TAPSocial is an iOS app for gamified live debates. Users can debate on fresh daily topics randomly selected by an AI engine from some popular news sources and express their opinion.
Each session gets recorded, and approved videos are displayed on the app’s feed. Registered users then vote for the winner! It is a place to start and explore live video debates across a variety of topics, including politics, sports, products, pop culture, etc. Local brands endorse sessions. The app allows anyone to star as a host by snapping their own video sessions.
TheBITLabs, a mobile application development studio by BeyondITL, has developed a native mobile application and the necessary backend for the startup.
Services Provided
Content Management System (CMS), Web Application, and Native iOS Mobile Application Development
Challenges
The client gave a brief on how to build their website, native iOS mobile application, and backend with an admin panel.
Startup funding at the pre-seed and seed stages stands primarily dependent on the successful and timely execution of the MVP (Minimum Viable Product). Apple’s CallKit in iOS needed to be used, and a customized service had to be developed in record time for video calling and video recording of multiple streams from multiple devices and posting the approved version in a timeline. Apple AppStore only publishes apps that have user-generated content if the app ecosystem has a clear method of Reporting Inappropriate Content, which also needs to be developed at the same time.
Solution
We at theBITLabs, based on the brief, prepared an SRS (Software requirements specification) and, after approval, prepared a wireframe for the app in Figma to lock all the requirements for MVP. We used a stable release of WebRTC for one-on-one calling and recording of the session. Since an app can only use the audio channel once at a time to record the session along with screen video and audio, we needed to save webRTC video and audio stream sampleBuffer data into AVAssetWriter. After that, we had to mux both sessions to create a side-by-side video which would then go for publishing in the app feed. We used CDN (content delivery network) to stream the videos. We also implemented a feature for brands to connect with users via real-time messaging. We developed a panel for brands to onboard and train a Decision-Tree Based Chatbot. We had to develop a proprietary “Content Reporting System” from scratch for tracking reports about inappropriate and abusive content and taking necessary actions. We also built a privileged access management system for administrators and selected power users. A rating system was developed to determine winners. The native iOS mobile application was developed by SWIFT. We integrated Flurry for mobile app analytics for native iOS mobile applications. The solution is hosted on AWS EC2.
Impact
Our realistic approach made it possible for timely release of the app. The startup could raise its desired seed fund and test the market with the MVP. 1000+ users were active on the launch date in Houston, Texas. The app gained good recognition for its ingenuity and feature-filled implementation. The TAPFeed acted as a great feature for user retention. Local brands could be onboarded with the help of the user guide available for download on the website. The app helped them reach very specific users.
Features
- Watch interesting live debates and discussions between real people
- One-on-one video calling
- Audio and Video call session recording
- Chatbot
- Rating system
Technology
ASP .NET, WebRTC, SWIFT 4, MySQL, AWS
Encryption: AES 256
Demo
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