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After the hackathon

These are ideas for where Arya could go. They are not commitments, and I need more time to work them out.

What ships now is a limited-scope MVP: Arya learns from receipts, Ask, groups, Quest and the connector, as described in the README and STATUS.md. This page is what could come later. Nothing on it is built unless it says so, and nothing is promised for the submission. "Idea" means nobody has designed it yet. Sources are named so you can check them.

Devices​

  • Native iOS and Android apps; the PWA stays. Plan. The PWA was the fastest way to build in a hackathon. Not designed or scheduled, and not in any app store today.
  • Ray-Ban Meta glasses. Idea, raised by me for the store scan. Spark's check during the hackathon found no public live-camera API for third-party apps. The flow that works today is to capture on the glasses, sync to the phone and import the video there. The demo uses the phone camera throughout. Source: docs/quest/DISCUSSION.md (item 38).
  • Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses. Idea. Not researched yet. What is possible depends on what Meta offers developers for that device.

Store data and community​

  • Capture more store data. Item-level locations from scan captures, reports that close themselves, flags that expire when nobody confirms them, and mapping quietly from Find it for me frames. Source: docs/quest/MAP-MY-STORE.md, "Not built yet".
  • Arya shoppers and community prices. Opt-in prices, deals and live presence (Quiet, Busy, Packed). Today the opt-in records a choice only. A community figure would need 5 or more households over 30 days, a median and no names. Source: assistant/docs/SPEC.md (FR-11.7), assistant/docs/SCALE-SIM.md.
  • Quest community layer. Leaderboards, badges the data makes funny, team Shop-Offs settled by receipt time and Clue Hunts. Designed, not built. Source: docs/quest/GAME-DESIGN.md.
  • A store-data partnership. Online store videos are off limits (copyright, platform terms). A licensed source of in-store video and photos could power better maps. See docs/MODELS.md.
  • Density first. Cover one metro's stores completely before expanding. A thin layer over many stores is worth little. Source: docs/quest/BUSINESS.md.
  • