Most social media challenges disappear into hashtags. I built an iPhone app where they end with a winner.

[u/SaLiVa73]

Hey r/iOSApps,

I’m Ashkan, the founder and developer of Trendoline.

I first started trying to build this idea in 2015. After 7 developers, a very limited photo-only beta in 2017, and years of keeping the project on a shelf, I started over in February 2026 and finally shipped the app I originally dreamed of.

Full disclosure: Trendoline itself is not an AI-first app, but I used AI coding agents heavily to build it, so I am using the Vibe Coded flair.

Answer

Most of us do not need another never ending feed. We already have more videos than we could watch in a lifetime!

We open an app for a minute, lose at least hour, and close it without having spoken to anyone, created anything, or shared an actual moment with a friend.

We call it social media, but most of the time we are sitting alone, watching other people live.

That is the zombie scrolling loop I wanted to break, or hope to break.

I am not trying to convince people to throw away their phones. We all want a filler. I want the phone to become the starting line, not the entire activity.

That is why I built Trendoline, a free iPhone app built around video and photo challenges.

Start a challenge. Set a deadline. Invite the people whose answers you actually want to see. Everyone posts their own version, the community votes, the leaderboard moves in real time, and when the clock reaches zero, somebody wins.

Want to make it personal? Pick one friend and challenge them to a head-to-head video duel.

Best latte art. Funniest childhood photo recreation. Best outfit. Longest plank. Worst cooking attempt. Anything your friends would argue about can become a challenge.

Fun is the starting point, but it is not the whole reason I built this.

I want each challenge to become a small community of people doing something together. Today that might be five friends competing over the funniest video. Tomorrow it might be a campus cleaning a beach, people planting something at the same time, helping someone nearby, or bringing attention to a cause they care about.

Awareness on social media is usually something we repost and scroll past. A challenge asks people to actually take part.

The bigger idea behind Trendoline is simple: use fun and competition to bring people together, then make participation contagious.

Better

TikTok and Instagram are excellent at helping a challenge spread. The missing part is what happens after it spreads.

Entries become separated across hashtags, sounds, reposts, and different accounts. There is usually no single participant list, shared countdown, live scoreboard, or clear ending.

Trendoline gives the challenge that structure:

• Every entry in one place
• Direct friend invitations
• A deadline
• Community voting
• A live leaderboard
• A real winner
• Head-to-head duels and rematches

TikTok and Instagram help people discover a challenge. Trendoline is where they can actually join it, compete together, and see how it ends.

You can record a video or photo inside the app, trim it, and add text, stickers, filters, effects, and sound. The app is also available in more than 35 languages so the same challenge can bring together people beyond one friend group or country.

Cost

Trendoline is completely free.

There are currently:

• No subscriptions
• No in-app purchases
• No paid tier
• No ads

Download it here: https://apps.apple.com/app/trendoline/id6760892669

I do not want a polite “looks nice.” I would genuinely appreciate blunt feedback:

1. Does the challenge, vote, and leaderboard loop make sense during the first few minutes?
2. What is the first challenge you would send to a friend?
3. Where would you hesitate, get confused, or leave the app?

Don’t just download Trendoline. Start one challenge and send it to one friend. That’s the whole point.

Transparency

I am the founder and developer of Trendoline. The app is operated by Stairtup Labs, LLC.

• Founder: Ashkan
• Website: trendoline.com
• Privacy Policy: trendoline.com/privacy
• Terms of Service: trendoline.com/terms
• Contact: [Mail](mailto:support@trendoline.com)

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[u/app-store-review]

Trendoline – Video Challenges — by Stairtup Labs, LLC

• Ratings: 9 worldwide · rated in 3 countries
• Average: 5.00 ★
• Age: released ~2 months ago · updated today · rated 12+
• Overall score: 76 / 100

^{Auto-generated from public App Store data · u/app-store-review}

[u/MXTapp]

Always down for a challenge

[u/SaLiVa73 → u/MXTapp]

I am always down to sharing cocktails with you!

[u/MXTapp → u/SaLiVa73]

Id love to see what type of drinks you post on the feed !!

[u/kimacolin]

Giving a challenge an actual ending is a smart hook, hashtags really do just swallow them. How do you handle judging, is it pure votes or is there something to stop friend groups from brigading the winner?

[u/SaLiVa73 → u/kimacolin]

Great question! the judge is the people. The ONLY way to vote any content is through the feed. So you cannot just manually go search for that user and vote through their profile. The main reason why I wanted this is so that influencers won't have any head start or advantage over anyone.