Updates

1.0 is ready.

• ●TAOBAR is in App Store review. It's launching very soon.
• ●Custom Mapbox dark map with full amber styling — pins, compass rose, and controls now match the rest of the app. The map finally looks like it belongs.
• ●Share My Info (premium) — share your profile instantly via proximity using Nearby, or generate a secure expiring link with Send a Link. Zero data stored anywhere. It lands, it expires, it's gone.
• ●Quick Add Person — name, photo, role, and a note in one screen. Import straight from iOS Contacts in two taps.
• ●Two-step wheel role picker — pick a category, roll to your role. Alphabetized, smooth, and faster than anything that came before it.
• ●Per-spot visit attribution in Host mode — visits now log to the specific location you're working, not just the app.
• ●Photo persistence permanently fixed — photos attached to places and people survive app updates.
• ●Polish, performance improvements, and bug fixes across the board.
• ●Coming in 2.0: radar sweep map animation, cloud sync, and Android.

Eight months of nights, broken builds, and a lot of learning what this app actually needed to be. The version sitting in Apple's queue right now is the one worth shipping. This is the finish line.

Onboarding, Quick Add & Platform Polish

• ●Guided onboarding wizard — new users pick a mode, add their first place or spot, and add their first person or regular before reaching the home screen.
• ●Coach marks — contextual tooltips appear once on your first visit to each key screen, explaining what things do right where you need them.
• ●Quick Add Person — streamlined fast-add flow: photo, name, role, and a note all in one screen, no place navigation required.
• ●Contact import — add someone directly from your iOS Contacts; name, phone number, and photo pull in automatically where available.
• ●Two-step wheel role picker — pick a category first, then roll to your role; alphabetized, smooth, and faster than the grouped list.
• ●Hero images on Spot Detail and I'm Here — venue photos now fill the top of both screens as full-bleed immersive headers.
• ●Inline editing — tap directly into your Usual or Notes field on any place to edit without opening a separate screen.
• ●Warmth meter upgrade — Legend-status places now play an animated amber sweep across the meter when the screen loads.
• ●Geofencing notifications — arriving at a saved place triggers a notification; tap it to jump straight into that spot.
• ●Report a Bug in Settings — send feedback directly from the app.
• ●15+ new place categories — Studio, Festival, Airport, Movie Theater, Country Club, Speakeasy, and more; fully alphabetized and searchable.
• ●TAOBAR Premium now uses live App Store pricing — real StoreKit purchases, not placeholder pricing.
• ●Fixed: photos attached to places and people now persist through app updates.
• ●Fixed: white flash and screen transition flicker eliminated.
• ●Fixed: keyboard no longer covers input fields across multiple screens.
• ●Custom photo picker — replaced the plain iOS system sheet with a styled in-app picker.

Studio, People & Notifications

• ●Studio added as a place category — covers yoga, dance, photography, music, pottery, and any class-based space.
• ●Studio roles: Instructor, Lead Instructor, Studio Owner, Front Desk, Manager, and Fellow Member/Student.
• ●Your usual at a Studio shows as "Usual Class/Session" — remember things like your Vinyasa flow class or Tuesday evening sessions.
• ●Add people directly from the People tab — tap + and pick which place they belong to, no need to navigate to the place first.
• ●Category picker now hidden until you need it — tap the small + to open it, closes automatically once you make a selection.
• ●I'm Here and They're Here are now pill-shaped floating buttons — same visual weight as the + button, aligned at the same height.
• ●Keyboard clears automatically when you select someone in They're Here, so the Record Visit button is never hidden behind it.
• ●Host Home now leads with Add Regular.
• ●Arrival notifications fixed — on some installs, arriving at a saved place wasn't triggering a reminder; resolved.
• ●New in Settings: Send Test Notification — confirm your arrival reminders are working without walking to a spot.

Host Mode: Spots & Navigation

• ●My Spots — save every venue you work at, with your section or station, shift days, and shift time.
• ●My Regulars now has its own dedicated tab in Host mode.
• ●They're Here filters by spot when you work multiple venues — only shows regulars linked to the spot you're currently at.
• ●Link a regular to a specific spot from the spot's detail page — tap Link to attach an existing regular, or + New to create one tied directly to that spot.
• ●Add or edit a regular and link them to one or more spots in the same flow.
• ●Switching between Regular and Host mode now navigates you to the right screen automatically.
• ●Tab transitions now fade instead of hard-cutting — smoother throughout the whole app.
• ●Categories in Add Place and Add Spot now appear in alphabetical order with a live search field.

Host Mode: Serving Your Regulars

• ●Two modes, one app — TAOBAR now has a Regular mode and a Host mode. Use the toggle in the top right to switch.
• ●Regular mode is everything you know: tracking your spots, usuals, and the people there.
• ●Host mode is for service industry workers — bartenders, baristas, servers, trainers, stylists, anyone who serves regulars.
• ●My Regulars — a dedicated list of everyone you serve, with visit counts, last seen, loyalty tier, and their usual.
• ●They're Here — when a regular walks in, find them by name, pull up their usual and notes, and record the visit in one tap.
• ●Loyalty tiers: First Timer, Occasional, Regular, Loyal — tracked automatically by visit count.
• ●Add a regular with name, usual, notes, photo, visit frequency, and which spot they're linked to.
• ●Regular detail view — full profile with visit history, notes, and linked spots.
• ●Home screen adapts to your mode — a completely different view for hosts vs. regulars.

