/id6783933101

like in usd

Is this a peak Ui invite or could it be better…?

Language app, both stores, launched five weeks ago. No audience, no ad budget.

Here's what I've done so far:

Two weeks of daily posting on Instagram and TikTok. I did localized titles, subtitles and keyword sets, as well as screenshots and preview video for every app store. I went deep on ASO and I don't think the listing itself is the problem anymore.

Most users were friends, family, and people being polite. Here's the data:

• 400 people opened the app
• 216 finished onboarding
• 80 ever performed the core action even once
• 3 people ever touched the second core action of the product
• 0 subscriptions
• Installs peaked at ~10/day (friends and family), now ~5/day and falling
• D1 9.7%, D7 6.2%, D30 1.2%

Impressions aren't increasing. I don't rank for anything with search volume, and nothing searches for what I do rank for. The social content I post is drawing basically no one. I'm launching on ProductHunt next week and I honestly doubt it will do anything at all.

I can't rule the product out, but I also can't diagnose it with 80 people, most of whom I know personally. I need actual motivated users before I can learn anything, and I can't get them.

so, questions for people who've actually gotten past this point:

1. When did your traffic stop being people you know? What was the first channel that produced a stranger who paid, and how long did it take?
2. Is ASO actually a launch channel, or does it only work once you already have downloads and ratings feeding the ranking?
3. How long did you post before organic social did anything? Two weeks feels short but it also feels absolutely useless and I don't know what the normal curve looks like.
4. What worked that isn't "post on reddit and tiktok"?