iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Ziga Dolar @zigadolar.com · 12/10/2026

Today I got another feedback email from the same person, clearly upset of being ignored and threatening 1-star reviews from multiple app store accounts as my punishment. And, I must say, I just find it amusing that somebody gets so upset because of some tiny app by a solo dev 😂

A follow up Dashlet feedback email from the same user, threatening one star reviews from their several accounts on different App Stores that will push the app down the ranking as punishment for ignoring feedback.

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Ziga Dolar @zigadolar.com · 12/10/2026

A bit suspicious - even more so, since I got the exact same feedback for another of my apps a week prior. Both apps had full iPad support, so this was clearly some troll that I was going to ignore.

Exact same Bluestodon feedback email (from July 7th) saying the app wasn't useful due to lack of russian language support and missing iPad landscape mode, and that they will be uninstalling the app until these are fixed.

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Ziga Dolar @zigadolar.com · 12/10/2026

On launch day of my app I got a feedback email. The feedback was a complaint about the lack of russian language support (could be valid, it was the initial version and it was English only) and also that it doesn't support iPad in landscape (which it did even then). #buildInPublic #iosDev #feedback

Dashlet feedback email (from July 14th) saying the app wasn't useful due to lack of russian language support and missing iPad landscape mode, and that they will be uninstalling the app until these are fixed.

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Ziga Dolar @zigadolar.com · 01/10/2026

🔗 New post: Sidequests I have a habit of taking off on side quests. I do it in games, at work, and apparently even while working on side-projects. These detours are always more fun and usually get completed first. zigadolar.dev/posts/2026/10/01/side… #buildinpublic #indiedev #dev

Sidequests process: diverting of the main quest line (first app and old app updates) immediately - shipping 3 new apps and still not returning to the original one

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Ziga Dolar @zigadolar.com · 30/09/2026

Much to my surprise, it also seems to behave quite well in split screen mode as two different instances of the app 😅 I honestly don't know how I expected it to behave, but this seems fine for now.

Partially open iPhone Duo simulator screenshot showing two instances of KeepDates app running side by side. The left one showing a date detail view for David Ramsey "other" date on a blue background. And the right one showing a contact detail screen with a yellow background for Rachel Dunmore - with two different dates listed.

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Ziga Dolar @zigadolar.com · 30/09/2026

My current approach is spliting the whole root navigation based on the horizontal size class and orientation. When a device is a regular (iPad) size class in landscape, I switch the whole thing out for a NavigationSplitView - while in compact or portrait it defaults to a normal navigation stack.

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Ziga Dolar @zigadolar.com · 30/09/2026

With @keepdates.app it was a bit trickier. It wasn't (yet) built to run on iPad, so I had to do a bit more work (and even invent an extra screen/view - showing some stats) to fill up the sidebar half of the split view, when opened in landscape. #buildInPublic #dev #swift #swiftUI #iOS #iphoneduo

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Ziga Dolar @zigadolar.com · 28/09/2026

Also adding iPad layout improvements, with benefits of improving the look on iPhone Duo - not hating it, but needs further tweaks. Will continue to keep slowly iterating - it's good enough for the Duo launch. #iphoneduo #swiftUI #buildinpublic #appdev

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Ziga Dolar @zigadolar.com · 28/09/2026

Configuring a widget in @getdashlet.app becomes quite annoying, if you can't really see what your changes are doing (and have to scroll back up to the top all the time). Upcoming version will have this change keeping the widget preview visible at all times. #buildInPublic #dev #swift #swiftUI #iOS

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Ziga Dolar @zigadolar.com · 12/09/2026

Shouldn’t it have this rounded rectangle behind the selected item? Like the App Store tab bar has, for example?

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Ziga Dolar @zigadolar.com · 12/09/2026

It's still a sheet (I phrased it wrong in my reply) with specified detents and then some magic inside the view it's showing. So all the interactivity of it, etc. comes for free.

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Ziga Dolar @zigadolar.com · 12/09/2026

I built something similar in SwiftUI (without the tab bar, but that shouldn’t change a lot I guess 😬) with a permanent semi-presented view - but I wouldn’t say that was “without weird hacks” 😅

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Ziga Dolar @zigadolar.com · 03/09/2026

That is definitely something I thought of doing before even assembling the first pack - clearly named and numbered files (nicely sorted into directories). Definitely trying to make it as easy as possible on anybody using them.

