Bringing a live social map application from vision to App Store launch

GeoTap empowers socially active people in local communities and friend groups to coordinate offline plans around nearby places. AgileEngine’s engineering team took this product from an early-stage prototype to an App Store-approved app. The resulting application combines map-first friend visibility, tap-ins at places, nearby discovery, and user-controlled privacy modes, enabling friends to move from passive online awareness to real-world plans.

Hero image

Industries

Social networking, Location-based services

Services

Backend development, QA and software testing, DevOps, Security, Accessibility

Solutions

MVP, Mobile application, Geospatial and location, Geofencing, Test automation, Cloud, CI/CD

Technologies

TypeScript, NestJS, Node.js, Express, PostgreSQL, PostGIS, Prisma ORM, AWS, EC2, S3, CloudWatch, SNS, DLM, ECR, EBS, Lambda, Cloudflare, Terraform, Docker Compose, Turborepo, Redis, BullMQ, GitHub Actions, Zod, Sentry, PostHog, Flutter, Firebase Cloud Messaging, JSON, JWT, Helmet, CORS, Let’s Encrypt, Postman, Jest, Swagger

AI tools that powered our workflow

Claude Code

Outcomes
and highlights

  • Less than six months from project start to App Store launch

“I’ve been impressed with how they’ve planned for contingencies before they happen. They’ve not only uncovered risks but also suggested solutions.”

– Randy Helmcamp, Founder, GeoTap

Solutions overview

Project overview
Hardening the app for a stable launch and supporting it afterwards

Building the application backend and infrastructure

GeoTap approached AgileEngine with a founder-defined product vision and front-end prototype. Our team expanded this prototype into a production-ready app by developing its backend and infrastructure, connecting core social and geospatial flows.

Key deliverables

  • Production backend built from scratch
  • Core functionality including authentication, user profiles, file storage, friend system, place discovery (via Foursquare integration), tap-in system, privacy-first location tracking, and notifications
  • Repository (monorepo) and database setup
  • Refinement of filter logic, as well as map, tap-in, and city search functionality
  • API layer development and API integrations
  • Flutter integration connecting social and geospatial flows across the backend and the client app
  • Cloud infrastructure leveraging AWS, Terraform, and Cloudflare, with a self-hosted database and cache layer for cost efficiency at current scale
  • CI/CD pipeline running automated tests on every change and regenerating the Flutter client from an OpenAPI spec to prevent frontend/backend drift
  • Analytics and error monitoring

Technologies

TypeScript, NestJS, Express, Node.js, Zod, PostgreSQL, PostGIS, Prisma ORM, Docker Compose, AWS (EC2, S3, CloudWatch, SNS, ECR, Lambda), Terraform, Flutter, Redis, BullMQ, GitHub Actions, Firebase Cloud Messaging, Sentry, PostHog, Foursquare API, Mapbox, Turborepo

Hardening the app for a stable launch and supporting it afterwards

Our team helped prepare the client’s app for an iOS App Store submission by covering accessibility, quality assurance, and security work. Following the app’s approval and launch, AgileEngine moved into ongoing maintenance and support, including post-launch bug fixes, platform updates, and continued accessibility follow-through.

Key deliverables

  • Accessibility improvements aligned with WCAG 2.1 AA guidelines (VoiceOver, labeling, focus order, contrast, Dynamic Type)
  • Three-layer automated test suite (unit, functional, end-to-end testing) running in CI
  • Versioned Postman collection (13 folders, ~82 requests) covering every backend module
  • Security solutions covering authentication and session management, access control, rate limiting and abuse prevention, network and transport security, data protection at rest, error handling, and data hygiene
  • Real-device testing and shift to a leaner release cadence, leading to reduced regressions during beta
  • App Store submission support through to an approved production release
  • Ongoing post-launch support delivered on a flexible, as-needed basis

Technologies

Jest, Postman, Swagger/OpenAPI, GitHub Actions, Sentry, Firebase Cloud Messaging, JSON, JWT, NestJS (guards and rate limiting), Helmet, CORS, Cloudflare, Let’s Encrypt, AWS (EBS, DLM)

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