Family sync with no server – Apple-signed entitlements on iOS
Shares a family subscription and syncs receipts between phones with no server involved.
This engineering post describes how ReceiptIQ, a solo-built receipt-scanning expense tracker, shares one subscription across a family with no backend at all. Each member device verifies the owner's Apple-signed subscription receipt (JWS) locally, using a chain anchored to Apple's root certificate, and devices pair through a QR code that only works during a live MultipeerConnectivity handshake — a screenshot of it does nothing. Sync uses last-writer-wins on a per-record timestamp, with tombstones for deletes, since there's no server to arbitrate conflicts.
What holds up
- +No server — receipts never leave the household's own phones
- +Verifies Apple's signed subscription receipt locally, no backend
- +QR pairing requires a live handshake, so a screenshot can't steal it
Mind the limits
- −Conflict resolution is plain last-writer-wins, not a full CRDT
- −Family sync can't be tested through TestFlight, only debug builds
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