DreamDuo

A shared space for two people to build their future together.

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TL;DR

DreamDuo is a shared space for couples to keep the things they want to do, save, experience, and build together.

A restaurant someone wants to visit. A Reel you said you'd watch later. A trip you started planning on a call. A movie you don't want to forget. A future goal that affects both of you.

Instead of leaving those things scattered across chats, saved posts, screenshots, and different apps, DreamDuo gives them one shared home.

I built it from my own relationship, first for me and my girlfriend, then shaped it into something other couples could use too.

Inspiration

DreamDuo started with a lot of small moments rather than one big problem.

My girlfriend and I kept sending each other restaurants, food, places, Reels, YouTube videos, movies, and random ideas, usually with something like "We should do this together" or "I'll take you here when you come."

Those ideas started in a conversation and then disappeared into chats, saved posts, screenshots, or somewhere else.

The same thing happened with bigger plans: trips, future goals, graduation, jobs, and eventually closing the distance.

At some point, I realized we were already building a list together. We just hadn't made one.

So I built DreamDuo. My girlfriend helped shape a lot of the ideas based on the things we actually do as a couple.

The idea is simple: all those little "we should do this together" moments deserve somewhere to go after the conversation ends.

What it does

DreamDuo organizes shared plans around Dreams.

A Dream can be a trip, a date, a future goal, a place to visit, a movie list, moving in together, or anything two people want to work toward together. Templates help you pick your first one and get started.

Inside a Dream, couples can:

  • Add tasks and milestones and watch progress move as things get done
  • Write notes directly inside the Dream
  • Share images, Reels, videos, and links from other apps straight into it
  • Leave a surprise for your partner that unlocks at a milestone

Around the Dreams, DreamDuo has smaller everyday features for couples:

  • Nudges: send a text, image, or soundboard nudge that arrives as a notification on your partner's phone
  • Daily questions to start conversations
  • Mood tracking, daily streaks, and distance tracking

Pro unlocks the full bank of 2,000+ couple questions, unlimited Dreams, and more.

The app is live on both iOS and Android, and couples can pair across the two.

How I built it

I built DreamDuo as a solo project.

The mobile app uses Expo, React Native, TypeScript, Expo Router, NativeWind, and TanStack Query.

The backend uses Node.js, Express, TypeScript, Prisma, PostgreSQL, and pg-boss for background jobs, so I didn't need a separate queue service.

Authentication uses better-auth, file storage uses Cloudflare R2, push notifications use Expo Push Notifications, and Sentry handles crash monitoring.

For subscriptions, I integrated RevenueCat for purchases and entitlement management.

A key architectural decision was treating a couple as two separate accounts connected through a shared relationship state. Shared Dreams, progress, and questions belong to the couple, while each person keeps their own account.

RevenueCat and monetization

DreamDuo is free to use, with an optional Pro subscription.

The subscription is built for couples: one partner subscribes, and Pro is shared with the paired partner.

RevenueCat handles the purchase and entitlement state, and the backend applies that access to the couple.

Testing note for judges: Google Play purchases are temporarily unavailable. You can test Pro on iOS using the 7-day free trial.

Challenges

The biggest challenge was building for two people instead of one.

Dreams, progress, milestones, questions, pairing, and subscription access all depend on shared relationship state, while the two users still need separate accounts and permissions.

Shipping on both platforms was the second. I launched on Android first, then built iOS after people asked for it publicly, while keeping the couple experience the same across both phones.

I also had to keep DreamDuo feeling like a place for a couple's plans and ideas. It's easy for an app like this to turn into another productivity tool people have to maintain.

What I learned

Build from behavior

The strongest product ideas came from things my girlfriend and I already did: sharing restaurants, saving videos, forgetting movies, talking about future plans, and keeping lists in random places.

Public feedback can change the roadmap

People asked for iOS, so I bought an iPhone, built the iOS version, collected interest from people waiting for it, and shipped it.

The story matters as much as the features

Organizing links is only the surface. What people responded to was the idea of giving all those little "we should do this together" moments somewhere to live after the conversation ends.

What I'm proud of

DreamDuo started as something I needed in my own relationship and became a working product on two stores without losing that original idea.

I'm also proud of the shared subscription model. The product is built around a pair, and the subscription follows the same idea: one subscription covers both partners.

What happened after launch

DreamDuo went live on Google Play on August 24, 2026. I shipped at that point because the core Dream flow worked for us, and I needed to know if it worked for anyone else.

The biggest post-launch update was iOS. People asked for it, so I built and shipped it in September, making DreamDuo cross-platform for couples on different phones.

I also shared the story behind the product across several Reddit communities. Those posts reached 100K+ views, 300+ upvotes, and 100+ comments combined.

Since launch, DreamDuo has grown to 50+ registered users and 1 paying subscriber.

These numbers are still small, but they've shown me what people actually relate to and which parts of the story are worth building on.

What's next

Next, I want to make DreamDuo more useful after a plan is created: richer shared timelines, shared savings goals, completed Dreams that become memories, and more ways for a couple to see the life they're building together.

Try it out

Website: https://www.dreamduo.app

App Store: https://apps.apple.com/app/dreamduo-a-couples-app/id6807477523

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dreamduo.app

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