DeluluJar

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Inspiration

My inspiration came from the video by Adam Lyttle who suggested that Apps made for couples are a great niche for solo devs to discover, I thought it would be to build app where couples could exchange notes and have fun. In a world full of loud social media and constant notifications, I wanted to create a quiet, private space for two people to share something special. I thought couples, especially in long-distance relationships, could use it to drop sweet thoughts, inside jokes, or just a simple "thinking of you."

The idea was to bring back that feeling of finding a surprise note from your partner, but in a way that fits our digital lives.

What it does

DeluluJar is a mobile app for couples that acts as a shared digital jar. Each person can "drop" notes—text, (photos, audios and short videos comming later) to the jar whenever they want. And when their partner decides to "open" the jar. With a tap or a shake, they receive a random note from the collection, creating a small moment of surprise and connection.

How we built it

I built DeluluJar as a cross-platform mobile app using React Native with Expo, which allowed me to develop for both iOS and Android quickly.

Framework: Expo (React Native) for the core application.
Navigation: Expo Router
State Management: Zustand and TanStack Query
Backend: Firebase / Firestore

Challenges we ran into

I had two distict challenges while building DeluluJar. First was making a cozy and intimate UI, I handled it mainly using Rork AI, which turned out amazing. Second was synchronization, it was tricky at first but with the help of Firestore events, I eventually figureed it out.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

I'm really proud of creating a complete, end-to-end experience in such a short time with authentication and pairing to real-time note sharing. Also, I'm proud of how the UI turned out to feel cozy and safe. Building a polished app that serves a single, wholesome purpose is something I'm very happy with.

What we learned

This hackathon was a huge learning experience. I dove into the Expo ecosystem and used AI with it to pump out great UX/UI experiences, andgot to use Firebase for authentication, real-time database, and storage solutions. Also learned a lot about structuring a mobile apps with expo-router and managing different types of state with Zustand and TanStack Query.

What's next for Delulu Jar

We have so many ideas for DeluluJar! We'd love to add more ways for couples to express themselves, like a sending audios and images or the ability to react to notes with more than just emojis. Other features we're considering are: