--- INTRODUCTION --- Welcome to the Obserc Safety Hackathon. Obserc is a personal safety app for iPhone built around one belief: the people who care about you should always know you are okay — without you having to remember to tell them. We launched on the App Store in 2026 with features including Circles, Night Out Mode, SOS Beacon, Drive monitoring, and a real-time Circle Map. Now we are opening the doors to builders who want to shape what comes next. This is a two-week hackathon with two tracks. Track 1 is for iOS and SwiftUI developers who want to build a new feature directly for Obserc. Track 2 is open to all platforms and stacks — build any app, tool, or service that makes people safer. The best submissions do not just win prizes. They win a place on the Obserc team. Whether you are a solo developer, a designer who codes, or a small team with a big idea — if you care about personal safety and want to build something that matters, this hackathon is for you. App Store: https://apps.apple.com/ca/app/obserc/id6759740570 Website: https://obserc.com User Manual: https://github.com/ElishaSeruma/obserc-manual --- INSPIRATION --- ## Why Obserc exists The most common personal safety habit in the world is also one of the most fragile ones. Someone says "text me when you get home." The other person means to. Then they get distracted, they get tired, they forget. Nobody sent the text. Most of the time, nothing happens. But sometimes it does. I built Obserc because I kept seeing the same pattern: people relying on manual, memory-dependent safety systems in the moments when their attention is most stretched. Walking home late. Getting in a rideshare alone. Driving somewhere unfamiliar. These are exactly the moments when a safety net matters most — and exactly the moments when people forget to activate one. Obserc replaces that broken system with infrastructure that runs quietly in the background. Your circle knows you are okay without you having to send a text. Your wingman is watching during a Night Out without you having to think about it. Your SOS reaches your people in one tap, not five. ## Why this hackathon I am a solo founder. I handle product, design, and engineering simultaneously. There are features I want to build that I have not had the bandwidth to reach yet — an Apple Watch companion, a glanceable home screen widget, a smarter check-in flow, a richer Drive dashboard. And there are safety ideas out there that I have not even thought of yet. This hackathon exists because the best ideas for making people safer are not all going to come from one person. They are going to come from developers who have experienced the problem firsthand, who have people in their lives they worry about, who want to build something that actually matters. If that is you — we want to see what you build. ## What we are looking for We are not looking for polished apps with perfect UI. We are looking for genuine safety value, clear thinking about the problem, and working code that demonstrates the idea. The question we will ask about every submission is simple: does this make someone meaningfully safer? If the answer is yes — tell us how, show us the prototype, and make your case. --- THE TWO TRACKS --- ## Track 1 — Build for Obserc Build a new feature, improvement, or integration that could ship inside the Obserc iOS app. This track is for iOS developers and SwiftUI builders. Ideas to get you started (you are not limited to these): - An app widget or Live Activity showing your circle's safety status at a glance - An App Clip for quick onboarding via a shared circle link - A watchOS companion for one-tap SOS from Apple Watch - A smarter check-in flow using location intelligence - An improved Drive dashboard with richer event visualisation - A new Night Out feature — anything that makes going out safer Your submission should include a working prototype or proof of concept, a clear explanation of what it does and how it fits into Obserc, and a short demo video. Read the Obserc user manual before building — it covers every feature in detail: https://github.com/ElishaSeruma/obserc-manual ## Track 2 — Build a safety app or tool Build any app, tool, or service focused on personal safety. This track is open to all platforms and tech stacks — iOS, Android, web, hardware, or anything else. Your submission should demonstrate a genuine safety use case, show working functionality, and include a short demo video. ## Judging criteria All submissions are judged on: - Impact — does it genuinely improve safety? (35%) - Technical execution (30%) - Design and usability (20%) - Originality (15%) Track 1 submissions are additionally judged on how well the feature fits within Obserc's product and how close it is to being shippable. --- PRIZES --- ## Track 1 — Build