
Vignette: add photos to your contacts by searching public social media profiles - k2enemy
https://www.caseyliss.com/2019/5/22/vignette
======
nerdbaggy
Our support desk enriches the data about who e-mailed in, and among that is a
picture. Now every time our most import client submits a ticket it’s a picture
of him and his wife in a hot tub

~~~
VvR-Ox
Haha nice that came to my mind, first :-D

------
thomasfedb
Having tried the app, some honest UX feedback:

1\. This app doesn't have a good reason to depart from the usual Apple UI
style, so don't. The gradient buttons in particular feel very Web 2.0, and out
of place in 2019.

2\. You need to persist content in the app when I close it, or switch between
apps. Ideally the app would work away in the background while I do something
else, but if not it should at minimum not need to start again from scratch
every time I open it.

3\. When I tap on a photo to preview it's not obvious that I need to tap on
the old photo to get back to the list. Offer a close icon in the corner.

Good idea, useful, execution could take some polish.

~~~
scarface74
Because of purposeful limitations on iOS. Except in special cases, an app can
not run in the background for more than ten minutes.

------
oarsinsync
Scanning the website, it looks like it depends on you having populated the
user's Facebook, Instagram & Twitter profiles in order to use those services.
If you have an email address, it'll use Gravitar, and if you have none of the
above, I guess it does nothing?

Given that Facebook already takes a full copy of all of my contacts (I use
WhatsApp) I'd really rather not spend the effort curating a more detailed
database linking phone numbers, email addresses and real names to various
social media profiles, for the benefit of Facebook.

I realise this app, and Casey, are not responsible for the actions of other
apps on my phone, but second order effects should be a real concern for any
app that claims to be privacy focused.

I realise that's probably secondary to the claim that it's supposedly privacy
focused, and relying on your contacts not being privacy focused in order to be
effective.

All that said, and I apologise for raining on the otherwise sunny parade, this
looks like a beautifully executed app, and I will be purchasing it shortly,
mostly because I have enjoyed listening to Casey on ATP.

~~~
dwheeler
> Given that Facebook already takes a full copy of all of my contacts (I use
> WhatsApp)

I recommend using web apps, not native apps, for things like Facebook. Your
browser will not hand over your contacts list to the world, so preferring your
browser is often a good move. Won't work for everyone, but it works for me.

You can also choose apps from orgs that care more about privacy. Signal works
just fine instead of Whatsapp.

~~~
oarsinsync
> You can also choose apps from orgs that care more about privacy. Signal
> works just fine instead of Whatsapp.

Network effects means that despite me being on iMessage and Signal, almost all
my comms arrive on Whatsapp. I could remove myself from Whatsapp, but already
abstaining from Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn means my choices
realistically are to either use IM platform as a selection criteria for my
friends (which I've already done to a degree, and lost a lot of casual friends
by not being on any of the above), or accept that there's no suitable
alternative and give in to this particular beast.

------
userbinator
For some reason the idea of having pictures of people in my contacts just
feels creepy in an indescribable way, even if it isn't _my_ picture but those
of others. Perhaps this is because it increases the "you are being watched"
feeling.

Yet the trend seems to be to plaster every single UI everywhere with the faces
of users (and pestering them to upload "profile photos")... I do not need to
see a picture of myself every time I'm logged into a site.

~~~
davidcollantes
I disagree. It bugs me not to have an image of the person together with its
contact information.

Vignette approach is way too plastic for my taste. I carefully curate my
contacts and associate photos _I_ take to them. Many people use avatars they
do not reflect who they are, I can’t stand that on my contacts. That, mainly,
and the fact that the app costs $5 (way too much in my opinion) are the only
reason that will keep me away from it.

~~~
jwr
> $5 (way too much in my opinion)

I wish people considered how much it costs to develop an app and then looked
at the cost, keeping in mind that somebody out there needs to make a living,
and apps do not sell in millions.

