Subscription Guardian.
Cancel before
you get charged.
The app that warns you before you get charged. Eliminate subscription fatigue with smart alerts, spending dashboard, and total privacy.
Next charge
Built with judgment, not a checklist.
Every module answers a real use case. No decorative features that look great in the demo and get in the way day-to-day.
Sentinel Alerts
T-48h and T-24h notifications before each charge. Critical alerts for amounts over $50 USD. Just enough time to decide whether to cancel or keep.
Burn Rate Dashboard
See how much you "burn" per month and per year. Donut charts by category, trend analysis, and real spending metrics at a glance.
Smart presets
Quick selection of popular services (Netflix, Spotify, Disney+) with official logos and colors. Log a subscription in seconds, zero friction.
Privacy by design
Zero external servers. Zero bank linking. Automatic iCloud sync via CloudKit and native FaceID lock. Your data stays yours.
Lock Screen Widgets
Quick glance at your next charge without opening the app. Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets with real-time updates.
Ghost Detector (coming)
Detects subscriptions you haven't used in 30+ days. Local ML engine predicts which ones you can safely cancel. No data sent anywhere.
Decisions that mattered.
The problem
You have 5, 10, 15 active subscriptions and don't know when each one charges. You end up paying for services you don't use because you forgot to cancel. Banking apps don't warn you — they show the expense after you've already been charged. And the services that do notify you send emails that end up in spam.
Why not cross-platform
Subscription Guardian targets iOS only. Flutter or React Native would have given Android support, but the result would have been a generic wrapper. SwiftData + CloudKit give native sync without a backend. WidgetKit gives real Lock Screen widgets. Critical alerts only exist on iOS. The alternative was building something mediocre for two platforms, or something excellent for one.
Privacy: zero servers
No external database. No login. No analytics sending data to third parties. Your subscriptions live in SwiftData and sync through iCloud via CloudKit — the same system Apple Notes uses. If Apple can't read your data, neither can we. Face ID protects access. The business model is a one-time purchase (USD 4.99), not freemium with upsell.
Local-first architecture
SwiftData handles persistence. CloudKit syncs across devices. Notifications are scheduled locally with UserNotifications — no server sending them. Billing data is processed on-device. No WiFi? The app still works. This is what Apple calls "on-device intelligence" — we call it "no excuse for not respecting your privacy".
Widgets and notifications
WidgetKit generates Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets. The Lock Screen widget shows the next charge without unlocking the phone. T-48h and T-24h alerts are scheduled when you add a subscription. Critical alerts for charges over $50 USD. Everything is calculated and stored locally — no push server.
Face ID and security
Face ID (or Touch ID on older iPads) protects the app on launch. Biometric data never leaves the Secure Enclave. The app has no password because Face ID is the password. If someone takes your unlocked phone, they at least can't see your subscription spending. It's an extra layer that banking finance apps don't offer.
Presets and onboarding
Registering a subscription manually takes 30 seconds. With presets (Netflix, Spotify, Disney+, iCloud, YouTube Premium) it takes 5. Pick the service, the amount pre-fills, the date calculates. Ghost Detector analyzes usage patterns to suggest cancellations. All with local ML — Core ML, not an external API.
Where it stands today
Subscription Guardian is in pre-launch. It is not free and is not available on the App Store. Pricing confirmed: USD 4.99 one-time purchase, no subscriptions, no ads, no upsell. The architecture is built and verified. The dashboard and alerts work. What remains: acceptance testing, public TestFlight, and Apple review.
We are building it.
This app is in development. We are working on it and it will be available soon.
Need something similar?
If you liked this app and want one for your industry or your idea, let's talk. I build things like this every day.