BenRiceM

I make Obscura, a camera app for iPhone. Obscura (npub1lrd…ts2g)  🏳️‍⚧️ - nonbinary - they/them

Personal: https://www.benricemccarthy.com
Glass: https://glass.photo/benricem
Obscura: https://apps.apple.com/app/obscura-pro-camera/id1579306989
Indigo: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/indigo-for-bluesky-mastodon/id6763755310

Public Key

npub12h454nyl8xzwzgf2q0s8gzqwmw75uq6xmaet2vaef2c9jksyz4vshndewy

NIP-05 Address

[email protected]

Profile Code

nprofile1qqs9t662ej0nnp8pyy4q8cr5pq8dh02wqdrd7u44xwu54vzetgzp2kgpz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduqs6amnwvaz7tmwdaejumr0dsrhsx9f

Publishing to

relay.damus.io

nos.lol

Author Public Key

npub12h454nyl8xzwzgf2q0s8gzqwmw75uq6xmaet2vaef2c9jksyz4vshndewy

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Last Notes

2026-07-25 11:40:19 UTC

I’m just back from a trip to Germany to visit one of my closest friends, Daniel, who’s been held in solitary confinement 23h a day for the past ten months in a 2 × 5m cell.
They get one hour of visitation per month.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/116/980/423/310/176/666/original/1b632bcef1877466.jpg

2026-07-07 12:19:56 UTC

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I thought @npub1avm…dsfh was just making fun of the non-zero baseline chart
And that’s what I was actually getting at. Your scale is too far removed from zero at normal temperatures to use zero baseline, so you end up with stupid charts like above.

2026-07-07 10:50:26 UTC

Every time someone (@npub1vuf…klt8) says Fahrenheit is more intuitive I’m gonna bring up this chart
https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:pqyqajvwhjfywv2tbq2sjxfz/post/3mpyft6x3ms26

2026-06-20 09:28:23 UTC

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That’s mostly true, but Apple could support publishing updates to older versions of the app.
It can be a huge pain trying to support multiple operating systems, but imagine if you could have a “legacy” version of your app for iOS 18 and the current version on iOS 26/27 but still be able to publish bug fixes to the 18 version.
And if that were possible you could tie your paid updates to operating system versions.
(Does that make sense?)

2026-06-19 22:17:45 UTC

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I do wish Apple made it easier to support other pricing models like paying for 1 year of updates. But there’s no way for the App Store to serve different versions of the app so that’s kind of a non-starter.
And as you might imagine, I’m not a big fan of the advertising model

2026-06-19 21:47:54 UTC

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I know a lot of developers who say (or used to say) to avoid lifetime options, for a variety of reasons.
So I try to price them high enough to discourage most users from considering it, while the people who are aggressively against subscriptions still have an option

2026-06-19 18:57:58 UTC

Just doing a little #marketresearch.. if you’ve seen me mention Indigo over the last month or so but haven’t given it a try, I’d love to hear why?
Is it pricing? You’re happy with your current client? Any thoughts at all?

2026-06-08 18:13:05 UTC

You can even resize the simulator, here’s what a widescreen iPhone would look like NO REASON WHY YOU ASK

2026-06-08 10:21:58 UTC

Hopes & Dreams #WWDC
https://benricemccarthy.ghost.io/last-minute-wwdc-26-hopes-dreams/

2026-05-29 23:04:21 UTC

when will my husband return from the war
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/116/660/362/309/862/529/original/147bb5e726812c10.jpg

2026-05-25 11:05:33 UTC

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if anything, this would alleviate localisation issues.
If “food” was a category you choose from a picker, the language wouldn’t matter and could be translated by the client app. Right now if someone writes a content warning in a non-Latin script, I have no idea what it means.

2026-05-25 10:49:55 UTC

Hot take: I think Mastodon should have Content Warning Categories.
Some people might be okay with nudity but not photos of food, etc. Being able to preemptively choose what to see would make CWs less interruptive

2026-04-30 16:09:00 UTC

My job would be so much easier if doing any amount of self promotion didn’t feel incredibly cringe

2026-04-13 12:41:41 UTC

It’s kinda weird that the news is just giant yellow text in the night sky now, but I think it works
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/116/397/447/660/946/731/original/f335de67c7274547.jpg

2026-02-27 15:03:41 UTC

Since its Pokémon Day, I should probably remind you that I make the nicest Pokédex app out there, Ketchup: https://apps.apple.com/ie/app/ketchup-for-pok%C3%A9mon/id6477297968
(Reposts appreciated)
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/116/143/201/769/269/978/original/df2b0feaf6588bb2.jpg
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/116/143/201/866/138/887/original/44eed72650e42843.jpg
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/116/143/201/928/629/706/original/1aebb002267af7f1.jpg
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/116/143/201/998/637/724/original/0e5341e40768fb92.jpg

2026-02-09 15:00:09 UTC

Over the past year, @npub1f5v…kh4x and I have been working on something very exciting!
We thought we’d give you a little teaser now and you can sign up to hear more very soon.
https://indigosocial.app/