Finder screenshot of all the assets and directory structure of different press kit bundles for Dashlet.

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Ziga Dolar @zigadolar.com · 02/09/2026

Great point, thanks! I reworked it, so that the main press kit has the raw/native iPhone screenshots included, and the appstore ones are a separate bundle. The 80MB one included all of them from these bundles, but most should be optional

Screenshot of the presskit page for Dashlet, listing different asset packages:

PRESS KIT
Dashlet
Dashlet turns JSON, XML/RSS, text, and image endpoints into native iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch widgets - without scripting.
DOWNLOADS
Press kit
32 files • 24.7 MB • Everything a review needs: icons, marketing art, raw iPhone screenshots in light and dark mode, and all written material
App Store screenshots
14 files • 22.1 MB • The App Store screenshots for both iPhone and iPad
iPad landscape screenshots
21 files • 16.0 MB • The raw iPad screenshots in landscape orientation, light and dark
iPad portrait screenshots
21 files • 14.8 MB • The raw iPad screenshots in portrait orientation, light and dark
Download
Download
Download
Download

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Ziga Dolar @zigadolar.com · 02/09/2026

Not as clean as a single ZIP file download, but I think a barebones press page is even better, allowing for downloads as needed, while also communicating the basic information.

Screenshot of the Dashlet press kit page, showing different download options for the main press package with icons and appstore screenshots (38.2 MB); raw iPhone screenshots (14.0 MB); and iPad landscape (16.0 MB) and portrait (14.8 MB)

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Ziga Dolar @zigadolar.com · 02/09/2026

Finally got around to creating a press-kit for @getdashlet.app, but am worried I might've gone overboard. I guess an 80MB ZIP file is too much? Maybe I don't need two different orientations of iPad screenshots, and all screenshots in light and dark mode? 😅 #buildInPublic #dev #swift #iOS #presskit

Finder screenshot showing dashlet-press-kit.zip file size of 79.7 MB

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Ziga Dolar @zigadolar.com · 10/08/2026

Never considered such a case - what to do when a premium unlock is refunded? 🤔 Currently my code will keep the unlock granted - but should it take it away? This is why I want @getdashlet.app to get subs approved - to allow testing premium for a month for cheaper #buildInPublic #appDev #swift #iOS

Graph of sales from App Store Connect, showing a negative sale - a refund

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Ziga Dolar @zigadolar.com · 08/08/2026

Good news: @getdashlet.app went into review after 5 days Bad news: first time I see this rejection, and I have no idea how it's possible (did I mess up the gating on some feature? 🤔) Time to chase this down and submit again 🫠 #buildInPublic #dev #swift #swiftUI #iOS #rejectedByAppReview

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Ziga Dolar @zigadolar.com · 06/08/2026

Is the fact that I finally made a more complex submission this time (that includes subscriptions properly in a submission along the app), and that's delaying it from even entering review? Hopefully it moves forward soon and that subscriptions also get approved with it 🤞

AppStore Connect screenshot of Dashlet version 1.2 status history screen. Statuses:

- Prepare for Submission - 27. July
- Ready for Review - 28. July
- Waiting for Review - 28. July
- Developer Rejected - Monday
- Prepare for Submission - Monday
- Ready for Review - Monday
- Waiting for Review - Monday

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Ziga Dolar @zigadolar.com · 06/08/2026

I don't understand App Review logic - submitted a new version of @keepdates.app today and it's already in review. But a new version of @getdashlet.app resubmitted on Monday (after already waiting for review for a week) and still nothing 🫠 #buildInPublic #dev #swift #swiftUI #iOS #apple #appreview

AppStore Connect screenshot showing the app review timeline for KeepDates (all states from “Ready for Review” to “In Review” showing Today)

AppStore Connect screenshot showing the app review timeline for Dashlet (states “Prepare for submission”, “Ready for Review” and “Waiting for Review” showing Monday - no “In Review” state yet)

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Ziga Dolar @zigadolar.com · 20/07/2026

Took ~9 days for getting an initial reply from Apple Developer Support - basically dismissing my question, since the app itself was available on the store (ignoring subscription issues). And then another 3 days for this completely useless response 🤦‍♂️🫠 #buildInPublic #dev #appreview #swiftUI #iOS

Apple developer support response:

Thanks for your reply.

