Closer

Private daily questions for couples who want honest answers before shared conversations.

Product goal: private, mutual-reveal relationship questions with real encryption and calmer UX.

Closer is a couples relationship app built for partners who want a steadier way to talk, reflect, and make time for each other. It turns relationship check-ins into small, intentional rituals — one daily question, curated conversation packs, private answers, partner reveal flows, gentle reminders, and shared date planning.

The app is not a social network, not a therapy replacement, and not a productivity tracker. There are no public feeds, no likes, no followers, and no infinite scroll. The core loop is simple: answer honestly, choose what to reveal, and keep a record of the conversations that mattered.

Closer is built as native apps on Android (Kotlin / Jetpack Compose) and iOS (SwiftUI), both backed by the same Firebase stack and shared data model.

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Pricing Philosophy

No shady trials. No cancellation friction. One subscription per couple, not per person.

Subscription apps for couples have a trust problem — confusing trial wording, hard-to-cancel flows, and partners getting double-billed. Closer treats pricing the same way it treats relationships: clear, straightforward, and built on honesty.

Principle	How Closer Handles It
Free tier	Generous by default. Daily questions, basic packs, recent history, spin wheel — all free, no time limit.
One sub per couple	One premium purchase unlocks it for both partners. No second billing.
Trial wording	No auto-renewal trials that silently convert. If there's a free period, you'll know exactly when and how it ends.
Cancellation	Clear, actionable instructions in-app and in docs. No hidden unsubscribe paths.
Restore	Works with one tap. If it breaks, support fixes it — no escalation maze.

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Screenshots

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What Closer Does

Closer gives couples a private, shared space for guided connection. Every feature should support the product goal: private, mutual-reveal relationship questions with real encryption and calmer UX.

• Daily question — one prompt a day, with written, scale, multiple-choice, and this-or-that answer modes.
• Private-first answers — each partner answers independently before deciding whether to reveal or discuss.
• Question packs — 22+ curated categories spanning 6,000+ bundled prompts (communication, conflict, trust, intimacy, parenting, marriage, money, stress, date night, and more).
• Answer history — review past questions and answers, delete controls, and partner reveal support.
• Discussion threads — question-specific conversation threads and reactions for follow-up.
• Partner pairing — 6-character invite code with copy and share, and partner-aware home states.
• Spin the wheel — category-based random questions for date nights, road trips, and low-pressure moments.
• Date tools — swipe-to-match date ideas, date planning preferences, and a shared bucket list.
• Settings & privacy — account, notifications, appearance, subscription, relationship, privacy, and account deletion flows.
• Subscriptions — free and premium tiers powered by RevenueCat (Google Play Billing on Android, StoreKit on iOS).

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Product Shape

Closer is optimized for short, meaningful sessions rather than endless engagement.

Area	Behavior
Home	Surfaces the next best action — daily question, partner activity, saved answers
Questions	Local-bundled content so the app stays fast and usable without waiting on the network
Partner Sync	Firebase Auth + Firestore isolate user, couple, invite, thread, and entitlement data per couple
Reminders	FCM + local notification preferences and quiet-hour controls
Premium	Unlocks deeper packs, full history, Desire Sync, Connection Challenges, Memory Lane, and analytics — one subscription for both partners

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Platform Status

Platform	Stack	Status
Android	Kotlin · Jetpack Compose · Material 3 · Hilt · Room · DataStore	Active development — feature-complete MVP
iOS	SwiftUI · MVVM · async/await · Firebase iOS SDK	In progress — full scaffold + screen parity landed on dev branch
Backend	Firebase Auth · Firestore · Cloud Functions (TypeScript) · FCM · App Check	Shared source of truth for both platforms
Billing	RevenueCat · Google Play Billing · StoreKit	Server-verified entitlements via Cloud Function webhook

The Android app is the reference implementation — the iOS port is built to mirror it screen-for-screen and consume the same backend.

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MVP Feature Scope

Free Tier — No Time Limit, No Hidden Cap

All of this is free, forever. No credits, no daily limits that magically shrink after a week.

