Freebie

Inspiration

As high-school students, we constantly face the challenge of finding free resources - from leftover food at campus events to clean restrooms during late-night study sessions. We were inspired by the sharing economy and wanted to create something that helps students save money while building community connections. The idea of a "poop mode" came from countless experiences of desperately searching for clean bathrooms around campus!

What it does

Freebie Finder is an iOS app that helps users discover and share free resources in their area. Key features include:

Interactive Map: Real-time map showing freebies with custom pins and distance calculations
Community Reviews: Rate and review items, especially bathrooms with our unique cleanliness rating system
Smart Filtering: Filter by category, distance, and search terms
Poop Mode: A fun, quirky feature that filters to show only bathrooms with detailed cleanliness ratings
User Profiles: Track your contributions with stats for posted items, reviews, and upvotes
Real-time Updates: Instant synchronization across all users

How we built it

Frontend: Built entirely in SwiftUI with iOS 17+ features, utilizing modern declarative UI patterns and glassmorphism design.

Backend: Firebase Firestore for real-time database operations, Firebase Storage for image uploads, and Core Location for GPS tracking.

Architecture:

Models: Freebie and Review data structures with category-based organization
Services: FirestoreService for database operations, LocationService for GPS, ThemeManager for global state
Views: MapTabView (interactive maps), FeedView (card browsing), DetailView (item details), ProfileView (user stats)

Key Features:

Custom map annotations with real-time updates
Image compression and resizing for optimal storage
Distance-based sorting and filtering
Smooth animations with spring physics
Glassmorphism UI with translucent materials

Challenges we ran into

Map Performance: Initially, map pins were flickering during panning due to constant re-renders. We solved this by implementing a state-based annotation system that only updates when data changes.

Firebase Limitations: Base64 images exceeded Firestore field size limits. We implemented image compression and resizing before storage.

State Management: Poop mode state needed to be shared across multiple views. We created a singleton ThemeManager with reactive updates using Combine framework.

UI Consistency: Balancing the playful "poop mode" with professional design was challenging. We used subtle theming with clean, modern patterns.

Real-time Synchronization: Ensuring data consistency across users while maintaining performance required careful optimization of Firestore queries and state updates.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Complete iOS App: Fully functional app with real-time features and polished UI
Unique Feature: The "poop mode" adds personality while solving a real problem
Performance: Smooth 60fps animations and sub-second data synchronization
Design: Modern glassmorphism UI that's both beautiful and functional
Community Focus: Built a platform that encourages sharing and community building
Technical Excellence: Clean architecture with proper separation of concerns
Accessibility: Full VoiceOver support and proper contrast ratios