I see that both subscriptions are back int he Developer Action Needed status. Please review the details in https://developer.apple.com/help/app-store-connect/manage-submissions-to-app-review/submit-an-in-app-purchase for further details on this process. There is a specific section to help resolve and resubmit In-App purchases and subscriptions.

Yo can also seek advice on the apple developer forums.

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Ziga Dolar @zigadolar.com · 14/07/2026

Hey Apple, how many times do I have to submit a new binary for the same app that keeps getting approved, for you to finally also approve the subscriptions (that were available in the binaries for the last 5 times it passed review) 🙃 and no reply from support for 5 days 🫠 #appreview #ios #dev

App Store Connect app review note for rejected subscription:

In order to approve your new In-App Purchase business model, we have to verify the purchasability of the items being sold. Please upload a new binary and make sure that your new In-App Purchase products are available for purchase at the time of review.

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Ziga Dolar @zigadolar.com · 13/07/2026

How long does it usually take Apple Developer support to respond via email? Should be any day now, right? #ios #dev #iosdev #appstore #support

Screenshot of an open case with Apple Developer Support, open since Friday, July 10 2026.

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Ziga Dolar @zigadolar.com · 11/07/2026

I built myself a simple web analytics dashboard to keep a basic track of unique visitors to my website/various app landing pages. But opening Safari and navigating to it quickly became annoying - I wanted to have the stats glanceable on my home screen. (1/4) #buildInPublic #dev #swift #iOS #widget

Screenshot of an iPhone homescreen showing 3 Dashlet widgets:
- small temperature gauge widget showing 23.2 degrees celsius and a gauge partially filled
- a small image widget with a photo of a cat
- a large dashboard widget showing unique visit counts for 7 different domains, with a bar chart for the last 30 days history for each

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Ziga Dolar @zigadolar.com · 09/07/2026

I guess something is wrong with AppStore Connect - or am I the only one experiencing problems? Even had a problem uploading a build from Xcode before. Anybody else having a similar issue, or is it something to do with my network? #appstoreconnectdown

AppStore Connect showing a "Sorry, something went wrong" message and showing no apps as listed.

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Ziga Dolar @zigadolar.com · 01/07/2026

I feel I was more successful with the landing page's social image - mostly because there was only a single image to deal with, and with a better aspect ratio, that gave it more room to arrange all the widgets

A grid of different widgets (charts, gauges, images) showing energy consumption, solar production, air quality, ... Overlayed is a single dashboard energy widget showing 4.82kW of solar production, 2.14kW home energy usage, 0.31kW of grid usage and a battery level of 82%.

At the top there is an icon depicting data streams and widgets with the app name Dashlet. And a subtitle at the bottom saying: "Widgets for any Data"

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Ziga Dolar @zigadolar.com · 01/07/2026

Finally finished setting up all the screenshots and AppStore metadata for my customizable dashboard widgets app - and submitted the first version for review, so I'll hopefully be able to open up preorders soon. (1/2) #buildInPublic #indieDev #dev #swift #swiftUI #iOS #app #appDev

Screenshot from AppStore Conmect showing 8 iPhone screenshots for Dashlet app. The screenshots show the app in phone frames showing diffeeent widget types (values, charts, lists, images, map, …) both on the home and lock screen and as a dashboard in the app.

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Ziga Dolar @zigadolar.com · 21/06/2026

Mostly done with tweaking my app for displaying any sort of remote data anywhere on your phone. Now, on to my least favorite part - prepping all the launch materials 😫 Hoping to get it ready for preorder soon! 🤞 #buildInPublic #indieDev #dev #swift #swiftUI #iOS #widgets #dashboard

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Ziga Dolar @zigadolar.com · 20/06/2026

Made a simple "how-to" screen today. A few more finishing touches and it will be ready enough to ship (and get real-world feedback of what I didn't think to add yet 😅) Now to decide, if I want to try the preorder route 🤔 #buildInPublic #indieDev #dev #swift #swiftUI #iOS #widgets

An iOS screenshot of a how-to screen for Dashlet, describing what kind of format endpoints it supports, what kind of widget options there are and a high-level description of how to configure them and how they are refreshed.