Smart Usual Field & More Categories

• ●The Usual field now adapts to the place type — bars show "Usual Order," gyms show "Usual Routine," therapists show "Usual Appointment," golf courses show "Usual Tee Time," and so on across 20+ category types.
• ●Office and Mechanic/Car Wash added as place categories, each with their own role groups and usual field labels.
• ●Your Usual Spots section on Home now displays as a horizontal carousel.
• ●Legend warmth glow now pulses slowly — a subtle organic effect on your most-visited spots.

Field Notes & Site Polish

• ●Field Notes launched — the TAOBAR blog, home to writing on regulars, memory, and belonging.
• ●First post live: "How to Become a Regular Anywhere."
• ●Every post gets a custom share card when linked on social media.
• ●Posts are indexed for search — each one earns its place in Google.
• ●Waitlist members get notified by email when a new post goes live.
• ●Waitlist signup added to the bottom of every post.
• ●Navigation is now consistent across every page on the site.
• ●Site copy refreshed throughout — sharper, more specific, consequence-focused.

App Store Pricing

• ●Unlock pricing now pulls live from the App Store — the price shown in-app will always be accurate.
• ●Groundwork laid for full App Store payment processing.

Landing Page & Email

• ●Welcome email redesigned — on-brand, with links to recent writing and a clean unsubscribe option.
• ●One-click unsubscribe added to all waitlist emails.
• ●Link previews now show the TAOBAR brand card when the site is shared.
• ●Navigation is now sticky — visible at all times as you scroll.
• ●Mobile navigation updated with a clean hamburger menu.
• ●How It Works cards redesigned — mockups front and center, text below.
• ●Scroll-driven problem statement section — three vignettes that move as you read.
• ●The Moment section added — three scenario cards showing what it actually costs you.
• ●Background animation persists while scrolling through the full page.
• ●Email signup field fixed on iOS — no more unexpected zoom when tapping in.

Warmth System & Brand Polish

• ●Relationship warmth system — places now track how well you know a spot: New, Familiar, Regular, Local, Legend.
• ●Animated warmth meter bar on every place card — fills as the card loads.
• ●Local and Legend tiers fill the meter completely with an amber glow — you've earned your seat.
• ●Person warmth shown on the People screen — a small dot next to each name indicating how well they know you.
• ●TAOBAR logo added to Spots, People, and Settings screens.

Navigation & Polish

• ●Spots and Map merged into a single tab — toggle between List and Map views with a pill switcher.
• ●Navigation reduced from 6 to 5 tabs for a cleaner bar.
• ●Category options fully synced across all place and person flows — Hotel, Retail, School, and Library added.
• ●Role picker auto-expands to the right group based on the place you're adding someone to.
• ●Keyboard no longer blocks input fields across the app.
• ●Amber scroll indicator on the Spots list view.
• ●Time-of-day greetings now always show correctly — Good morning, Good afternoon, Ready for tonight, Out late, and more.

UI Polish & Visual Identity

• ●Art deco compass rose icon for the Home tab.
• ●Branded check-in confirmation replaces the system alert — amber checkmark, place name, visit count, auto-dismisses.
• ●Branded confirmation dialogs for deleting places and people.
• ●Venue photos on Your Usual Spots cards — imagery loads automatically.
• ●Venue photo background on the I'm Here quick view.
• ●Amber scroll indicator throughout the app.
• ●Your Usual Spots cards redesigned — place name as the hero, category pills below, visits and last date in the footer.

People & Roles

• ●New People tab — a searchable directory of everyone across all your spots, sorted A–Z.
• ●Search by name, role, descriptor, or place name.
• ●Role picker with 9 grouped categories: Bar/Restaurant, Cafe, Gym, Salon, Hotel, Retail, School, Work, and Other.
• ●Role group auto-expands based on the place you're adding someone to.
• ●Photo support for people — take a photo or choose from your library.
• ●People cards show avatar, role, place name, and a "Remembers me" badge.

Maps & Navigation

• ●Spots tab — a venue directory of places near you, filterable by category.
• ●Map tab — your saved places plotted on a dark-styled map.
• ●Bottom navigation fits all iPhone models including notched and Dynamic Island devices.

Onboarding & Freemium

• ●4-screen onboarding flow for first-time users — name, bio, photo, and a welcome to the concept.
• ●Freemium model — 3 spots free, premium unlocks unlimited places and passive geofencing.
• ●One-time unlock with restore purchase support.
• ●Clear All Data option in Settings.
• ●Settings shows live permission status for location and notifications.

Home & Profile

• ●Time-of-day greetings on the home screen — Good morning, Ready for tonight, Out late, and more.
• ●Animated celestial arc in the header — sun and moon drift based on the time of day.
• ●Your Usual Spots section — places you've visited more than once, sorted by visits.
• ●Profile card with name, bio, and photo on the Home screen.
• ●Recent Activity feed showing your last 5 visited places.
• ●Post-visit reflection modal — add a person or a note right after you leave a spot.

Foundation

• ●Save places — bars, cafes, gyms, salons, anywhere you're a regular.
• ●Place details: category, usual order, notes, address.
• ●Add people to each place — name, role, descriptor, conversation hook, and a "Remembers me" toggle.
• ●Visit tracking — log a check-in, see visit count and history.
• ●Spot Detail screen — full breakdown of a place, its people, and visit history.
• ●Edit Usual — quickly update your usual order for any spot.
• ●I'm Here quick view — surfaces your usual, the people, and key details before you walk in.
• ●All data stored locally on-device. No accounts, no servers, no tracking.