I am really annoyed by what Apple did to software pricing: it seems most
people want stuff to be FREE or $1.99 these days. If that is your expectation,
do not expect good apps, because it simply doesn't make any sense to write
them.

~~~
wtmt
I’m not sure how Apple did anything to software pricing. In the initial days
of the iPhone, apps used to sell for as much as Mac apps.

While you’re looking at the effort and cost of developing an app, also
consider that not everybody has $4 coffees (like another commenter put it) or
can afford to buy many apps that are each $5 or $10 or more. Getting an iPhone
is one of the best things someone could do (on privacy and security), and it
does cost a lot just to get the hardware. Lower priced apps are a boon to many
in countries that are not the US or another developed country.

Some sort of tiered pricing that also takes into account relative pricing
power could help the developer reach more people as well as help more people.
Note that many people in lower income countries may also buy older or used
iPhones (with the market share of the flagships being minuscule) for what is
to them a lot of money.

~~~
jwr
> While you’re looking at the effort and cost of developing an app, also
> consider that not everybody has $4 coffees (like another commenter put it)
> or can afford to buy many apps that are each $5 or $10 or more. Getting an
> iPhone is one of the best things someone could do (on privacy and security),
> and it does cost a lot just to get the hardware. Lower priced apps are a
> boon to many in countries that are not the US or another developed country.

This is, again, a problem of perception. People will pay $1200 for their
phone, whether they can afford it or not. The perception is that they will get
a beautiful physical device and that it is "worth it". To make good use of
that physical device one should expect to buy apps — but they are somehow not
"worth it" anymore.

I realize that not everybody cares about contact photos, but my gripe was with
the "too expensive" statement. My take on this is that when buying a computer
(any computer: laptop, desktop, tablet, phone), you should expect to spend
around 50% of its price on apps in the long run, and even more in niche
business settings. That is the real price of your purchase. If that is too
expensive, consider getting a less expensive device.

~~~
wtmt
> My take on this is that when buying a computer (any computer: laptop,
> desktop, tablet, phone), you should expect to spend around 50% of its price
> on apps in the long run, and even more in niche business settings. That is
> the real price of your purchase. If that is too expensive, consider getting
> a less expensive device.

I get that it’s your personal take, but it just doesn’t work that way in
developing countries. I’m not sure most people would consider spending 50% of
the hardware cost on software in developed countries either, if the apps are
for personal use.

There are variations in price expectations depending on the type of product.
Hardware is something people are willing to pay more for. Video content is
slightly similar in the very long run (if using streaming services). Software
seems to be generally lower on the rung, regardless of the platform.

------
tastyface
This is going to come off as quite bitter, but the more I listen to podcasts
like ATP, the more it angers me how incestuous the Apple indie community is.
There are about a million of these kinds of utility apps in the App Store.
Many are potentially useful to thousands of people like this one. _None_ of
them get widespread podcast coverage, writeups on Techcrunch and Macstories,
and trending posts on HN. This is exclusively fame and personality driving
sales, and yet nobody on these shows seems to want to acknowledge it.

Worse yet, this might make fledgeling indie developers believe that they, too,
could make a living with their first or second projects. But I know from
experience that merit isn't nearly enough: getting even a single journalist to
pay attention will require weeks or months of unanswered e-mails to everyone
you can find—and even then, only if you're lucky, and your app actually does
something incredible.

Perhaps the unstated prerequisite in this market is that if you don't have a
network, your app almost certainly isn't going anywhere, no matter how good it
is. And if you know a bunch of people within the Apple indie community, you're
going to have some degree of success, no matter what. I recently released an
app that performs an important task substantially better than all the existing
competition, and yet getting anyone at all to pay attention is like pulling
nails. It's hard not to feel dejected when you see a newcomer with a
comparatively simple app enter the stage and immediately get widespread
acclaim.

As a long-time fan of the show, I'm happy for Casey's success (because he's a
genuinely nice and well-meaning person), but I'm probably going to have to
stop listening soon. This release is just an absolute distortion of the app
developer experience, and it ticks me off that everyone in this sphere is
acting like it's completely normal. In reality, almost anybody else would be
lucky to make $100 from the lifetime of an equivalent app, and nobody would be
donating $5 to you just because they like you.

~~~
graeme
>Worse yet, this might make fledgeling indie developers believe that they,
too, could make a living with their first or second projects.

