Every Tasbih App Was Full of Ads. That Felt Wrong.
For a tool meant for dhikr — spiritual remembrance — ads are intrusive and disrespectful. I wanted a clean, ad-free counter that just worked. I built it for myself, in a weekend.
The Solution: A 3-Day Build, a Lifetime of Use
Tech Stack
Swift, iOS Native, App Store Connect
Designed and developed solo. Tap to count, reset, choose a theme. No ads, ever. Submitted to the App Store in 3 days.
It Launched Quietly — And Sat There.
Initially ~12 downloads/day, then settled to 20/month. I hadn't done any marketing. It existed, but it wasn't reaching the right people.
💡 The Pivot
The Insight:Muslims searching for a Tasbih app don't type "tasbih" — they type "تسبيح" in Arabic.
I changed the app icon and keyword list to include Arabic terms. No code changes.
Two months later: 47 downloads/day, all organic.
A Free App That Just Keeps Growing.
47 daily downloads and growing, $99/year developer subscription, $0 ad spend. Intentionally free.
What I Learned That Makes Me a Better Developer for You.
Build for a specific, underserved user.
Don't build generic tools. Find a niche group with a specific pain, and solve it better than anyone else.
Speak your users' language — literal ASO localization.
If your users search in Arabic, don't optimize for English. Meet them where they are, in their own language.
Discoverability beats marketing spend.
A great product is useless if no one can find it. ASO, SEO, and discoverability are as important as the product itself.
How This Changes Your MVP
When I build your MVP, I bring this same discovery-first mindset. Your product won't just work — it'll be findable.