How we built HeedHome, a reminder app that keeps your data on your phone.
HeedHome tracks the dates people forget: passports, licenses, car registration, warranties and home upkeep. It went from the first line of code to both app stores in 24 days.
- Platforms
- iPhone and Android
- Built with
- React Native (Expo) and an on-device database
- Started
- 5 October 2026
- Live
- App Store and Google Play on 29 October 2026
The goal
Expiry dates are easy to forget and expensive to miss. We wanted one calm timeline for the home, the car and a family's documents, with reminders at the right moment, and no account or server holding anyone's passport details.
What we built
- A timeline grouped into overdue, this week, this month and later, with Done, Renewed and Snooze buttons on each card.
- Reminders timed to each thing: months ahead for a passport, on the day for a filter change, with buttons inside the notification.
- A scanner that reads the expiry date from a passport, driver's license, appliance label or receipt on the phone itself. ID photos are deleted right after reading.
- Quick start tiles for 21 common things, plus people and pets for a whole household.
- Backup to a file for free, and automatic backup to the user's own Google Drive or iCloud with Pro.
- An app lock that uses the phone's fingerprint, face or PIN.
How it is built
HeedHome is one React Native codebase, built with Expo, for both phones. Data lives in a database on the phone, and the phone schedules the reminders itself, so the app works offline and we run no servers that hold personal data. Text on documents is read by the phone's own text recognition. A photo the user chooses to keep is encrypted on the device. Pro is an in-app subscription.
Timeline
- 5 OctFirst codeA new app, designed first as a clickable prototype.
- 9 OctFirst iPhone submissionApple later asked for more information, and we replied with a screen recording and screenshots.
- 12 OctGoogle approvesThe Android release was approved and held until the iPhone version was ready.
- 14 OctOne rejection, fixedApple rejected a build over the wording of a camera-permission button. We changed the buttons and resubmitted.
- 29 OctLive on both storesReleased together on the App Store and Google Play.
What we'd tell a client
- Privacy can be a design choice. With no accounts and no servers, there was no personal data on our side to protect or disclose, and less to build.
- Store review is part of the schedule. A single button label cost a few days. Plan for at least one review round when you pick a launch date.
Get the app
Free to download. See also HeedHome on our products page, or how we build apps for clients.
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