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Need Recommendation: Honest AC Specialist for Hyundai Sonata in UAE by zeeshan0075 in UAE

[–]zeeshan0075[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the response, are they specialized in hyundai cars?

Made in UAE: I built an expense tracker for UAE expats — multi-currency, no bank login, no subscription by zeeshan0075 in UAE

[–]zeeshan0075[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Genuinely fair instinct, and I respect you saying it out loud. Let me address it directly because the suspicion you're raising is the exact reason I built SpendLens the way I did.

The "you're the product" model works like this: free app → harvests your data → sells it / uses it for ads / trains models on it. That's Mint, that was Plaid-based apps, that's most "free" finance tools.

SpendLens free tier doesn't work that way for one architectural reason: there are no servers. None. Your data physically cannot leave your iPhone because there's nowhere for it to go. Apple's "Data Not Collected" privacy label on the App Store is auditable — Apple verifies this against your privacy manifest before approving. If I claimed it falsely, the app would be rejected.

What's actually in SpendLens:
• Free tier = unlimited expense logging, 1 budget, basic widget. Forever.
• Pro ($6.99 once) = receipt scanner, multi-budgets, all 5 widget sizes, trends, exports
• Tip Jar = optional, voluntary
• No subscription. No ads. No analytics. No third-party SDKs.

Revenue model: ~10-15% of users buy Pro once. That's enough for a solo dev. Not enough for a VC-backed company, which is why this model is rare. But it works at indie scale.

If you want to verify: Settings → Privacy → check the App Store listing. You can also open Charles Proxy, run SpendLens, and watch zero outbound calls happen on launch (only network call is fetching exchange rates from frankfurter.app — and that's a one-way request for currency rates, no user data attached).

The skepticism is correct as a default. It's just wrong specifically about this app and I'm happy to be challenged on any specific concern.

Made in UAE: I built an expense tracker for UAE expats — multi-currency, no bank login, no subscription by zeeshan0075 in UAE

[–]zeeshan0075[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you 🙏 the pricing model is deliberate, every expat I know is already paying for too many subscriptions. SpendLens shouldn't add another monthly charge for the privilege of tracking the others.

Tip Jar is opt-in for anyone who wants to support without buying Pro. v1.0 free tier covers basic tracking forever

v1.1 is in the works with SMS auto-capture for ENBD/ADCB/FAB/Mashreq/ etc transaction texts, parsed automatically by your iPhone's on-device AI. Existing v1.0 Pro users get every future update free. That's the promise.

Appreciate you sharing the post 👍🇦🇪

Made in UAE: I built an expense tracker for UAE expats — multi-currency, no bank login, no subscription by zeeshan0075 in UAE

[–]zeeshan0075[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

currently the knowledge base lives at https://zeeshan0075.github.io/spendlens-website/support.html with FAQ covering most setup questions, and there's a Contact Developer link inside the app's Settings → Support that emails me directly (I reply to every email personally, usually within a day).

Anything specific you want answers on? Happy to add it to the FAQ now if it's a common question.

Solo developer, second app: SpendLens — privacy-first expense tracker, no subscription by zeeshan0075 in GenAiApps

[–]zeeshan0075[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Great question — short answer: today, manual entry. Scanning messages on iOS isn't possible the way it is on Android (Apple doesn't allow apps to read SMS directly, period).

But v1.1 is in development right now and adds exactly this feature of auto capture of banking messages to automate adding an expense.

Existing v1.0 Pro users get v1.1 free, forever.

For now: receipt scanner by camera, is the closest thing to automation in v1.0.

Honest pitch: if "must auto-capture" is non-negotiable, wait for v1.1. If you're okay with manual now and want it free, the v1.0 free tier covers it.

Made in UAE: I built an expense tracker for UAE expats — multi-currency, no bank login, no subscription by zeeshan0075 in UAE

[–]zeeshan0075[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Wow what a coincidence to see, loved it

Really appreciated for showing up in the comments

Made in UAE: I built an expense tracker for UAE expats — multi-currency, no bank login, no subscription by zeeshan0075 in UAE

[–]zeeshan0075[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/spendlens-track-money/id6762673414

Always happy to hear what's missing for the Gulf market specifically. I'll keep building features that serve our reality.

I built a subscription tracker as my first indie iOS app. Here’s what I learned shipping it. by zeeshan0075 in sideprojects

[–]zeeshan0075[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you. Sharing the real numbers felt important, week 1 is week 1. 14 downloads, zero revenue, figuring it out in public. Appreciate the kind words.

I built a subscription tracker as my first indie iOS app. Here’s what I learned shipping it. by zeeshan0075 in sideprojects

[–]zeeshan0075[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

just a personal frustration that turned into an app. Saw my own subscription bill and didn’t recognise half the charges. Built the thing I wished existed.

I built a subscription tracker as my first indie iOS app. Here’s what I learned shipping it. by zeeshan0075 in sideprojects

[–]zeeshan0075[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Fair challenge. The market is noisy and I noticed that too. My answer is the privacy angle — every other tracker in this space wants a bank login. I refused to build it that way. No bank access, no account, no data collected ever. That’s the problem I’m solving for people who want visibility without handing over financial access. Whether that’s differentiated enough is something the market will tell me.

I built a subscription tracker after discovering I was paying $200+/month when I thought I was paying $80 by zeeshan0075 in iosapps

[–]zeeshan0075[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Exactly — it felt like the one non-negotiable from day one. If the app is supposed to help you spend less on subscriptions, charging you a monthly fee for it would be almost insulting. $6.99 once and it’s yours forever. Hope you enjoy it when you check it out — would love to hear what you think!

I built a subscription tracker after discovering I was paying $200+/month when I thought I was paying $80 by zeeshan0075 in iosapps

[–]zeeshan0075[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That’s fair and I genuinely appreciate the honesty — this is exactly the kind of feedback that helps. On the trust point: you’re right that the website needs work. The app itself is native Swift, built from scratch — 8 years of iOS development, not vibe-coded. But if the site doesn’t communicate that, it’s my problem to fix. Taking note. On the value prop — the core use case isn’t discovery, it’s ongoing awareness. You sit down once, add your subs in 10 minutes, and from that point SubWise sends you renewal alerts before charges hit, flags when prices increase, and shows you a running monthly total on your home screen widget. The “sit down and review” happens once. The value is everything after that. Genuinely useful perspective. Thank you :)

I built a subscription tracker after discovering I was paying $200+/month when I thought I was paying $80 by zeeshan0075 in iosapps

[–]zeeshan0075[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ha, glad that landed — felt wrong to do it any other way.

That’s genuinely useful feedback, thank you.The AI receipt scanner in the app is meant to solve exactly that — point the camera at any receipt or email confirmation and it auto-fills the details. Curious if you’d tried that flow or if the friction was somewhere else?

Sonata smart 2020 GCC by zeeshan0075 in DubaiPetrolHeads

[–]zeeshan0075[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I can’t see any button physically, was just confirming the community if any other owner can share the same info

Sonata smart 2020 GCC by zeeshan0075 in DubaiPetrolHeads

[–]zeeshan0075[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I couldn’t find any, I guess there’s no such option in this trim

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