2025-12-13 09:39:22 UTC

This is fucking terrifying.
It’s not a new concern, but good to be reminded that your entire digital life can be annihilated in an instant with no recourse
https://cloudisland.nz/@parisba/115710491106723110

2025-12-03 21:45:35 UTC

I guess all my design Feedbacks weren’t ignored 🤔
https://mastodon.social/@markgurman/115657311502006405

2025-11-01 21:17:25 UTC

The Danish Foreign Minister gifted his Egyptian counterpart a Lego set of the pyramids and I think all politics should just be some variation of this
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/115/476/518/935/950/738/original/aff7e726b0476ad5.jpeg

2025-10-15 13:46:07 UTC

Vision Pro (2025) is the most fun you can have with two straps and no lesbians
https://mastodon.social/@alexcox/115378420906483820

2025-10-13 16:28:19 UTC

Congratulations to all the tech journalists who keep talking about how cool and exciting the Meta Ray-Bans are https://mastodon.social/@verge/115367411809310943

2025-09-05 13:00:45 UTC

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I see something like this pretty much every day (I think it happens when my phone is in the Sleep Focus Mode).
It’s embarrassing that this is going to ship in a week
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/115/151/814/053/681/716/original/f3ad299e2d80c265.png

2025-09-05 12:49:10 UTC

This is the perfect demonstration of why Liquid Glass is a mistake.
Sure it’s not always this bad, and sometimes it even looks cool. But the system UI should fundamentally just work.
Instead it’s in a constant state of flux trying to remain legible, in an attempt to solve the problem it created.
https://mastodon.social/@chbeer/115146363054220735

2025-08-06 21:50:51 UTC

It is deeply and profoundly embarrassing to watch the head of a trillion dollar company debase himself like this
https://www.threads.com/@aaron.rupar/post/DNB0zymJDjS

2025-06-30 14:06:27 UTC

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Today I’m very excited to introduce Obscura Studio.
Obscura Studio is a photo editing app designed to make editing your photos easy and intuitive.
I think it’s the perfect companion for Obscura
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/obscura-studio/id6744744794

2025-06-30 14:06:26 UTC

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On top of the (usually) glowing press coverage, Obscura has been featured as Editors’ Choice, App of the Day and more. It’s been shown in WWDC keynotes and installed on Apple Store demo units around the world.
It’s been a huge honour and I’m excited for the next decade.
There is one more thing…

2025-06-30 14:06:26 UTC

10 years ago, I launched Obscura into the world because I wanted to have more control over my iPhone’s camera.
I could not be more grateful to everyone who’s made it all possible
https://benricemccarthy.ghost.io/obscuras-10th-anniversary/

2025-06-09 16:05:24 UTC

I finally caught up on Andor yesterday, pretty good stuff
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/114/654/256/280/311/498/original/1a1a3e69b7a422ce.jpeg
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/114/654/256/574/411/207/original/b08268c154dd7041.jpeg
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/114/654/256/840/510/978/original/5c5accc7b2b3f117.jpeg

2025-05-21 21:03:39 UTC

Kinda bummed at the thought that Jony Ive spent decades building tools for artists and creators to realise their visions and now he’s building tools to harvest all that work without compensation
$6.5 billion that could be going to those artists.

2025-05-08 22:08:15 UTC

They chose a pope from Chicago so he could dish out deep thoughts

2025-05-01 16:43:23 UTC

more like poly gone am I right

2025-04-29 10:54:50 UTC

Is Bluesky down for anyone else?

2025-04-25 09:37:05 UTC

If you visit CERN today they’re giving away neutrinos, free of charge

2025-04-09 20:12:44 UTC

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if you record Analogue and he records Analog, does that mean there’s a 25% deficit

2025-04-09 18:09:28 UTC

Man I got my hopes up for a fraction of a second https://infosec.exchange/@cyd/114306093787008999

2025-03-25 18:55:27 UTC

I’m seeing a lot of “WWDC was announced!”
And not a lot of “Don’t come to the US because it’s incredibly unsafe for anyone who’s non-white or queer”
And absolutely zero “we understand the difficulties faced by developers overseas so we’re hosting events around the world so everyone can take part”

2025-03-14 08:09:50 UTC

Pretty much daily, I’ll hear someone I like and respect mention that they use ChatGPT and I desperately want to know what it would take for them to stop supporting this morally bankrupt, piece of shit company
I don’t care if you find replying to email to be tedious, take some god damn personal responsibility
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/03/openai-urges-trump-either-settle-ai-copyright-debate-or-lose-ai-race-to-china/

2025-03-02 14:04:53 UTC

Stumbled across a corgi meet-up this morning, which was a brief reminder that not everything is terrible all the time
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/114/093/214/450/466/180/original/8e552d26edb97a94.jpeg

2025-02-25 14:31:22 UTC

It’s 2014 and Adobe announces Photoshop for iPhone
It’s 2017 and Adobe announces Photoshop for iPhone
It’s 2025 and Adobe announces Photoshop for iPhone https://mstdn.social/@TechCrunch/114064892418710205
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/114/065/006/830/211/770/original/8326b99728ceda3f.jpeg

