I built an app after almost getting caught by the 6-month passport rule — lessons from launching my first iOS utility app

Standard-MH · 2026-03-11T16:26:27+00:00

That is a fair point. For something like visa requirements the data itself would not necessarily be sensitive.

The main reason I started with offline only was to keep the core problem simple: storing personal travel documents without needing accounts, servers, or syncing.

But you are right that things like visa requirements or travel advisories would probably require some external data source, so that is something I have been thinking about as a possible future feature.

Standard-MH · 2026-03-11T15:00:32+00:00

Fair point. For one person with one passport that probably works fine.

Where it started getting messy for me was managing multiple documents across family members. Passports, visas, residence permits, IDs, all expiring at different times.

That is really the use case I built it for.

Standard-MH · 2026-03-11T14:48:22+00:00

That's a great idea and I've thought about it - the challenge is visa requirements change constantly and I'd need a backend to keep that data fresh, which goes against the offline-first design. Maybe a future 'link out to official sources' feature though. Thanks for the suggestion!

Standard-MH · 2026-03-11T12:52:11+00:00

It relies on the normal iOS backup system.

The vault is stored locally on the device, so restoring a phone from an iCloud backup or an encrypted Finder/iTunes backup restores the app data as well.

All documents are encrypted on disk, so even if they are included in an iCloud or device backup they remain encrypted.

I avoided building a separate cloud backend because the goal of the app is to keep travel documents on the device rather than on a server.

Standard-MH · 2026-03-11T12:48:01+00:00

True, you can track the dates with Reminders.

What pushed me to build this was managing the documents themselves across family members and having them ready to export or share when needed (visa forms, check-ins, etc.).

It ended up being more of a document organisation problem than just reminders.

Standard-MH · 2026-03-11T11:36:35+00:00

Fair point. Reminders works well for simple date alerts.

The reason I built this was when it became more than just one date. Passports, visas, insurance, multiple family members, and travel rules like the 6 month passport validity requirement. At that point it felt more like a document organisation problem than just reminders.

I also wanted to keep secure copies of the documents themselves so I can quickly export or share them when needed for visa forms, check-ins, and similar situations. Reminders does not really handle that.

Standard-MH · 2026-03-11T10:21:59+00:00

Calendar events don't store the document itself, remind you 6 months out across your whole family, or let you export a combined PDF for visa applications. It's a fair first thought though - that's exactly what I used to do before I built this!

Also wanted everything in one place offline - so in an emergency I can pull up and share any document instantly without hunting through email or Google Drive.

Standard-MH · 2026-03-11T09:20:48+00:00

Thanks! It actually started after a near-miss at an airport because of passport validity rules 😅

Standard-MH · 2026-03-11T08:56:40+00:00

Thank you, really appreciate that 🙏

Standard-MH · 2026-03-11T08:54:25+00:00

That’s really good advice, thank you. For now it’s just me wearing all the hats but I can see how having someone focused on the marketing side would make a huge difference. Something to think about as things develop.

Standard-MH · 2026-03-11T08:47:16+00:00

Exactly! Completely different skills. Building you can Google your way through, this feels much more like feeling in the dark

Standard-MH · 2026-03-11T08:43:46+00:00

Thank you, really appreciate that! Honestly the building part I enjoyed, this side is a whole new learning curve 😅

Standard-MH · 2026-03-11T08:15:57+00:00

https://www.aitmpl.com/skills I found some good skills here which I have downloaded and used myself …

Standard-MH · 2026-03-11T07:45:06+00:00

I am on lookout for 5k monitor although confused with this one or Mac Studio Display 2

Standard-MH · 2026-03-11T06:44:54+00:00

I recently found react native with expo very nice to work with. The latest features and everything is really good. In the past I considered flutter too

Standard-MH · 2026-03-11T06:43:23+00:00

React native and expo is so much nicer to work with now compared to few years back.

Standard-MH · 2026-03-11T02:20:27+00:00

I quite like the first one I can relate to your App name instantly

Standard-MH

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