• Anonymous onboarding → email or Google sign-up
• 6-character invite code pairing (copy or share via any app)
• Daily question with full answer modes (text, scale, multiple choice, this-or-that)
• Private answer reveal flow once both partners have answered
• Question packs — 6,000+ bundled prompts across 22 categories (most packs included free)
• Spin wheel — category-based random questions for date nights
• Recent answer history (last 30 days)
• Push reminders with quiet-hour support
• Account deletion and data export

Premium Tier (Per-Couple, Not Per-Person)

One purchase unlocks premium for both partners. No separate subscriptions.

• Unlimited daily questions with premium-only question packs
• Full answer history — search, filter, export the complete timeline
• Saved spin wheel session history — revisit what landed
• Desire Sync — preferences alignment exercise for tough conversations
• Connection Challenges — multi-day guided programs (communication, trust, intimacy)
• Memory Lane — time capsules with locked prompts that open on future dates
• Advanced analytics and relationship insights
• Priority support

Out of Scope (Future)

• AI-assisted question suggestions
• Native group/relationship types beyond dyadic couples
• Wearable (Wear OS / watchOS) companions
• Live video or voice sessions

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Tech Stack

Android

Layer	Stack
Language	Kotlin 2.x
UI	Jetpack Compose, Material 3, Navigation Compose
Architecture	Clean architecture — core/ · data/ · domain/ · ui/
State	ViewModel · Kotlin Coroutines · Kotlin Flow
Dependency Injection	Hilt
Local Data	Room · DataStore Preferences · bundled SQLite seed
SDK	min 26 · target 35 · compile 35

iOS

Layer	Stack
Language	Swift 5.9
UI	SwiftUI · NavigationStack · TabView
Architecture	MVVM · AppState ObservableObject · EnvironmentObject
Concurrency	async/await
Dependency Management	Swift Package Manager · XcodeGen (project.yml)
SDK	iOS 17+

Backend (Shared)

Layer	Stack
Auth	Firebase Authentication (anonymous, email/password, Google)
Database	Cloud Firestore
Server Logic	Firebase Cloud Functions (TypeScript)
Push	Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM)
Security	Firebase App Check · Play Integrity (Android) · DeviceCheck (iOS)
Billing	RevenueCat (server-verified entitlements)
Analytics	Firebase Analytics · Crashlytics

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Repository Layout

.
├── app/                   # Native Android app (Kotlin)
│   └── src/main/java/app/closer
│       ├── core/          # Firebase, analytics, billing, navigation, notifications, security
│       ├── data/          # Room, Firestore data sources, repositories, seed parsing
│       ├── domain/        # Models and repository contracts
│       └── ui/            # Compose screens and feature ViewModels
├── iphone/                # Native iOS app (SwiftUI)
│   ├── ARCHITECTURE_AUDIT.md   # iOS port blueprint (49 screens, schema, models)
│   ├── project.yml             # XcodeGen project spec
│   ├── Package.swift           # SPM dependency manifest
│   └── Closer/
│       ├── Models/             # Firestore + domain codable types
│       ├── Core/               # Auth, Billing, Notifications
│       ├── Services/           # FirestoreService (callable wrappers)
│       ├── Theme/              # CloserTheme (colors, typography, spacing)
│       ├── Components/         # Shared SwiftUI components
│       ├── Navigation/         # Root ContentView + TabView routing
│       ├── Onboarding/         # Onboarding, login, signup, profile creation
│       ├── Pairing/            # Invite code, partner confirm, recovery
│       ├── Home/               # Home dashboard, streak, partner mirror
│       ├── Questions/          # Daily question, answer reveal, history, packs
│       ├── Play/               # Play hub + games (ThisOrThat, HowWell, DesireSync)
│       ├── Wheel/              # Spin wheel with animated 8-slice picker
│       ├── Dates/              # Date swipe, matches, builder, bucket list
│       └── Settings/           # Settings, paywall, help, data export
├── functions/             # Firebase Cloud Functions (TypeScript)
│   └── src/
│       ├── auth/                # Auth flow + invite lifecycle
│       ├── billing/             # RevenueCat webhook + entitlement sync
│       ├── couples/             # Pairing, leave, daily question triggers
│       ├── questions/           # onAnswerWritten, onMessageWritten, threads
│       └── server/              # Internal Express webhook service (not client-facing)
├── server/                # Optional Express webhook/health service
├── seed/                  # Question pack JSON and local DB generation
├── docs/                  # QA notes, release prep, roadmap, screenshots
└── firestore.rules        # Firestore security rules

