Quick path
Generate the core screens with ShipNative, wire Supabase for posts, follows, and realtime, add OpenAI Moderation for text and AWS Rekognition for images, ship to a niche community. One weekend of building, two weeks of tightening before review.
What a social app actually needs at v1
Strip the category. A shippable v1 social app has exactly this:
- Email or Apple sign-in
- User profile: handle, bio, avatar
- Create post (text + one image)
- Main feed (chronological or follow-based)
- Like and comment
- Follow and unfollow
- Notifications for likes, comments, new followers
- Report post + block user
- Basic moderation pipeline (automated + manual queue)
The AI prompt to start with
Build a social networking app for [YOUR NICHE]. AUTH: - Clerk sign in (email + Apple). - On first sign in, ask for handle + bio + avatar. MAIN TABS: 1. Feed: chronological list of posts from accounts the user follows. If empty, show "suggested to follow" list. Pull to refresh. 2. Discover: global chronological feed for finding new accounts. 3. Post: tap to create post. Text (500 chars) + optional image. 4. Notifications: likes, comments, new followers. 5. Profile: avatar, handle, bio, post grid, follow count, settings. POST DETAIL: - Full post, comment thread, like button, follow button on author. - Report post and block user from 3-dot menu. DATA: Supabase with row-level security. Tables: users, posts, follows, likes, comments, reports. Realtime subscription for notifications. Dark theme, orange accent. Tab navigation. Handle @ mentions in posts.
Iterate the feed logic once the scaffold is live. For prompt structure, see PRD to App: Template, Structure, and Example Prompts.
Feed architecture: keep it simple
Do not build a recommendation engine in v1. The two feeds that work:
- Follow-based chronological: just posts from accounts the user follows, newest first. Simplest possible query, and works great at small scale.
- Global discover feed: all posts, newest first, with a moderation filter. Helps early users find accounts to follow without needing a recommendation system.
At 10k+ DAU, you may outgrow both — that is a good problem to have. Algorithmic ranking is v3, not v1.
Real-time without a full WebSocket stack
Use Supabase Realtime — it watches Postgres changes and pushes them to subscribed clients. For notifications (new like, new comment, new follower), subscribe to rows filtered by your user ID. For a feed that updates as followed accounts post, subscribe to the posts table with a filter on your follow list. Good enough for 100k users without any custom WebSocket code.
Moderation is not optional
Apple and Google reject social apps without visible moderation. Build this on day one — not after launch.
- Pre-publish text check: run new post text through OpenAI Moderation or Perspective API. Block posts flagged for hate, violence, or sexual content.
- Pre-publish image check: AWS Rekognition DetectModerationLabels or Google SafeSearch. Block explicit, violent, and nudity-flagged images.
- Report + block flow: mandatory for Apple. Every post and user needs a 3-dot menu with Report and Block.
- Human moderation queue: flagged content lands in a Supabase table; a small web dashboard (or a Slack channel) lets you approve or remove.
- 24-hour response SLA: Apple’s Guideline 1.2 requires visible moderation and rapid response to reports.
Monetization without killing the network
Social apps fail when monetization compromises trust. Good patterns for 2026:
- Optional premium ($3–5/mo): custom themes, advanced stats, longer posts, ad-free (if you ever add ads).
- Creator monetization: tip creators via in-app purchases. RevenueCat + Stripe handles the plumbing.
- Do not rely on ads at v1. Ads are a scale game — serve the community first.
Launch into a niche, not the world
The hardest part of a social app is the empty-feed problem. Pick a niche narrow enough that the first 100 users overlap with each other’s worlds. Run a waitlist for 30 days, hand-invite 50 people who match the niche, and launch them together. Distribution happens inside Discord servers, subreddits, and group chats — not through App Store browse. For the ASO side once you are live, see ASO for Indie Founders: 2026 Guide.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Building an algorithmic feed before you have users. Chronological is fine until 10k DAU.
- Launching without moderation. Apple will reject; your users will churn; your reputation will not recover.
- Targeting “everyone.” Empty feeds kill social apps.
- Monetizing too early. Social apps need trust before revenue.
- Skipping onboarding. New users who see empty feeds on day one do not come back.