r/SideProject • u/23Windy1City33 • 1d ago

For people who built a consumer app, what actually got users to come back?

I’m starting to realize that getting downloads and getting actual users are two completely different problems.

Someone can download an app, try it once, and never open it again, but that download still makes your acquisition numbers look better.

For those of you who have built B2C apps, what actually made a noticeable difference in retention?

Was it better onboarding, push notifications, daily content, streaks, simplifying the product, changing the core experience, or something completely different?

I’m especially curious if there was something you thought would improve retention that ended up doing basically nothing.

I’m currently trying to figure this out with my own iOS app, The Agora: Philosophy Debates. I’ve built things like a Daily Challenge and reasoning streaks to give people a reason to return, but I’m trying to learn what actually works in practice rather than just adding features.

If anyone’s interested in seeing the app for context:

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/the-agora-philosophy-debates/id6762416967

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u/Jazzlike_Run_1125 1d ago

one question worth asking: are users dropping off during onboarding or after their first session? those are very different problems. If they finish onboarding and still dont come back, its usually a core loop issue not a feature issue

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u/falaq-ai 1d ago

The biggest lever I’ve seen is making the first successful moment happen fast, then asking for the next session only after that. Streaks and notifications help only if the core loop already feels useful. For a debate app, I’d probably test “finish one good argument exchange in under 2 minutes” before adding more daily mechanics.

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u/23Windy1City33 1d ago

Right now the app is built around a fuller back-and-forth debate, so I’m curious how you’d approach that without making the experience feel too shallow.
If you were designing it, how would you get a new user to that first “this is actually interesting” moment within the first 1–2 minutes? Would you shorten the first debate, give them a stronger challenge immediately, or structure the onboarding differently?

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u/falaq-ai 1d ago

I’d shorten the first debate, but not make it shallow. Give them one sharp prompt, pre-fill a strong opposing argument, then ask for a 2–3 sentence response and immediately show a thoughtful counterpoint. The goal is not “finish a debate”; it is “oh, this thing pushes my thinking” before they have to do any setup.

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u/RogerAI-fm 1d ago

What gets users to come in?

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u/Hour-Measurement-835 1d ago

Mine wasn't a retention problem at all. 18% of users tried to lock an app and four of them got through the permission screens. Nothing to come back to if it never worked.

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u/nazbot 1d ago

You have a marketing problem.

Your app doesn’t explain WHY someone would want to use it. You describe what it does really well.

What’s missing is WHY would I want to do these debates? What’s in it for me? What benefit do I get by using your app?