Where did Casey or anyone else give this impression? I think you're reading a
LOT into this that isn't there.

Obviously the app has done well because its creator is well known. That's a
very viable method of marketing. Anyone hoping to start a business needs some
sort of marketing angle, and fame or network is one of them.

Not just that: the app has to work, and Vignette works well. And it solved the
problem of the people recommending it, too. That's part of why everyone who
knows Casey is eager to talk about it: the app genuinely helped them.

Can you point to something anyone said, anywhere that backs up your own
interpretation? Ie. someone saying "see, anyone can do it"

I didn't listen to this week's ATP yet, so maybe I missed something grotesque,
but what you're saying doesn't sound like how Casey talked about the app in
the runup.

~~~
tastyface
> _" Where did Casey or anyone else give this impression? I think you're
> reading a LOT into this that isn't there."_

Maybe you're right. I admit there's quite a bit of sour grapes on my part. On
the other hand, I think it's more a matter of what's _not_ said. On ATP, the
relative fame of the three co-hosts is rarely brought up as a causal factor of
success, and Vignette's development has been talked about as if it were an an
entirely conventional process, with no asterisks or caveats. To paraphrase
several episodes of discussion: "You make the app, and if it's good enough,
people will write about it and you will make on the order of several thousand
dollars over its lifetime. Maybe you'll even be able make a living out of it."
But that's just not how it works for ordinary people. Either the co-hosts are
out of touch, or they assumed that Casey's connectedness would substantially
help his sales, but didn't outright say it.

To be clear, I don't blame Casey for any of this. He did nothing wrong. More
than anything, I'm frustrated by the Apple media for (what I perceive to be)
favoritism when it comes to picking apps to write about and prop up. Where's
the journalistic integrity? You pass over so many fantastic apps, yet a tiny
utility app by this one famous developer (who's friends with the higher-ups)
gets a full writeup?

> _" Not just that: the app has to work, and Vignette works well. And it
> solved the problem of the people recommending it, too. That's part of why
> everyone who knows Casey is eager to talk about it: the app genuinely helped
> them."_

I think it helps connected people in the Apple indie dev scene more than
anyone else. If you read the feedback in the corresponding Reddit thread[1],
you'll see that most regular people aren't able to make use of its
functionality.

[1]:
[https://www.reddit.com/r/apple/comments/bs7z8a/vignette_for_...](https://www.reddit.com/r/apple/comments/bs7z8a/vignette_for_ios_easily_personalizes_contact/)

~~~
graeme
Mmm, I guess I have a lot of contacts with synced facebook ids back when ios
let you connect facebook.

So I listened to the new ATP, and Casey constantly talked about how fortunate
he was to have an audience, and friends with audiences. I really didn't get
the sense you're talking about.

As for the press, macstories writes about everything. The more famous ones, I
agree that maybe they could disclose that. On the other hand, this is the
slowest part of the year by far in the apple news cycle, so he may have
inadvertently picked an excellent time to launch. Editors had little else to
write about.

------
striking
I would totally pay for an app that kept my contact information in order
without selling it to other people. Is this coming to Android anytime soon?

~~~
george_perez
I can almost 100% say that this is never coming to Android. Casey Liss is one
of the co-hosts of Accidental Tech Podcast (ATP) and they are Apple users
through and through. Marco Arment, maker of the great Overcast podcast client,
is also a co-host alongside John Siracusa of Mac OS X/Ars reviews fame.

TL;DR No this is not coming to Android.

~~~
scarface74
Well Marco did outsource porting Instapaper to Android before he sold it...

[https://marco.org/2012/06/06/instapaper-for-
android](https://marco.org/2012/06/06/instapaper-for-android)

But I doubt he would do the same for Overcast.

~~~
jjude
Just yesterday was searching on the Google Play Store if there is an Android
version of Overcast. There is no decent podcast app that has this particular
feature of Overcast - cutting off silence.

~~~
f_m
One of the most used podcast apps on Android has to be Pocket Casts, and they
support removing silence : [https://support.pocketcasts.com/article/audio-
effects/](https://support.pocketcasts.com/article/audio-effects/)

------
jph
Take my money! :)

Your project is great, and I especially love that you're doing this for
privacy reasons on the device, instead of in the cloud. Congratulations on
launching.

