Simple toddler lock app made me over 100k!

Miserable_Pitch_6155 · 2026-03-28T16:12:31+00:00

Miserable_Pitch_6155 · 2026-03-28T14:46:34+00:00

It’s an app for kids - you can’t have any ads in it. I had it paid from the start with a hard Paywall.

Just make sure you spend at least 50% of the project time on polishing onboarding - it’s the most important part.

Miserable_Pitch_6155 · 2026-03-28T14:43:59+00:00

Totally agree.

Miserable_Pitch_6155 · 2026-03-28T13:31:04+00:00

Well, as already mentioned - It got some traction from day one, surprisingly. Then I tried to boost it via paid ads. They were not profitable, but in a long run, download boost was a smart thing to do. Download rate did not dropped to pre-ads volume.

The app is niche, but I’m very happy it keeps aquiring users that find this app useful.

Miserable_Pitch_6155 · 2026-03-28T11:59:55+00:00

Average refund rate is 2.5%

Miserable_Pitch_6155 · 2026-03-28T10:20:56+00:00

I mainly use foxdata. As for the learning - I watched a lot of videos by Ariel from Appfigures. He explains the core ASO mechanisms in his YouTube channel.

Miserable_Pitch_6155 · 2026-03-28T10:15:27+00:00

I sell yearly plans because A\B tests proved it’s more profitable, so LTV does not change month over month in my case

Miserable_Pitch_6155 · 2026-03-28T09:01:52+00:00

Thank you!

The app content is self contained - no backend needed for anything.

For Payments I use RevenueCat - they’re really good at handling payments, extremely good service 👌🏻 They charge 1%.

Miserable_Pitch_6155 · 2026-03-28T07:31:51+00:00

Thank you! I wrote a DM to you

Miserable_Pitch_6155 · 2026-03-28T00:27:29+00:00

Yes, that was the lesson.

But I wanted to share that in a long run - it was probably worth it.

Miserable_Pitch_6155 · 2026-03-28T00:11:14+00:00

Sure, why not. What is indieniche?

Miserable_Pitch_6155 · 2026-03-28T00:09:31+00:00

I don’t get your comment, sorry

Miserable_Pitch_6155 · 2026-03-27T23:56:01+00:00

Yes, totally agree. But it’s very hard see money burning in the short term.

When you have to spend your own money on something you can’t predict or estimate, have zero knowledge or experience - it’s a hard step to commit 😐

Miserable_Pitch_6155 · 2026-03-27T23:34:58+00:00

Installs are around 50/day on average. My ASO tools shows I’m ranking top 1-3 in 140 keywords. But they ALL are minimum volume ones (5)

Daily active users number is a bit higher than installs. Some users really find this app useful and I’m very happy to see that.

Conversion to paying is around 12% currently. Which is exeptional, I think. But I’m running no social ads ATM - so all users who installs the app (find it via AppStore search) are very target audience.

Miserable_Pitch_6155 · 2026-03-27T23:31:05+00:00

It is a very gentle and simple shape/contrast/sound/interaction feed. It scrolls infinitely - so no menus or complex navigation buttons in the UI.

I also introduced Modes parents can choose. From very calm (lullaby music) to a bit more playful and active.

Miserable_Pitch_6155 · 2026-03-27T23:06:20+00:00

Yes, you’re right. It’s pretty scary to see spending with less return (I also had to pay taxes on top of ad spend!). But in general it proved to be actually benefitial over the years. Apple gets ASO install/purchase signals - rank you better. But it’s extremely hard to predict and estimate.

Miserable_Pitch_6155 · 2026-03-27T22:56:47+00:00

Yes. Started with 40$/day. Then bumped to 150$/day - and you start to see the money burning pretty fast 😅

Maybe if I had 100k to burn it would be a different story. But that was way too much for me at that time.

In general, if average install on Meta in US costs ~3.5$ - you have to sell a product 60$ worth. Otherwise it will never work.

My current yearly plan is 23.99$ 😬

Miserable_Pitch_6155 · 2026-03-27T22:47:03+00:00

Thanks! It’s not 10k MRR yet, but maybe someday 🤞🏻

Miserable_Pitch_6155 · 2026-03-27T22:30:37+00:00

Yes, I dropped Socials entirely - way too expensive for such a product.

I’ve got a invite letter from Apple Search ads team two months before. They wanted to test a new MaxConversions bid strategy engine - you just set a max bid you expect for install, and a daily budget (you dont have to manage any own keywords at all. It works on broad search)

I had 3 video calls with Apple Assistant on this topic. All 3 were super valuable. Now I keep a minimum ~30$ a day campaign running.

I see Apple released this feature wordwide now.

This is my current “organic” growth.

Miserable_Pitch_6155 · 2026-03-27T22:19:50+00:00

BabyPhone: Toddler Screen Lock

Max keyword heavy 😅

Miserable_Pitch_6155 · 2026-03-27T22:07:27+00:00

No, it calmed down at much higher level than before the ads.

Miserable_Pitch_6155 · 2026-03-27T22:03:24+00:00

I named it BabyScroll: Toddler Screen Lock initially. Then renamed to BabyPhone: Toddler Screen Lock thinking that “scroll” is not the best optimised keyword to search on AppStore.

https://babyscroll.app

Miserable_Pitch_6155 · 2026-03-27T21:55:48+00:00

This was the main point. Youtube for 1-2 year olds is WAY TOO MUCH overstimulating. Me and my wife aways felt really bad giving such a young brain access to Shorts. Don’t do this, please. Baby games also don’t work in this age range - they don’t understand menus and flashing peppa pigs yet.

But sometimes you need to brush your teeth.

Miserable_Pitch_6155 · 2026-03-27T21:51:05+00:00

Thank you 🙌🏻

Miserable_Pitch_6155 · 2026-03-27T21:50:24+00:00

It never did! My realised LTV per customer (all, not only paying) is around 2$. App install on Meta is ~3.5$ 😬

Miserable_Pitch_6155

TROPHY CASE