Pingback | Devpost

One tap back to the conversation.
Pick the message you don't want to forget.
Share to Pingback from anywhere.
Save it in seconds.
Follow-up captured. Reminder set.
One tap to act.
Details with auto-extracted links.
Pingback reminds you on time.

Inspiration

Chats run our lives—WhatsApp, Telegram, SMS, email. Promises like “I’ll send it by EOD” or “kal subah 9” get buried in the feed. Traditional todo apps force you to start from a blank box, so most die unused. We wanted a chat-native follow-up tool that works where commitments actually happen.

What it does

Share → Follow-up. Share any message or screenshot into Pingback. We capture the text and let you quickly set a reminder.
Do vs Waiting-On. See what you owe vs. what others owe you—separating your tasks from nudges you’re expecting back.
One-tap Bump. At due time, Pingback deep-links straight back into WhatsApp, SMS, or Telegram so you can continue the thread without friction.
Privacy-first. Everything runs fully on-device. No scraping notifications, no Accessibility hacks, no cloud servers peeking into chats.

How we built it

Native iOS Architecture

Built with SwiftUI and Core Data for a native, performant experience
Share Extension integration for seamless content capture from any app
RevenueCat for subscription management with App Store compliance
Deep linking system supporting WhatsApp, Telegram, SMS, and more

Smart Content Processing

Intelligent app detection from shared content using extension context analysis
Region-aware phone number normalization supporting 50+ country codes
E.164 formatting for reliable WhatsApp deep linking
Text extraction from multiple content types (plain text, URLs, attributed content)

Advanced Scheduling System

Quiet hours enforcement (10 PM - 7 AM) with automatic rollover to next business day
Smart default times based on current time and working hours
Recurring reminder support with cadence-based auto-rescheduling
Post-bump decision flow with Done/Snooze/Keep Open options

Privacy-First Design

All data stored locally using Core Data
No cloud sync or external servers
App Groups for secure data sharing between main app and extension
No notification scraping or accessibility permissions required

Challenges we ran into

Deep Linking Complexity

WhatsApp's URL scheme limitations required fallback to wa.me web interface
Handling multiple phone numbers per contact with intelligent disambiguation
Ensuring reliable deep linking across different iOS versions and app states

Share Extension Reliability

Extracting content from different app types with varying data formats
Managing memory constraints in the extension environment
Ensuring consistent behavior across different source applications

Phone Number Normalization

Region detection from contact postal addresses vs. device locale
Handling international contacts with multiple number formats
Ensuring WhatsApp-compatible E.164 formatting for all regions

Subscription System Integration

Migrating from multiple paywall systems to a unified RevenueCat implementation
Ensuring App Store compliance with proper subscription management
Handling edge cases in purchase flows and restore functionality

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Seamless User Experience

2-tap follow-up creation from any app via share extension
One-tap bump action that opens the correct chat with prefilled message
Post-bump decision flow that handles the complete user journey

Robust Technical Implementation

Centralized feature catalog system for clean free vs. pro feature management
Comprehensive error handling and fallback mechanisms
Memory-efficient share extension with reliable content extraction

Privacy-First Architecture

Zero external dependencies for core functionality
Local-only data storage with no cloud sync requirements
No invasive permissions or notification access needed

Smart Scheduling Intelligence

Quiet hours awareness with automatic business day rollover
Context-aware default times based on current time and working patterns
Cadence-based auto-rescheduling for recurring follow-ups

What we learned

User Behavior Insights

People prefer quick capture over detailed planning
Context from the original conversation is crucial for effective follow-ups
One-tap actions significantly improve completion rates

Technical Architecture

Centralized feature management prevents feature creep and maintains clean code
App Groups are essential for reliable data sharing between targets
Deep linking requires extensive fallback handling for production reliability

Product Development

Starting with a focused feature set (WhatsApp-only) enabled faster iteration
User feedback on core flows is more valuable than feature breadth
Privacy-first approach resonates strongly with users

What's next for Pingback

Immediate Roadmap (v1.1)

Cloud sync & cross-device follow-up management
Custom reminder templates & smart suggestions
Enhanced notification actions (quick reply, snooze options)
Image/PDF/media share support with OCR extraction
Digest notifications (daily/weekly summaries)

Future Features

AI-powered suggestions from context (e.g., detect “send deck” → auto-suggest due date)
Pipeline insights (light stats for individuals before enterprise features)
Team collaboration & shared follow-ups
Calendar integration for time-blocking

Platform Expansion