Wishlist: add LinkedIn, because about half of my contacts are for business.

~~~
scarface74
ATP is one of my favorite podcasts and I wanted to like this app.

A long time ago, FB for iOS would sync contacts _to_ your iPhone and include
an fb:/... link. I still have a few old contacts with the link. Those are the
only ones that were updated and one that had a gravitar link.

None of my more recent contacts with FB links worked nor did my professional
contacts from LinkedIn. The app was kind of useless to me.

~~~
robotmlg
The facebook link problem is fixed in today's 2019.4 update

[https://twitter.com/caseyliss/status/1132335799817691136](https://twitter.com/caseyliss/status/1132335799817691136)

~~~
scarface74
Better. I just tried it out. But, the url you get from your phone is
[https://m.faceboook.com/...](https://m.faceboook.com/...).

This is a normal use case. You have to take the m out. But, I am glad he did
that instead of forcing a FB login. I trust him based on his reputation, but a
lot of people wouldn’t.

------
bdcravens
Maybe I'm just old, but when I hear that name in a software context, I think
of:

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vignette_Corporation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vignette_Corporation)

~~~
sehugg
Thanks for the nightmares I'll be having tonight about URLs with commas.

------
randyrand
Another alternative, I used this years ago (only works with FB):

'GoSync' [https://itunes.apple.com/be/app/gosync-contacts-social-
photo...](https://itunes.apple.com/be/app/gosync-contacts-social-photo-sync-
facebook-pics/id621494151?mt=8)

------
myroon5
Facebook Messenger on Android does something similar. Names and pictures from
Facebook are shown by phone numbers

------
BozeWolf
Cool! Well done!! Love the techniques used and the way you find photos. Also
like the design. Good luck with being indi developer.

I launched a similiar app a few weeks ago (LibreContacts), but did not make
much fuzz about it yet because: busy. It adds profile pics from whatsapp to
your contacts.

~~~
danpalmer
I just tried LibreContacts and am finding it a bit confusing. The launch
experience is unlike anything I’ve seen on an app before, and I’m not sure
many people will understand it or be able to use it.

I’m out with just my phone for a long weekend. I can’t imagine the rest of my
family using this - my parents would find it too complicated, and my siblings
wouldn’t be bothered if it doesn’t work on the phone.

What’s the reason for it?

~~~
BozeWolf
I do not want to hijack this topic. But in short: whatsapp has all the
contacts i have in my phone. Those contacts have profile pics. The qr thing is
for tech reasons. Will pm if possible. Update: no email in bio. (I do though.)

------
starik36
I would like to buy this app but having hard time understanding why it
requires iOS 12.1 or later. What new API call had to be in the app to justify
this limitation?

I am on iOS 12.0.1 and plan on remaining there for the foreseeable future
because I like my jailbreak.

~~~
hoistbypetard
Unless you very carefully preserve a stable of old devices with old versions
of the OS, it's very challenging to test new software on older operating
systems.

That's one of my least favorite parts of the ecosystem.

If a customer reports a problem on an iOS 12.0.x device, and I didn't go out
of my way to keep one of my devices stuck on 12.0.x or to preserve the
signatures from an old build, there is no way for me to go get a 12.0 device
to troubleshoot their problem (unless I get lucky on eBay or similar) and no
way for me to install 12.0 on a device I have sitting in my desk drawer.

Apple does not want people sticking to old versions of the OS, and makes it
hard for app developers to support those who do.

~~~
scarface74
Especially now that it means supporting both 32 bit and 64 bit versions for
the very small percentage of people who have pre-2013 devices.

------
kyriakos
Any android plans?

~~~
spiderfarmer
Will never happen.

~~~
kyriakos
Then someone else will make it

------
IloveHN84
Why no Android version?

------
SoReadyToHelp
I couldn't find the vignette filter in this app. Can anybody help?

------
AlphaWeaver
It's nice we've gotten to the point where we don't have to put that its an iOS
app in the title, since people assume that iPhone users are the only people
who care about using a new product.

/s