2025-01-16 14:08:46 UTC

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the real switch two was inside us all along

2024-12-13 19:47:41 UTC

I don’t know how anyone survives the last decade of weaponised misinformation and then thinks filtering all their news through an LLM is good idea https://mastodon.online/@9to5Mac/113647127504397409

2024-12-12 10:36:44 UTC

“There you go Zero you’ve got another box”
Siri: Now playing Gimme Shelter (2006? Remix) by The Rolling Stones

2024-11-27 17:27:39 UTC

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okay that’s good to know, thanks for the testing

2024-11-27 17:11:28 UTC

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yeah I’ve had issues where the Threads OAuth flow just didn’t call back correctly
Sign In is the source of like 90% of our headaches 🥲

2024-11-27 16:18:13 UTC

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is a client app for seeing your all your social feeds, Croissant is focused on being a really excellent experience for posting
We like what @npub1nwk…dgjz is doing, but we’re building very different tools from each other

2024-11-27 15:00:36 UTC

Both @npub1f5v…kh4x and myself are very excited to announce that Croissant is now available on Mac and iPad 🥳
https://apps.apple.com/ie/app/croissant-cross-posting/id6670288979
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/555/513/592/012/635/original/5a6e17e43b6382e0.jpeg
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/555/513/744/187/264/original/1de5246b97766cbf.jpeg
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/555/513/894/294/118/original/963c85a3de727621.jpeg
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/555/514/033/021/686/original/22a8a58a4544359f.jpeg

2024-11-26 13:59:02 UTC

Today in ridiculous App Review rejections:
Croissant was rejected because App Review thinks signing into Bluesky, Mastodon, and Threads is like “Sign in with Google”, and they want “Sign in with Apple” there too 🤦🏻
cc @npub1nn8…wvl6 #RejectedByAppReview
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/549/579/225/907/718/original/c365c87ad2aa3282.png
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/549/609/467/485/376/original/37212473b7e5bd51.png

2024-11-06 08:29:33 UTC

It’s truly horrible waking up to the news that millions of people are more full of hate that you could ever possibly understand

2024-10-01 14:00:08 UTC

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Introducing Croissant 🥐
Social media in 2024 can be a real pain. But I’m happy to d’éclair that Croissant is here to help. It makes cross-posting to Bluesky, Mastodon and Threads feel buttery smooth.
Donut walk, run to the App Store and download it now:
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/croissant-cross-posting/id6670288979
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/232/524/582/343/815/original/3ebb339a9ec2c1a8.png

2024-10-01 14:00:06 UTC

Introducing Croissant on iPhone!
Wait, no. Let’s try that again…
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/232/524/457/992/595/original/a13d7a651cd1f367.jpeg

2024-09-27 16:12:52 UTC

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Since it doesn’t come across in screenshots, the issue was in trying to use two UIWindows in Obscura, one to contain the camera UI, which was locked in portrait, and one for the library UI, which was free to rotate.
I could pass touches and gestures through the camera window to the library window below, which worked fine except for pinch gestures on the lower half of the screen ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

2024-09-27 16:12:37 UTC

One of my single most validating moments as an iOS developer was discovering a bug in UIKit, which I then showed to some UIKit engineers at a bar during WWDC, who then called over more UIKit engineers who all stood around debating how on earth this could be happening.
I’m pleased…? to say it still exists on iOS 18.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/210/396/247/165/331/original/7b8638dafd348ee2.png
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/210/396/326/144/782/original/afd4a48b3364d82c.png

2024-09-23 18:25:44 UTC

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yeah we’re definitely open to other services, we just need to launch, see how it performs and then work out what to prioritise

2024-09-23 18:15:31 UTC

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I’ve never heard of it before now!

2024-09-23 10:30:20 UTC

Lovely bloggers, vloggers, podcasters, and pastry connoisseurs:
@npub1f5v…kh4x and I have been cooking up a new app, Croissant, an app for cross-posting to Bluesky, Mastodon, and Threads, launching later this week!
We’d love for you try it out and help *spread* the word
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/186/401/111/699/945/original/de2190e2b0990f74.png

2024-09-20 17:22:55 UTC

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man, I miss Alamo Drafthouse so much

2024-09-16 19:40:24 UTC

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it did 😅

2024-09-09 15:10:25 UTC

I love that the mastodon ecosystem has so much variety in clients, feels like the best days of Twitter all over again https://mastodon.social/@JPEGuin/113108133006563284

2024-09-06 19:02:12 UTC

I agree with some of @npub1e0x…xqda’s points:
- browser ballot pages are likely confusing for many users; being informed of choice != being forced to make a choice
- the EU should more in conversation with Apple about what features are non-compliant
But it misses the forest for the trees:
Apple holds ungodly amount of power over many aspects of daily life. Banking, grocery shopping, dating, communication, art and culture are all mediated by our phones
https://mastodon.social/@daringfireball/113091446183508943

2023-01-06 20:09:31 UTC

Pedro Pascal’s sister, Lux, is an actress, a model, an activist, and none of those things is as cool as being named after two units of measurement