u/General_Poet6391

First of all, I'm genuinely happy that I finally found a subreddit where I can talk about my apps without immediately feeling like I'm breaking a rule 😅

I'm still relatively new to Reddit, so maybe I'm still learning the culture here. But as an indie developer, it was honestly discouraging to have posts removed, comments deleted, or feel like I couldn't even mention the product I was talking about. I'm still figuring out how to participate without accidentally crossing any lines.

Anyway, onto the actual problem.

I built a currency converter app for iOS.

And yes, before anyone says it: I know the Calculator app can convert currencies.

The thing is, I didn't build this because currency conversion didn't exist. I built it because none of the existing solutions matched how I personally deal with money.

I live in a situation where:

• I earn money in one currency
• pay rent in another
• buy groceries in a third
• and sometimes deal with a fourth

So I constantly need to compare multiple currencies at the same time.

Most converters are built around a single base currency.

I wanted something where I could instantly see what €50 is worth in USD, TRY, MKD, GBP, and other currencies simultaneously without constantly switching back and forth.

I also wanted:

• a simple, uncluttered UI
• no ads
• offline support (I travel a lot and hated wasting mobile data just to convert currencies)

Then another personal frustration appeared.

Whenever I travel, I constantly use Google Translate's camera feature to read menus, labels, and signs.

I found myself standing in supermarkets trying to mentally convert every price tag into my own currency.

So I added a Price Scanner feature.

Now I can simply point my camera at a price tag and instantly understand what that price means in my own currency.

That feature genuinely makes my life easier.

The frustrating part is that I actually believe the product solves a real problem for travelers, expats, digital nomads, and people living between multiple currencies.

I've invested heavily in ASO:

• localized App Store listings in 12 languages
• separate localization work for each market
• keyword research
• competitor research
• App Store video
• World Cup-themed marketing campaigns
• Apple Search Ads experiments

I even submitted the app for App Store nomination because I thought the Price Scanner feature was a genuinely useful travel tool.

So far... nothing.

Very few downloads... Almost no subscriptions... Sometimes it feels like I'm shouting into the void. I still believe in the product. My problem isn't conversion, I tihnk my problem is visibility. So I'd love honest feedback from people who have been through this stage before, am I missing something? Am I being impatient?

Or is this just the part where you keep showing up until eventually something clicks?

If anyone wants to see the app, I'm happy to share the link in the comments.

I built a currency converter app for iOS recently, and one thing surprised me more than anything else:

The moment I shared it, a lot of people immediately replied with:

• “Spotlight already does this”
• “Calculator already does this”
• “There are already hundreds of currency apps”

And honestly… I know 😅

I’m not pretending I invented currency conversion.

The reason I built it was because none of those solutions actually matched the way I personally deal with money while traveling and living between countries.

What I needed wasn’t:
“convert EUR → USD once.”

What I needed was:
“show me what €50 is in MKD, TRY, USD, and GBP at the same time.”

Most built-in tools are designed for quick one-off conversions.
My use case was constant multi-currency context switching.

Also:

• Spotlight doesn’t work the way I need offline
• many apps are ad-heavy
• some require internet constantly
• others feel overloaded for a 2-second check

So I built the version I personally wanted:

• offline-first
• multi-currency focused
• minimal
• no ads
• no tracking

And honestly, even if similar apps already exist… are we supposed to stop building?

The App Store is full of products solving the same core problems in slightly different ways.
Sometimes the difference is speed.
Sometimes UX.
Sometimes philosophy.
Sometimes just “this one fits my brain better.”

I’m not trying to build the first currency converter.
I’m trying to build the one that feels right for people who live across multiple currencies every day.

Curious if other indie devs here ran into the same thing, where people confuse “this category already exists” with “there’s no room for another perspective.”

I’m building and publishing iOS apps and I feel a bit stuck on growth.

I’ve been doing the basics consistently:

• sharing on social media and blog posts
• running some Apple Search Ads (not very aggressive)
• improving my App Store pages

My conversion rate (views → installs) is actually decent, but my main problem is getting enough visibility in the first place. Low impressions = low installs = no real subscription growth yet.

I’m seeing the same pattern across 3 different apps, so I don’t think it’s just one product issue.

At this point I’m unsure if I should:

1. just stay consistent and wait for things to compound
2. or actively try something different that I might be missing

For those who’ve been in a similar situation, what actually helped you break through that “low visibility” phase?

I was experimenting with digital business card apps recently and noticed how complex most of them feel for such a simple use case. Things like requiring accounts just to share a link, too many fields, or adding features that don’t really get used.

Out of curiosity, I tried building a much simpler version myself, mostly focusing on reducing friction (no signup, instant sharing, minimal UI).It made me realize how hard it is to actually keep things simple without slowly adding complexity back in.

Curious if anyone else here has struggled with this when building apps, starting simple but gradually making things more complicated over time.