Engineering notes

Lessons from the trenches,
not reposted listicles.

Everything here comes from projects we actually shipped — the bugs, the store rejections, the payment edge cases. If it didn't happen in production, we don't write about it.

Android Developer Verification and the January 2027 Permission Changes: What Every App Owner Should Check Now
Google Play · Compliance

Android Developer Verification and the January 2027 Permission Changes: What Every App Owner Should Check Now

Two Google changes are landing on top of each other: developer verification (live since 30 Sept 2026) and four permission policies that tighten on 27 January 2027. The dates, what actually breaks, and the eight-point check we run on every app we maintain.

04 Oct 2026·7 min read
Our Facebook Page Got Hacked. We Never Got It Back. Here Is What We Do Differently Now.
Security · Marketing

Our Facebook Page Got Hacked. We Never Got It Back. Here Is What We Do Differently Now.

Years of posts and followers, gone. The honest story of a failed recovery, and the one-hour security setup that would have prevented it.

22 Aug 2026·6 min read
Google Play Flagged a Client’s Social App. Here Is the 3-Layer Fix That Got It Approved.
App Stores · Compliance

Google Play Flagged a Client’s Social App. Here Is the 3-Layer Fix That Got It Approved.

Report buttons, a moderation gate, and AI screening — the three layers Google actually looks for, from a rescue that went from flagged to approved.

21 Aug 2026·7 min read
Apple Blocked Our App Upload Because of a File That Should Not Exist
AI · App Stores

Apple Blocked Our App Upload Because of a File That Should Not Exist

A validation error about a framework nobody added, three layers below our own code. How we found the phantom file and the release checklist that came out of it.

20 Aug 2026·6 min read
How We Caught Fake Salary Slips While Hiring (A Real Story)
Hiring · Security

How We Caught Fake Salary Slips While Hiring (A Real Story)

Two candidates, two forged document sets — one made with a Python library, one edited in Canva. The 15-minute verification checklist that caught both.

19 Aug 2026·7 min read
New AI Disclosure Rules 2026: Does Your App or Website Comply?
AI · Compliance

New AI Disclosure Rules 2026: Does Your App or Website Comply?

EU AI Act transparency rules are live and India now requires labelling for AI content. A practical 5-point self-check from a team that built this layer for Google Play — before regulators asked.

7 Aug 2026·7 min read
Open-Source AI Models vs OpenAI & Claude: What Should Your Business Use?
AI · Strategy

Open-Source AI Models vs OpenAI & Claude: What Should Your Business Use?

Open-weight models finally rival the big APIs on everyday tasks. When switching saves real money, when it backfires, and the hybrid pattern that is quietly winning 2026.

6 Aug 2026·7 min read
What an AI Agent Can Actually Do for a Small Business in 2026
AI · Agents

What an AI Agent Can Actually Do for a Small Business in 2026

Five jobs businesses are really handing to agents — support, bookings, payment follow-ups, documents, leads — with honest limits and the monthly running costs.

5 Aug 2026·7 min read
WhatsApp + AI: Automating Customer Conversations the Right Way
AI · WhatsApp

WhatsApp + AI: Automating Customer Conversations the Right Way

The two-layer setup that works, the rules that keep your number alive, and the mistakes that get businesses blocked — from a team running this in production daily.

4 Aug 2026·7 min read
What Is Context Engineering? The Skill That Decides If Your AI Is Smart
AI · Engineering

What Is Context Engineering? The Skill That Decides If Your AI Is Smart

The 2026 discipline that replaced prompt magic: controlling everything your AI sees before it answers. Why context quality beats model choice — explained simply.

3 Aug 2026·6 min read
How Much Does AI Development Cost in India? (2026 Numbers)
AI · Pricing

How Much Does AI Development Cost in India? (2026 Numbers)

Pilots from $1,800, systems from $4,500, dedicated developers at $999/month — real invoice numbers, the running costs nobody quotes, and when the honest price is zero.

2 Aug 2026·7 min read
Six WhatsApp Templates That Quietly Run Our Business
Automation

Six WhatsApp Templates That Quietly Run Our Business

Reminders, renewals, alerts in two languages, wired to events. And why five of the six needed zero AI.

1 Aug 2026·6 min read
An AI Agent Is Just an LLM, Some Functions, and a Loop
AI · Engineering

An AI Agent Is Just an LLM, Some Functions, and a Loop

The whole architecture in fifteen lines of pseudocode, the four guardrails that are the real engineering, and when a script wins.

31 Jul 2026·6 min read
Do You Actually Need AI, or Just a Cron Job?
AI · Automation

Do You Actually Need AI, or Just a Cron Job?

The thirty-second test, five real requests with honest verdicts, and why four out of five of our own automations use no AI at all.

31 Jul 2026·6 min read
We Put AI Voice in 30 Languages Into a School Bus App. Here's What Broke.
AI · Engineering

We Put AI Voice in 30 Languages Into a School Bus App. Here's What Broke.

Language belongs to the person, not the app. Translation is not speech. And three more production lessons no tutorial mentions.

30 Jul 2026·6 min read
Google Play Rejected Our AI App. Here Is What It Took to Get Approved.
AI · App Stores

Google Play Rejected Our AI App. Here Is What It Took to Get Approved.

A late-night rejection email, a re-read of the UGC policy, and the four pieces of safety infrastructure that turned a banned update into an approval.

27 Jul 2026·7 min read
UPI Autopay in Production: Five Edge Cases That Cost Us Sleep
Payments · Fintech

UPI Autopay in Production: Five Edge Cases That Cost Us Sleep

First charges that never fire, timezone drift, duplicate webhooks and mandates with secret lives. Lessons from three live billing systems.

27 Jul 2026·8 min read

More posts shipping soon — the backlog is as real as the projects.