for Obserc 1st place - Invitation to join the Obserc team - Lifetime Obserc Pro access - Featured in Obserc's App Store release notes and across all social channels 2nd place - Lifetime Obserc Pro access - Shoutout across Obserc's App Store page and social channels ## Track 2 — Build a safety app or tool 1st place - Invitation to join the Obserc team as an advisor or collaborator - Lifetime Obserc Pro access - Featured across Obserc's social channels and build-in-public community 2nd place - Lifetime Obserc Pro access - Shoutout across Obserc's social channels ## Rules 1. You may work solo or in a team of up to 4 people 2. All work must be original and created during the hackathon window 3. Open source libraries and public APIs are permitted 4. Track 1 submissions must be iOS-focused 5. Track 2 submissions may use any platform or stack 6. A short demo video is required for all submissions 7. Submissions must be made before the deadline via Devpost --- TOOLS AND TECHNOLOGIES --- ## Obserc's tech stack Obserc is built with the following tools and technologies. Track 1 participants building for Obserc should aim to align with this stack where possible. Frontend - Swift and SwiftUI — all UI is built natively in SwiftUI - iOS 16+ target - Combine for reactive state management Backend - Supabase — authentication (Sign in with Apple, phone/email), PostgreSQL database, Edge Functions, and Realtime - Supabase Edge Functions for server-side logic including crash alert detection Analytics - PostHog — full event instrumentation across onboarding, Circles, Night Out, SOS, and Drive Email and automation - Resend — transactional and lifecycle email delivery - GitHub Actions — automated cron-based email workflows - Python — email segmentation and automation scripts Distribution - Apple App Store - TestFlight for beta distribution ## Track 1 recommendations If you are building for Obserc (Track 1), we recommend: - Build in SwiftUI — all Obserc UI is SwiftUI-native - Use Supabase if your feature requires a backend or database - Target iOS 16 or later - Follow Apple's Human Interface Guidelines for safety-critical UI - Keep interactions minimal — Obserc's core principle is that safety tools should require as little attention as possible ## Track 2 — open stack Track 2 is fully open. Use whatever tools, languages, frameworks, or platforms you are most comfortable with. iOS, Android, web, hardware, AI — all are welcome. What matters is the outcome: does it genuinely make people safer? --- CONTACT US & SUPPORT CHANNELS --- We want every participant to have the best chance of building something great. Here is where to reach us during the hackathon. Devpost discussion board The fastest way to ask public questions. Post on the hackathon's discussion board and we will respond within 24 hours. Other participants can also help — use it as a community space. Website For private enquiries or anything you do not want to post publicly: https://obserc.com X (Twitter) Follow and mention us on X for updates, announcements, and build-in-public content throughout the hackathon. We will be sharing participant highlights during the two weeks. User manual Before building for Track 1, read the Obserc user manual to understand how the app works, what each feature does, and where your idea might fit: https://github.com/ElishaSeruma/obserc-manual Download the app Use Obserc before you build. The best Track 1 submissions will come from people who have spent time inside the app: https://apps.apple.com/ca/app/obserc/id6759740570 We are a founder-led team. We read every message and respond to every question. If you are stuck, reach out — we would rather help you build something great than have you drop out because of a blocker. --- ADDITIONAL RESOURCE LINKS --- Obserc user manual — complete guide to every feature in the app, essential reading for Track 1 participants https://github.com/ElishaSeruma/obserc-manual Obserc on the App Store — download the app and explore it before you build https://apps.apple.com/ca/app/obserc/id6759740570 Obserc website — product overview, feature highlights, and contact information https://obserc.com Apple Human Interface Guidelines — Apple's design guidance for health and safety applications https://developer.apple.com/design/human-interface-guidelines SwiftUI documentation — Apple's official SwiftUI framework reference, essential for Track 1 iOS submissions https://developer.apple.com/documentation/swiftui Supabase documentation — full reference for auth, database, Edge Functions, and Realtime https://supabase.com/docs PostHog documentation — analytics instrumentation reference https://posthog.com/docs Devpost submission guide — how to submit your project correctly on Devpost https://help.devpost.com/hc/en-us/articles/360054999651