Chuy Dominguez

Case study · iOS app · 2026

ActiveMind

An iOS app that reads how your day is going, from sleep, stress and steps to how you feel, and suggests something good to do about it.

Role
Co-founder & engineer
Platform
iOS
Built with
React Native and Expo
Status
Live since spring 2026 · v3.0
ActiveMind Do screen: mood and time filters, with a recovery walk as the best fit right now
ActiveMind Home screen: a daily score of 46, with sleep, stress and steps, and a mood check-in

The problem

Phones keep us sitting. ActiveMind uses the phone to get you up.

It's easy to lose an afternoon to scrolling. ActiveMind turns the same device into a nudge: it looks at how you slept, how stressed you are and how much you've moved, asks how you feel, and suggests something that fits.

What it does

Built around how your day is going

  • ActiveMind Home screen: a daily score of 46, with sleep, stress and steps, and a mood check-in
    Home

    A daily score

    One number measured against an ordinary day for you, next to your sleep, stress and steps, with a one-tap mood check-in.

  • ActiveMind Do screen: mood and time filters, with a recovery walk as the best fit right now
    Do

    The best thing to do right now

    430 things to do, matched to your mood, the time you have and how much load your body is under.

  • ActiveMind Mind screen: calm-down, lift-up and breathing tools, and a summary of the week
    Mind

    Calm down, lift up, breathe

    Quick tools for hard moments, a weekly look at sleep and stress, and a crisis button always one tap away.

  • ActiveMind Explore screen: today's adventure, stargazing under a dark sky, on a map nearby
    Explore

    Reasons to get outside

    Ideas within 10 miles that suit today's weather, like a dark-sky window for stargazing, with the stops mapped out.

New in version 3.0

Together

A circle of up to five friends. Steps, sleep, movement, activities, trips and kindness earn points, and crowns go out on Sunday night.

  • ChallengesDuels, flash hours, races and sleep showdowns, plus a “beat your usual” mode so anyone can win. A link brings in up to ten people.
  • Trips togetherPlan a day trip with friends and tick off the stops side by side.
  • The feedPost only what you choose. Friends react, comment and send emoji that fly onto your screen.
ActiveMind Together screen: points and crowns, challenges and trips, and a friends feed
ActiveMind leaderboard: a circle's weekly points and a step duel between two friends

Getting the word out

Marketing it on video

I'm promoting ActiveMind the way I know best: on video. The app preview walks through the whole app in 30 seconds, short-form clips come next, and paid ads wait until the organic numbers show what works.

How I built it

Under the hood

ActiveMind is a React Native app built with Expo. It reads health data from Apple Health, finds places with the Google Places API and maps them with Apple Maps.

  • React Native
  • Expo Router
  • Apple HealthKit
  • Google Places API
  • Apple Maps
  • AsyncStorage
  • Problem

    Apple Health crashed the app at launch.

    Fix

    Load the HealthKit module lazily, inside the screen that needs it, instead of importing it when the app starts.

  • Problem

    Apple's review scan flags HealthKit builds that lack privacy text.

    Fix

    Keep the HealthKit permission descriptions in the app config for every build, even when the feature is switched off.

  • Problem

    Native-only code crashed test builds in Expo Go.

    Fix

    Keep native-only files outside the router's app folder, so they're never bundled where they can't run.

  • Problem

    Every nearby search cost an API call.

    Fix

    Cache Google Places results on the phone for four hours.

Shipping it

From 1.0 to 3.0 this year

More than ten updates came in between. I lead the roadmap and run every release, from new features to a full brand refresh.

  1. Spring 20261.0 launchLive on the App Store.
  2. June 2026Brand refreshA new logo, colors and type.
  3. UpdatesVersion 2.2.1The last of the 2.x releases.
  4. October 15, 2026Version 3.0Adds Together: circles, points, crowns and challenges with friends.

My role

Co-founder and engineer

I build the app, set its creative direction and brand, and run the roadmap and releases. I make ActiveMind with my collaborator, Jordan.

Engineering
React Native, Expo and Apple HealthKit
Design and brand
Creative direction and the 2026 brand refresh
Product
Roadmap and release management

Try ActiveMind.

iPhone · Health & Fitness