Privacy-first iOS app for scanning and organising bureaucratic documents
Native iOS app that scans documents, extracts deadlines with on-device AI and keeps users organised — with no cloud upload required.
Situation
Bureaucracy is fragmented. Important documents live in drawers, WhatsApp chats and camera rolls. Deadlines get missed, manual filing is tedious, and most document-manager apps either feel like generic file cabinets or require uploading sensitive papers to someone else's server.
The brief was to build something that feels premium, works instantly, respects privacy and actually understands local paperwork — not just stores PDFs. Target audience: lawyers, freelancers, families, students and small businesses tired of digging through folders and email attachments when something expires.
What Changed
The app turns an iPhone camera into a personal secretary. The user scans or imports a document, on-device OCR extracts the text, AI analysis proposes a title, category and deadlines, the user reviews and saves in seconds, and a dashboard plus local notifications make sure nothing slips through.
All document data stays on the iPhone. The experience is fast, local and trustworthy — architecture matches the privacy claim.
Intelligent document capture
- Native document scanner via VisionKit, with import from Photos or Files
- Guided scan tutorial for first-time users and multi-page document support
On-device understanding
- OCR powered by Apple Vision (Italian and English)
- Automatic categorisation across 10 domains (vehicle, insurance, identity, home, health, finance, warranty, subscription, work and more)
- Deadline extraction with human-readable labels such as 'Car inspection due' or 'Policy renewal'
- Apple Intelligence on supported devices, with graceful fallback to a rule-based analyser everywhere else
- No API costs, no latency, no data leaving the device
Deadline command centre
- Dashboard sorted by urgency: overdue, next 30 days, later
- Pin critical deadlines, swipe to complete or delete
- Local notifications at 7 days, 1 day and on the due date, with optional sync to the system Calendar and an app badge for overdue items
Privacy by architecture
- Documents stored locally with SwiftData
- Optional Face ID / Touch ID app lock
- Full archive export as ZIP (PDF + text) — no lock-in
- GDPR-ready cloud deletion for optional account data and clear in-app messaging: 'Your documents stay on your iPhone'
Built for professionals
- Studio plan with multi-client management — assign documents and deadlines per client
- Client profiles with contact details and visual identity, plus separate views per client for law firms, accountants and agencies
Global-ready from day one
- Five languages with runtime switching (no app restart): Italian, English, Spanish, French, German
- Localised onboarding, paywall and notifications
Results
A shipped, App Store-ready native iOS product where architecture matches marketing claims — documents never leave the device, and the AI pipeline has real fallbacks rather than demo-only happy paths.
What this project demonstrates
- End-to-end native iOS from data model to App Store monetisation
- On-device AI integration with a real fallback strategy
- Privacy-first product design where architecture reflects the promise
- Subscription SaaS on mobile with tiered limits, 7-day free trial and professional upsell (Base, Plus, Premium, Studio)
- Polished UX that balances utility with brand — luxury onboarding, three-tab structure, category-coded folders, haptics and spring animations
- Production-minded code covering localisation, GDPR, export, notifications and biometric lock