Alex Vech

Exited my bootstrapped app for 7 figs, now ScreensDesign: the biggest UX intel library (with mcp) + make delightful apps that convert like crazy

[Alex Vech @VechAlex]

@ads4apps last one! if success means losing the user, retention fights you from day one

[Alex Vech @VechAlex]

@1ppppppppppppp1 that’d be one, yeah

[Alex Vech @VechAlex]

what happened to QUITTR???
once a very popular porn-addiction recovery app.

its est. monthly revenue fell from $200K in April to just $25K in Sep 2026.

that’s an 87.5% drop!!

I’d genuinely like to hear what happened.

[Alex Vech @VechAlex]

Arc has set its shutdown date!!!

The announcement cites the growing work of keeping a browser secure in the age of AI.

Engineering and security will now focus on Dia.

We talk a lot about how quickly AI lets us ship software. Keeping it safe for years deserves more of that conversation.

[Siro @Siron93]

I found a kids-app publisher with 131 app listings!!
one coloring app makes more than the rest of the tracked apps combined.

I checked the older catalog... friendship calculators, name generators and other novelty apps from 2010.

then came KidloLand in 2012. its success convinced them to focus on educational apps.

I like this as a reminder that you can find your niche through the work. they tried different things, found an audience, and spent years building more for it.

[Alex Vech @VechAlex]

@Siron93 good lesson in patience.

[Filip @filippkowalski]

Launched 4 months ago, already at $1M/m+

[Alex Vech @VechAlex]

it’s been a rough week for the software and services behind the apps we use.

1. PHP: two critical flaws could let attackers run code on affected servers without logging in. patches are out.
2. GitLab: a critical flaw affects self-managed installations. https://t.co/652w7zWpsl is already patched.
3. Node.js: security updates include a fix for a flaw that could allow attackers to run code remotely.
4. Railway: customer API keys and other credentials may have been exposed.

the unsettling part is how many services can depend on the same piece of software. one flaw can affect people who’ve never even heard of it.

[Alex Vech @VechAlex]

first day in the personal-agent department

[Claude @claudeai]

We’re opening a research preview of Claude Duet, a new app where Claude works as a proactive agent.

It comes to you with what needs your attention, completes tasks you ask of it, keeps working when you step away, and checks with you before it acts on your behalf.

[Alex Vech @VechAlex]

looking for a proven market to build in?
here are 20 app niches where people are already spending!!

I searched the library and put together this shortlist, from AI assistants to phone cleaners and bible apps.

a useful place to start checking demand before committing to an idea.

[Alex Vech @VechAlex]

looking for ways to monetize your app beyond subscriptions?

1. go to ScreensDesign.
2. ask for apps making an est $50K+/mo that sell extras.
3. compare what’s included and what costs more.
4. open the actual purchase screens.
5. pick an approach worth testing for your users.

I’d look for something users want more of, rather than charging again for what they thought they’d already bought.

[Siro @Siron93]

Glam AI is no longer available on the US App Store!!

launched in Feb 2021.
est. $550K revenue in Sep 2026.

I went back through its recorded onboarding:
- AI photo and video previews.
- gender and creative-goal questions
- a “Preparing…” checklist
- paywall with a 10-min countdown

I don’t know what happened here, no confirmed reason, but it’s a reminder that years on the store don’t guarantee the next one.

[Alex Vech @VechAlex]

a rough two years for https://t.co/PYd8YY4dzn

• 2024: a family files a wrongful-death lawsuit.
• 2025: Disney demands removal of its copyrighted characters.
• May 2026: Pennsylvania alleges a bot impersonated a psychiatrist.
• October 2: former CEO Anand joins Disney as CTO.

and just ten days later, the company files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

I wouldn’t have guessed that from its app’s estimated $750K/month alone.

[Siro @Siron93]

found 51 apps removed from the App Store in the last 30 days!!

15 were AI photo/video editors, including Glam AI, PhotoDirector and Parrot.

I’d look at which apps disappeared before deciding a niche is worth entering.

[Alex Vech @VechAlex]

show Apple one app. give users another after approval.

that’s the bait-and-switch behaviour Guideline 2.5.19 addresses.

i’m glad Apple is making this explicit. reviewing the harmless version means little if the harmful features only appear once it passes.

[Alex Vech @VechAlex]

3 AI character chat apps making MILLIONS a month 🤯
two launched just this year.

Whispy launched only 4 mos ago and is already at $1.75M/month.

what interests me is how specific these experiences are: characters, stories, relationships.

if I were exploring this market, I’d start with who someone wants to talk to… and why.

[Alex Vech @VechAlex]

Apple and Meta teaming up on AI wasn’t on my list.

the group projects are getting interesting.

[Alex Vech @VechAlex]

@Siron93

[Alex Vech @VechAlex]

🦉 THE OWL ISN’T THE ONLY ONE MAKING MONEY!!
3 more language apps that bring mascots into language learning.

➡ Lingvano: $450K/mo. teaches ASL.
➡ LingoDeer: $100K/mo. structured language lessons.
➡ Ling: $450K/mo. bite-sized language lessons.

a hand, a deer, a monkey.

lingvano’s character is the one most directly tied to what it teaches.

[Mark Zuckerberg @finkd]

@Wahndo_ that's just my face