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Ziga Dolar @zigadolar.com · 14/06/2026

I wanted to have some dynamic web data in a widget on my home screen. My first thought was to build a bespoke app for a specific rest api just for myself. (1/2) #buildInPublic #dev #iOS #swiftUI #widgets

Screenshots of initial "in progress" screens of a "tiny dashboard all the things" iOS app, showing the icon, widgets, list of sources, widget configurator and diagnostics of requests per source

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Ziga Dolar @zigadolar.com · 12/06/2026

And here's a video of the screen I'm actually trying to get to look nice - a SwiftData backed section with dynamic rows based on whether there's data returned by the query or not. (1/2)

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Ziga Dolar @zigadolar.com · 12/06/2026

This is a very simplified version of what I'm trying to do - but removing all @Query logic and writing/reading from SwiftData. This should be pretty standard, right? So why is it behaving weird?

SwiftUI code screenshot showing a simple List with rows from a @State array variable and a conditional row at the top of the list section when the array is empty

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Ziga Dolar @zigadolar.com · 12/06/2026

What's the correct way to delete rows in a #swiftUI List, where there's rows added back to the section when the list is empty - without the layout going wonky? It's a simple list section with a ForEach for the items, a button as the last row, and a conditional row at the top. #ios #swift #dev

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Ziga Dolar @zigadolar.com · 05/06/2026

Now it's 2 for 2 - the @bluestodon.app macOS version also got approved - and since I'm impatient, I'm making it available immediately 😅 I did peek at the pre-order options for a second, but decided it wasn't for me 🙈 (1/4) #buildInPublic #dev #swift #swiftUI #iOS #macOS #appstore #bluesky #mastodon

App Store Connect screenshot showing the Bluestodon app version 1.0 as 'Pending Developer Release' for both iOS and macOS

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Ziga Dolar @zigadolar.com · 31/05/2026

Still waiting - how long does app review take for macOS apps? #buildInPublic #macOS #waiting #appReview #meme #doSomething

"Do something" meme: a crude outline drawing of a ninja (?) poking a "macOS app version waiting for review" with a stick saying: "C'mon, do something..."

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Ziga Dolar @zigadolar.com · 29/05/2026

That was fast and (shockingly) painless 😅 Now just waiting for the macOS version to go through as well 🤞 #buildInPublic #dev #iOS #appstore #review

Screenshot from AppStore Connect showing Version 1.0 iOS is pending developer release and the macOS version is waiting for review

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Ziga Dolar @zigadolar.com · 29/05/2026

The iOS version changed to in review, macOS still waiting... not sure it's making it through on the first go - let's see if there's any issues they find 😅 #buildInPublic #dev #appstore #app #review #iOS

AppStore Connect notification showing the status for Bluestodon (iOS) changed to In Review.

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Ziga Dolar @zigadolar.com · 27/05/2026

Finally! @bluestodon.app has been submitted to the AppStore for review (and, hopefully soon, release)! 🥳 It took a bit longer than expected, since I kept finding minor things I wanted to tweak before I submitted it 😅 (1/2) #buildInPublic #dev #indieDev #ios #macOS #swift #app #bluesky #mastodon

A grid of AppStore screenshots for Bluestodon app for iPhone, iPad and Mac

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Ziga Dolar @zigadolar.com · 23/05/2026

About to submit @bluestodon.app to the AppStore. So it's time to prepare the screenshots for the submission and put final touches on the landing page (should I also make a presskit? 🤔) (1/2) #buildInPublic #dev #indieDev #ios #macOS #swift #app #testflight #bluesky #mastodon

Screenshot of a VM of macOS 26 Tahoe running the latest build of Bluestodon - showing a post thread for both Bluesky and Mastodon and an image attachment with an image description editor.

