HelloContacts
Helping people stop guessing where to message each other
Overview
Hello Contacts is a private contact companion for remembering and sharing how each person prefers to be contacted. It combines a personal preference card, QR and link sharing, native contact sync, reminders, Moments, and local-first storage into a lightweight relationship utility.
The Problem
People have too many contact channels and too little context
Friends, collaborators, clients, and family often use different apps depending on country, relationship, urgency, or habit. Address books store numbers and emails, but they rarely capture how someone actually wants to be contacted.
- People guess between SMS, WhatsApp, Telegram, email, Instagram, LinkedIn, and other channels
- Traditional contact apps do not store preference context in a lightweight way
- CRMs are too heavy for personal relationships and everyday follow-ups
- Sharing updated contact details often breaks across devices or requires the same app
- Contact reminders and personal notes should stay private by default
The Solution
A local-first contact preference layer
My Card
Users create a personal contact preference card that can be shared through links, QR codes, and supported native flows.
Preference Imports
Shared cards, QR scans, and deep links can save how someone prefers to be contacted without turning the product into a messaging app.
Native Contacts Sync
The app works with native address book data while keeping Hello Contacts-owned preferences, notes, favorites, reminders, and Moments distinct.
29+ Contact Channels
The product covers core, messaging, regional, social, and video channels so users can record the route that fits each relationship.
Reminders and Moments
Gentle relationship memory helps people remember birthdays, stay-in-touch cadences, and meaningful moments.
x-callback-url API
Focused deep links support Apple Shortcuts and command launchers for search, opening contacts, setting preferred channels, adding Moments, and setting reminders.
Technical Implementation
A cross-platform mobile app with privacy-sensitive local data
Technology Stack
- Expo
- React Native
- Expo Router
- iOS
- Android
- Expo modules
- SQLite
- Local-first data
- Expo Contacts
- QR scanning
- RevenueCat
- Sentry
- TelemetryDeck
- OpenPanel web
- pnpm
- TypeScript
- Architecture checks
Local-first Product Boundary
The app is positioned as a personal utility: data stays local unless the user explicitly shares, backs up, or imports a card.
Mobile and Web Sharing
The mobile app works with a hosted share-card fallback so links and QR codes can be useful even when the recipient does not have the app installed.
Native Contacts Integration
Contact access, limited contacts states, reminders, birthday handling, exports, and preference data are designed around platform constraints.
Release-oriented Monorepo
The repository includes mobile release workflows, App Store and Play Store screenshot tooling, architecture checks, localization, and mobile build scripts.
Results
The product has a detailed mobile feature source of truth and public web domain. Launch and funnel metrics remain placeholders because no verified product analytics chart is available yet.
Verified Signals
- Repo-backed product source of truth describes the current mobile feature set
- iOS listing is live on the App Store: Download on App Store
- Public share-card URL shape uses hellocontacts.app
- Existing notes say OpenPanel was reachable, but obvious launch/funnel event charts did not return data
Impact
A small personal utility for relationship context, not another inbox
- Gives users a clear way to share how they prefer to be contacted
- Stores preference context beside contact data without turning the app into a CRM
- Supports international and multi-channel relationships where one default contact method is not enough
- Keeps privacy positioning simple by avoiding inference, spying, and messaging-app behavior
What I Learned
- 01Personal contact tools need to be useful without becoming heavy relationship management software
- 02Local-first positioning requires careful language around sharing, backup, and sync
- 03Mobile products need feature truth, app-store copy, screenshots, and release workflows to stay aligned
- 04Analytics placeholders are better than weak proof when funnel events are not verified
Explore Hello Contacts
Available on the App Store. Google Play Store is coming soon.