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Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Android: Android Studio · Android SDK · JDK 17
• iOS: Xcode 16 · macOS · XcodeGen (brew install xcodegen)
• Firebase: Project with Auth, Firestore, Cloud Messaging, Crashlytics, Analytics, App Check
• Android config: app/google-services.json
• iOS config: iphone/Closer/GoogleService-Info.plist
• Billing: RevenueCat project with Android and iOS API keys
• Node 20 for Firebase Functions tooling

Local config

# Android
cp local.properties.example local.properties
# iOS
cp iphone/Closer/GoogleService-Info.plist.example iphone/Closer/GoogleService-Info.plist

Add local-only values such as:

sdk.dir=/path/to/Android/Sdk
RC_API_KEY_ANDROID=your_revenuecat_android_key
RC_API_KEY_IOS=your_revenuecat_ios_key

Android

./gradlew :app:assembleDebug
./gradlew :app:installDebug

Useful verification command:

./gradlew :app:compileDebugKotlin

iOS

cd iphone
xcodegen generate
xed Closer.xcodeproj

Build from the command line:

xcodebuild -project iphone/Closer.xcodeproj \
           -scheme Closer \
           -destination 'platform=iOS Simulator,name=iPhone 15' \
           build

Firebase Functions

cd functions
npm install
npm run build
npm run serve

Optional Server

cd server
npm install
npm run dev

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Data Model

Closer combines local-first question content with cloud sync for shared relationship state:

• Room (Android) / local bundled JSON (iOS) stores seeded question categories, questions, and date preferences — the app stays usable offline.
• DataStore (Android) / UserDefaults (iOS) stores local settings and lightweight preferences.
• Firestore stores users, couples, invites, daily questions, answer history, date matches, bucket-list state, time capsules, gentle reminders, and entitlements.
• Cloud Functions handle pairing lifecycle, reminder workflows, billing entitlement sync, RevenueCat webhooks, partner activity triggers (FCM), and security checks.
• FCM delivers reminders and partner activity notifications to both platforms.

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Privacy & Safety Principles

• Couple data is scoped by couple ID and protected by Firestore security rules — no other couple can read another couple's data.
• Answers are private first, then revealed intentionally by the partner.
• Account deletion and privacy screens are first-class surfaces in the app.
• App Check (Play Integrity on Android, DeviceCheck on iOS) blocks abusive backend access.
• Subscription state is verified server-side via Cloud Functions rather than trusting the client.
• All private answer and capsule content is end-to-end encrypted with couple-owned keys (Android uses Tink; iOS uses Apple CryptoKit in a follow-up batch).

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Current Status

This is a private MVP / internal testing codebase.

Complete

• Android MVP — onboarding, auth (anonymous/email/Google), pairing, home, daily questions, question packs, answer history, spin wheel, date tools, settings, billing, notifications, Firebase integration, E2EE crypto layer
• iOS port scaffold — all 49 screens mapped to SwiftUI views, Firebase/RevenueCat integration, full screen parity landed on dev branch
• Backend — 17 Cloud Functions (callable, triggers, scheduled, webhook) covering full relationship lifecycle
• Seeded question content — 6,000+ prompts across 22 categories

In Progress

• iOS Xcode project generation and build verification
• iOS E2EE layer (CryptoKit interop with Android Tink)
• Final QA pass on both platforms

Release Prep

• docs/release/internal-testing-checklist.md
• docs/release/store-assets.md
• docs/qa/private-mvp-checklist.md
• docs/qa/ui-review.md

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Project History

See HISTORY.md for the full changelog and release notes.

See PROJECT.md for detailed scope, feature matrix, and architectural decisions.

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License

Private project. All rights reserved.