I built a landing page to validate a Chrome extension idea. 0 signups in week 1 — roast my funnel.
I'm validating Trackd: a Chrome extension that scans your Gmail for every subscription you're paying for — no bank login required.
Why I think the problem is real:
- CNET/YouGov 2026: average US adult wastes $252/year on unused subscriptions, up 24% YoY
- ~40% of consumers refuse to give banks access via Plaid (Plaid/YouGov 2025)
- Rocket Money — the category leader — requires exactly that, and is US-only
Why I think the gap is real:
The closest competitor (Track-Subs) does email-based detection but as a web app. Nobody owns the email-scan × Chrome extension intersection yet. Extensions live where subscriptions get managed — the browser.
Pricing plan: Free tier (10 subs, monthly scan) / Pro at $3.99/mo or $29.99/yr — deliberately under Track-Subs' $6.99.
What I did last week: replied to ~20 people on X and YouTube expressing this exact pain, with the landing page linked.
Result: 0 waitlist signups.
So — founders of IH — where's the break?
- Wrong audience? Are people complaining about forgotten subs actually looking for tools?
- Weak hook? Is "$252/yr wasted" not compelling enough?
- Trust gap? Would you grant a random extension read-only Gmail access?
- Wrong channel entirely?
Roast away. Landing page: https://trackd-deanware.netlify.app/?utm_source=indiehackers&utm_campaign=w34 — What would make you sign up — or what makes this a "nice idea, would never install"?
The zero-signup result is actually useful because the trust question is unusually high here. Asking an extension to read Gmail is a much bigger commitment than visiting a website, so I’d be curious whether that concern is the main barrier even among people who already want subscription tracking.
Thanks — I think you've put your finger on exactly it. The surrounding data supports your read too:
~40% of consumers already refuse bank access via Plaid, and interestingly, one competitor in this
space (Subnesio) explicitly markets "no email scraping" as a privacy feature. That tells me
inbox-access anxiety is real even among people who actively want subscription tracking.
My working answer is to make the architecture do the persuading: everything parsed locally in the
browser, nothing leaves the device, read-only scope only, revocable in one click from Google account
settings. No cloud account at all.
But I suspect that's necessary, not sufficient — perception lags architecture. So let me ask you
directly: would visible proof help? E.g., a "watch this scan happen with devtools open — zero network
calls" approach. Or is the Chrome permission prompt itself ("Read all your email") enough to kill
conversion before any explanation gets a chance?
That’s an interesting question. I’d be happy to continue the conversation beyond the thread — would you be open to sharing the best email to reach you on?
Happy to continue beyond the thread! Best email to reach me: trackd@deanware.com
(For anyone following along — if you have thoughts on whether inbox access is an automatic deal-breaker for extensions, I'd genuinely value that perspective too.)