Make social easy with NFCtree
Your digital business card on a chip. Build a link tree in the app, write it to a chip, and let anyone tap to open your socials in any browser.
9
social presets + custom URLs
No backend
the chip is the only storage
Live
on the App Store
- Client
- Self-published
- Timeline
- 2026
- Tools
- SwiftUI, Core NFC, Next.js
The moment it started
At Google I/O in May 2026, everyone wanted to connect — and everyone was bad at it.
A homemade keychain, one link, and a gap
Someone showed me a 3D-printed keychain with an NFC chip inside. One tap, one link opened. I went home and tried to build my own — several YouTube videos later I understood NDEF, apps, and tags. If it was that hard for me, no normal person was doing this. And even then, the chip only held one link. The data should live on the tag in your pocket, not in someone else's cloud.
Where NFCtree fits
Engineer tools are too technical. Card platforms are too commercial. NFCtree is the simple, private middle.
Who it is for
NFCtree is not for social media creators. They already have Linktree. It is for the Networker — someone with a few links that matter and no interest in another subscription or CRM.
Persona
The Networker
A salesperson, consultant, freelancer, or job seeker with a few links that matter.
Conference hallway
Tap after a good conversation.
Client coffee
No card to reprint, no typo in a handle.
Job search
LinkedIn, site, and one social in one tap.
How it works
One architectural decision drives everything: the chip is the only storage.
Privacy isn't a promise in the copy — it's a consequence of having no backend at all.
Build
Link tree in the app
Budget
See what fits
Write
NDEF onto the tag
Tap
Opens in any browser
Build
Link tree in the app
Budget
See what fits
Write
NDEF onto the tag
Tap
Opens in any browser
Build
Build your link tree
Add links from nine presets or any custom URL. No account, no cloud — just the links that matter for a real conversation.
Budget
Watch the byte budget
A live counter shows how much fits on a standard NTAG215 chip. About four links is the realistic budget — a constraint surfaced early, not discovered at write time.
Write
Write to the chip
Preview exactly what a scanner will see, then hold the tag to your iPhone. The chip becomes the only storage — no server round-trip.
Tap
Tap opens everything
Whoever scans gets the full link tree in any browser. No app on their end, no lookup, no dependency on NFCtree staying online.
Design decisions
Five choices that made a social-sharing product shippable — not an NFC utility.
Decision 01
Position as a social sharing tool, not an NFC utility.
The single most important decision. It set every feature and the name, and it kept the app clear of Apple's copycat guideline, because it solves a different problem in a focused way.
Decision 02
No backend at all.
No account, login, cloud, or database. The tradeoff is real: no cross device sync, no scan analytics. Worth it, because the privacy story becomes structural, cost goes to zero, and the app works offline.
Decision 03
The chip is the only storage.
The chip holds the entire URL encoded link page, so a written tag keeps working forever.
Decision 04
Real time memory tracking as a feature.
NTAG215 chips hold only about 504 bytes. Instead of a silent write failure, a live byte counter sits in the builder so you always know how many links fit. A constraint, surfaced well, becomes a feature.
Decision 05
The card is intentionally minimal.
The shared card shows a name and links, no profile photo. That is not a missing feature, it is the privacy model made visible. The whole card has to fit in about 504 bytes on the chip, with nothing on a server, so there is no room for a photo, and that is the point.
Shipping it
NFC only exists on a physical iPhone. Review kept landing on hardware that could not run the core feature — so the story became: prove it, scope it, try again.
- 1
Tested on the wrong hardware
June 3, 2026
Guideline 2.1 information request. Apple's reviewer used an iPad Air M3 with no NFC hardware, so the core write-and-read flow was physically untestable on their end. Automated checks also flagged Mac and Vision Pro availability.
- 2
Prove it on a real iPhone
Same day resubmit
Demo video filmed on a physical iPhone showing the full tap-to-write and tap-to-read flow. Scoped the listing to iPhone only and cleared build warnings for platforms without NFC.
- 3
Approved
June 2026
Once the hardware proof, demo video, and device scope aligned everywhere Apple looks, review cleared.
What's next
After sharing NFCtree with 50+ people, downloads and reviews started to rise. Version two focuses on clearer onboarding: packaging instructions, step-by-step in-app guidance, short setup videos, and an affiliate tag-buy flow to support the free app.
Seed
Hand out branded NFC tags at events. People can program them fast, and each tag becomes a live demo. Collect feedback and reviews while the experience is fresh.
Self serve
Add a short setup video and a simple way to buy a tag. People who miss events can still onboard on their own in minutes.
Creator seeding
Send free branded tags to creators already teaching NFC workflows. Their audiences already have intent, so NFCtree becomes the clear next step.
Scale
Invest in paid partnerships only after the loop proves conversion. Scale what works: event interest, self-serve onboarding, and creator momentum.
NFCtree is live
Follow the full building log, then explore NFCtree live and see how one tap can share everything that matters.
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