PostLens
Built a private visual content studio for iPhone and iPad: select strong photos, apply transparent on-device enhancements, compose layouts, and prepare work to share.
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Project notes
Active project
Building a private visual content studio for iPhone and iPad
- Estimated reading time
- About 4 minutes
- In this project story
- 8 sections
PostLens 2 is available for iPhone and iPad. It helps people choose strong photos, improve them with explainable edits, compose social-ready layouts, and export the result. Its workflow is intentionally narrow: Select → Enhance → Compose → Export.
Optional Supporter tools add private planning with local reminders. Plans stay on the device and do not publish automatically. Instagram account connection and direct publishing remain unavailable while we await Meta approval for production. Analytics and engagement tracking stay outside the product.
Inside the product
PostLens 2 workflow previews captured during development. Sample photos are AI-generated and gallery scores are illustrative; appearance may vary from the released app.
Find a photo worth working on
The gallery brings local photo guidance into the selection step, so reviewing a set and opening an image stay in one workflow.
Refine it in one focused editor
Framing, adjustments, and the original comparison stay close to the photo. This capture shows the editing workflow developed for PostLens 2.
Outcomes
Keeps core photo analysis, scoring, editing, and caption preparation on the device
Supports reusable formats for Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and generic exports
Provides the app, permission language, StoreKit catalog, landing page, and support hub in English and Spanish
Goals
Make photo selection easier with useful scoring that does not upload a library to a private server.
Keep edits understandable through measured signals and bounded adjustment recipes.
Support real publishing formats without locking a photo into one destination or crop.
Treat privacy, accessibility, and localization as product features rather than release notes.
What I built
A progressive scored gallery
that prioritizes visible photos, analyzes local assets in battery-aware batches, and reuses a private on-device index.
An editing workflow
that measures exposure, contrast, saturation, color balance, clipping, and sharpness before applying predictable looks.
A tailored AI look
that searches bounded candidates, validates the result, frames a Vision-guided crop, and drafts an editable grounded caption.
Layouts and carousels
for reusable social formats, publishing sets, profile grids, and still-frame video export.
Private planning
with a local calendar and reminders for preparing work without connecting a social account.
Optional Apple integrations
for Foundation Models coaching and per-use Image Playground handoff on supported devices.
An Astro landing and support site
in English and Spanish.
Technical highlights
- Native stack
SwiftUI,PhotoKit,PhotosPicker,Vision,Core Image,StoreKit, and Apple system sharing.- On-device intelligence
local scoring, bounded preview re-analysis, subject-aware framing, and caption preparation.
- Privacy boundaries
core photo work stays on the device, saved copies omit metadata, and optional Apple generative workflows begin with an explicit disclosure.
- Release quality
privacy manifests, source-size checks, native tests, SEO checks, and a release preflight.
Results
- A complete free single-photo workflowfrom library review to format-specific export.
- Optional Supporter featuresthat add multi-photo exports and private planning without gating privacy, accessibility, scoring, or core editing.
- A clear product boundarythat keeps PostLens a visual studio instead of another social account dashboard.
Release status
PostLens 2 — available now.
The photo studio is live on iPhone and iPad: select photos, edit, compose, and export. Private planning uses local reminders and does not publish automatically.
Get PostLens on the App StoreAwaiting Meta approval
Instagram publishing
Instagram connection and direct publishing are not available in the production app. They remain separate from the launched v2 workflow while we await Meta approval.
Read the PostLens 2 launch noteExport and manual sharing are available now. Meta approval and a separately verified release are still required before direct Instagram publishing can become available.
Why it matters
Creative tools can be helpful without becoming opaque.
PostLens combines on-device measurement, predictable adjustments, and optional system intelligence while keeping the user in control of the final image and caption.
De este proyecto
Dentro del trabajo.
Launch note
PostLens 2 is live: a more complete photo studio
PostLens 2 is live on iPhone and iPad. Here is what you can use now, and why direct Instagram publishing remains unavailable.
Leer artículoDeep dive
PostLens: A private on-device content studio
Why PostLens keeps selection, scoring, enhancement, composition, and caption preparation on the iPhone while making optional generative handoffs explicit.
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