In November 2025, I released a cat journaling app called MeowSnap.
The idea is simple.
You find a cat during your travels, take a photo, and save it on a map.
That’s it.
About seven months have passed since the release.
To be honest, it has been much harder than I expected.
But during these seven months, I learned a lot.
Starting as a Paid App
MeowSnap was launched as a paid app from day one.
At the time, I believed there were enough cat lovers and travelers around the world who would understand its value and be willing to buy it.
I also knew that if I wanted to continue building apps as an indie developer, I needed a way to generate revenue.
My goal was to grow the app while creating a sustainable business around it.
A few people in Japan and Taiwan did purchase the app, and I was genuinely grateful for that.
Still, it didn’t sell the way I had imagined.
The Problem Wasn’t the Price
At first, I thought the price might be the problem.
Maybe 1,200 yen was too expensive.
I considered lowering the price.
I ran a few sales.
I even thought about making the app free.
But after seven months, I realized something.
The price wasn’t the real issue.
Almost nobody was finding the app in the first place.
There was very little traffic from App Store search.
I started an Instagram account, but growing it turned out to be much harder than I expected.
I’ve also been slowly adding articles to my blog, but traffic is still limited.
Looking back, I think I focused on pricing before solving a more important problem:
getting people to know the app exists.
What I Learned While Using It in Taiwan
Last month, I traveled to Taiwan to take photos and videos for MeowSnap.
I visited Houtong, Hualien, and Yilan.
While walking around and looking for cats, I used MeowSnap every day.
That experience helped me see both the strengths and weaknesses of the app more clearly.
And it made me realize something.
People need to use it before they can understand it.
The App Store description and screenshots only tell part of the story.
Many of the things I like about MeowSnap only become apparent when you’re actually using it during a trip.
Maybe it’s one of those apps that makes more sense after a few days of real use.
That’s why I started thinking differently.
I want more people to try it first.
Moving to a Freemium Model
So I’ve decided to switch MeowSnap to a freemium model.
The free version includes photo recording and map features.
The main limitation is the number of albums you can create.
My hope is simple.
People can try it without hesitation, use it during their travels, and decide for themselves whether it fits the way they explore and remember places.
If they enjoy it and want more features, the Pro version will be there.
MeowSnap is still a very small app.
There is a long way to go.
But for now, I’ll keep improving it little by little.
And keep looking for cats along the way.
If you’re interested, feel free to give it a try.
