25 challenges, each raised by several people over several weeks. Pick a lens to read them as your kind of work.
Notion
the app is really really laggy on iPhone
Build itAn editor that keeps your text when the app stops responding.
Start itA recovery layer that editors could license rather than build.
Study itHow much writing is actually lost, and does anyone notice at the time?
Write itWhy the little saved indicator lies.
Widely reported
Expedia
You refused to refund our money
Build itA refund tracker that shows where the money actually is.
Start itA service that chases a travel refund on someone's behalf.
Study itWhat happens to a refund promise after its window passes?
Write itThe refund that quietly becomes credit you cannot spend.
Widely reported
Ticketmaster
The app literally won't load any pages I click on
Build itA ticket that still works when the app does not.
Start itNot a company so much as a term venues could insist on.
Study itDoes app-only ticketing move the risk of failure onto the ticket holder?
Write itYou bought the ticket. The app decides whether you get in.
Reported repeatedly
Microsoft Teams
extremely slow, you can't search anything you send
Build itA message list that renders only what is on screen.
Start itA lighter client for people who only need to read and reply.
Study itDoes message latency change what people write?
Write itThe app everyone must use and nobody can scroll.
Reported repeatedly
Strava
the program keeps stopping in the middle of my hike
Build itA recorder that writes each location fix to disk as it arrives.
Start itA recorder whose only job is not to stop.
Study itHow often does a consumer tracker lose part of a session?
Write itThe run that did not happen because the app stopped.
Reported repeatedly
Duolingo
it also won't load kana or other character / writing lessons
Build itA lesson that is fully on the device before it starts.
Start itOffline-first practice for people with unreliable connections.
Study itDoes an outage break a learning habit, or only pause it?
Write itGamified learning that punishes you for its own outage.
Reported repeatedly
Airbnb
Host agreed to a refund. Then disputed it.
Build itA record of what both sides agreed, that neither can quietly edit.
Start itEvidence handling for people disputing an accommodation charge.
Study itWhat happens after a host agrees to a refund and then disputes it?
Write itThe refund agreed in writing, then reversed.
Reported repeatedly
Expedia
Then it freezes. Then it freezes your whole phone!
Build itA support path that does not run inside the failing app.
Start itA booking assistant that holds your references outside any one app.
Study itDoes automated support resolve problems or defer them?
Write itThe chat window that freezes the phone you needed it on.
Reported repeatedly
Spotify
it keeps telling me that I can't choose my own music or songs
Build itMake the restriction legible before the tap, not after it.
Start itNot a company. This is a disclosure problem, not a missing product.
Study itDo people understand what a free music tier permits before installing?
Write itThe free tier that hides its own rules until you tap.
Reported repeatedly
Uber
The app doesn't even have a customer support option.
Build itA defined set of trip states that always route to a person.
Start itAdvocacy for riders after a trip goes wrong.
Study itWhich trip problems can automation actually close?
Write itThe support menu with no exit.
Reported repeatedly
Venmo
I can't pay someone I have paid in the past.
Build itAn error that names which step failed and what happens next.
Start itA status layer for transfers that are neither sent nor returned.
Study itWhat do people do in the hour after a payment fails?
Write itThe error message that means nothing and holds your money.
Reported repeatedly
Airbnb
Uninstalled the app and reinstalled, no luck!
Build itAn error that names the step, the cause and the retry.
Start itError-message review as a service for product teams.
Study itWhat does a generic error cost in abandoned actions?
Write itThe error message as a design decision, not an accident.
Reported repeatedly
Airbnb
Messaging is broken. App navigation is broken on abdroid
Build itA host mode that opens on the calendar rather than the guest view.
Start itTooling for hosts whose working day runs inside someone else's app.
Study itWhat does a consumer redesign cost the people who work inside it?
Write itThe redesign that served guests and stranded hosts.
Reported repeatedly
Duolingo
Duo now forces users to use AI
Build itEvery interruption carries a close control, and it is tested.
Start itNot a company. This is a policy question, not a product gap.
Study itDoes an undismissable prompt change lesson completion?
Write itLearning interrupted by the thing that sells you learning.
Reported repeatedly
Spotify
Spotify has its moments of working, but most times does not
Build itPersist the playback position through the app being killed.
Start itA player that keeps your position across whatever you listen on.
Study itHow often does playback state survive a backgrounded app?
Write itThe app that forgets where you were.
Reported repeatedly
Strava
Every day I get at least 10 notifications asking to sign up for the premium version
Build itState the charge date and the amount on the screen that starts the trial.
Start itA watcher for trials a person has started and forgotten.
Study itDoes trial framing change whether people cancel in time?
Write itThe free trial that was never free.
Reported repeatedly
Duolingo
just take hundreds of dollars off your card with no consent and no way to get it back
Build itA trial that names the charge date and the amount before it starts, and again before it lands.
Start itA subscription record kept outside whoever is selling the subscription.
Study itHow many people who believe they cancelled were still charged?
Write itThe week between cancelling and being charged for the year.
Early signal
Spotify
even though I got an add every 2 songs
Build itKeep the advert out of the surfaces a listener has to touch.
Start itListening software whose free limits are published and then held.
Study itWhere is the point at which interruption stops being tolerable?
Write itTwo songs, an advert, and then the album art disappears.
Early signal
Ticketmaster
I have to use this joke of an app to enter a forthcoming gig
Build itA ticket that exists outside the app that sold it.
Start itIssuing that puts the ticket in the holder’s hands at the moment of sale.
Study itWhat does a gate do when the barcode will not load?
Write itThe ticket you paid for lives somewhere you cannot reach.
Early signal
Duolingo
my app is broken and it's putting me at a huge disadvantage
Build itA free tier metered by time practised rather than by mistakes made.
Start itPractice software where the daily amount is fixed and paid for once.
Study itWhat happens to a practice habit when a meter sets the session length?
Write itThe lesson that stops in the middle of itself.
Early signal
Slack
I can no longer sign in as we now require 2 step authentication
Build itA session that survives a crash, and a repair that is not a reinstall.
Start itA recovery layer that captures what an app was holding when it died.
Study itWhat does an app take with it when reinstalling is the fix?
Write itTurn it off and on again, except it is your job.
Early signal
Canva
The push for AI on here has ruined what this is supposed to be
Build itA preference that stops the prompt loading, not just showing.
Start itA drawing tool whose feature set is fixed by the person using it.
Study itDoes an unrequested prompt change how long people stay in a document?
Write itThe software you rent changed while you were using it.
Early signal
Microsoft Teams
I can't even sign in with my account
Build itA way to remove an account from the device without removing the app.
Start itAn identity switcher that treats work accounts as things people leave.
Study itWhat is left on a device when someone leaves an organisation?
Write itYou left the company. The app did not.
Early signal
Uber
they charged me a cancellation fee then locked me out of my account
Build itA receipt that shows every difference between the quote and the charge.
Start itA ride where the price shown is the price charged, and the difference is the operator’s.
Study itHow far does a final fare drift from its quote, and in which direction?
Write itThe number you agreed to, and the number that arrived.
Early signal
Zoom
whenever i try to open my camera, i was forced to leave
Build itA join path that never waits on a check that can fail.
Start itA joining layer that gets a person into a call however the client fails.
Study itDo meeting failures happen in the call, or before it starts?
Write itThe meeting you are in the room for and cannot enter.
Early signal
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