I Built an iOS App in 9 Months as a Solo Dev - Here's What I Learned

After 3 months of nights and weekends, I just launched my first iOS app. Here's the story:

## The Problem

I discovered I was paying for 14 subscriptions but only using 8. That's $816/year wasted.

## The Solution

Built Sentinel - an AI-powered subscription tracker that:

- Finds duplicate services

- Alerts to unused subscriptions

- Sends smart reminders

- All processed on-device (privacy-first)

## Tech Stack

- SwiftUI (100% Swift, no UIKit)

- Core Data for local storage

- Claude AI API for insights

- UserNotifications for smart reminders

## Challenges

### 1. On-Device AI Processing

Most apps sync to cloud. I wanted privacy-first...

[explain your technical challenges]

### 2. Subscription Math

Calculating next payment dates for different cycles...

[explain the logic]

### 3. Beautiful UI/UX

SwiftUI is powerful but documentation lacks...

[your learnings]

## Launch Day Reality

Launched on Product Hunt today.

Expected: 100+ upvotes

Reality: 10 upvotes, #67 ranking

Learning: Building is 10% of the work. Marketing is 90%.

## What I'd Do Differently

1. Build audience WHILE building

2. Start with MVP, ship faster

3. Validate idea first

4. Document journey from day 1

## The App

Sentinel is live on the App Store: [link]

Free to try (up to 5 subscriptions).

## For Fellow Indie Devs

If you're building solo:

- You're not alone

- Marketing is harder than code

- Community matters

- Keep shipping

Connect with me on Twitter: @[your handle]

Happy to answer technical questions!

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Why this works:

✅ Educational content

✅ Technical details

✅ Honest story

✅ Helps other devs

✅ Won't get deleted

✅ SEO benefits

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### 5. LINKEDIN ⭐ (POST NOW)

LinkedIn is underrated for indie devs!

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Just launched my first iOS app 🚀

After 3 months of solo development, Sentinel is live.

The story:

- Found I was wasting $816/year on forgotten subscriptions

- Spent nights/weekends building a solution

- Launched today on Product Hunt

The reality:

- 10 upvotes (not 100)

- Learning marketing is harder than coding

- But proud of shipping v1

What I built:

AI-powered subscription tracker with privacy-first approach (all data stays on device)

Key features:

✅ Finds duplicate subscriptions

✅ Alerts to unused services

✅ Smart reminders before charges

✅ Beautiful analytics

Tech: SwiftUI, Core Data, on-device AI

Available now