CircleBell

send
schedule
pick time
received notification
group
custom tones
circle
time sensitive
family sharing

Inspiration

My wife and I tried Google Calendar, WhatsApp, and Apple Reminders for things like taking medication in the evening or picking something up on the way home. None gave us quite what we wanted: a quick reminder for the person who needs it, at the time they need it. We didn't want a task list to maintain, and the person sending the reminder didn't need to receive the notification too.

What it does

CircleBell sends a reminder to yourself or someone you trust, right away or at a time you choose. You can also send one to a private group. It's an app just for reminders, so we can leave its notifications on and pay attention when one arrives. Activity disappears after 24 hours instead of becoming a permanent history.

How we built it

I built the iOS app with SwiftUI. People sign in with Apple and connect by accepting invitations. Supabase handles accounts, relationships, scheduling, and sending. Apple Push Notification service delivers the notifications, and RevenueCat manages in-app purchases.

Challenges we ran into

Scheduled reminders have to arrive once, even if a background job runs again. The server claims each reminder before sending it and records the result. I also had to make sure a reminder reaches only its intended recipients. In a private group, recipients don't see who else received it.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

I'm proud that CircleBell still does the small job we set out to solve. A reminder can reach the right person at the right time, and neither of us has another list to look after. The invitation and privacy rules make it useful beyond our household while keeping control over who can reach you.

What we learned

I learned that sending a push notification is only one part of a reminder. The app has to know who should receive it, respect their notification settings, handle the chosen time, and deal with delivery failures. Getting those details right is what lets the experience feel simple.

What's next for CircleBell

I want to improve scheduling across time zones and explore recurring reminders. Both should stay quick to set up and easy to forget about once the reminder has done its job. What I don't want is to evolve this into a complex reminder app with a lot of features that few people use.