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Ziga Dolar @zigadolar.com · 21/05/2026

The macOS build of @bluestodon.app has finally been approved for TestFlight Beta testing. 🥳 You can join the beta here: testflight.apple.com/join/1rcsdYQQ Any feedback very welcome! 🙏 (1/3) #buildInPublic #dev #indieDev #ios #macOS #swift #app #testflight #bluesky #mastodon

Image description editing field in Bluestodon app.

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Ziga Dolar @zigadolar.com · 20/05/2026

After addressing the issue and creating a new TestFlight build of the mac version of @bluestodon.app, it's again been waiting for review for about 5 days now - would've probably been faster to release it on AppStore directly 😅 (1/2) #swift #mac #macOS #dev #indieDev #app #appDev #testflight #review

Screenshot from TestFlight of a build Waiting for Review, with expiration in 85 days

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Ziga Dolar @zigadolar.com · 18/05/2026

Testing a fix for GIF upload in @bluestodon.app 🤓 Had to add a conversion from GIF to MP4 and uploading it separately before posting - so let's see if this does the trick. 🤞 #buildInPublic #dev #indieDev #swift #swiftUI #macOS #iOS #app #appDev

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Ziga Dolar @zigadolar.com · 18/05/2026

Hm, that was supposed to be a GIF - seems like there are some more kinks to work out in @bluestodon.app 😅 Here it is in motion again 🤭

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Ziga Dolar @zigadolar.com · 17/05/2026

Took a break from my side projects this weekend and decided to a make a shippable app from my menu bar utility I've been running on my mac for years now. I always used my Desktop folder as just that - a folder. So it gets pretty crowded quickly (1/3) #swift #mac #macOS #dev #indieDev #app #appDev

Screen capture of CleanDesktop menu bar utility in action - first click hides all icons on the Desktop, a right-click shows the app's menu, and then a button is clicked to show all icons again.

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Ziga Dolar @zigadolar.com · 14/05/2026

Took a bit to work out some of the kinks, but a new update for @keepdates.app is now out 🚀 Fixes a few bugs, adds some new customizability and adds some visual improvements - tinting of the contact details based on avatar color being my favorite 🤩 #buildInPublic #swift #swiftUI #ios #dev #indieDev

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Ziga Dolar @zigadolar.com · 12/05/2026

The TestFlight build of @bluestodon.app app for iOS has been approved for public testing. It is now available by joining the beta on this link: testflight.apple.com/join/1rcsdYQQ (1/2) #buildInPublic #dev #indieDev #swift #swiftUI #ios #iosDev #testflight #beta #bluesky #mastodon

Screenshots of the Bluestodon app TestFlight build running on iPad and iPhone.

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Ziga Dolar @zigadolar.com · 11/05/2026

Done some more work on @bluestodon.app, to get it ready for a release on the AppStore (for both macOS 💻 and iOS📱). I'll be sharing a public (TestFlight) beta as soon as it's approved. (1/2) #buildInPublic #dev #indieDev #swift #swiftUI #ios #iosDev #macos #app #appDev #bluesky #mastodon

Screenshot of the 3 column Bluestodon macOS app window, showing the editing of the image description for the attached image.

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Ziga Dolar @zigadolar.com · 09/05/2026

Not even remotely comparable, but this reminded me of the time I added a “winter mode” to my little time-waster game, before ripping it all out a year later to leave it as a fully basic (core) version of the main game - without any extra stuff. The falling snow was fun though - might add it back ❄️

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Ziga Dolar @zigadolar.com · 08/05/2026

Testing an initial iOS build of my Bluestodon utility. The UI is a lot more cramped than the macOS version and needs some rethinking 😅 #buildInPublic #indieDev #dev #ios #iosDev #swift #swiftUI

Screenshot from the iOS version of the Bluestodon utility, showing the text entry field, a hashtags field and a Bluesky posts/threads preview

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Ziga Dolar @zigadolar.com · 08/05/2026

I guess it has come to this 😅 This is what happens when you accidentally stumble into an app that apparently people find useful, when you were just trying to make a tiny utility 👨‍💻 #buildInPublic #dev #indieDev #swift #swiftUI #ios #iosDev #macos #app #appDev #bluesky #mastodon

Screenshot of the "Target Membership" section of the File Inspector sidebar in Xcode, showing 3 different targets for Bluestodon app (macOS direct, app store and an iOS one)

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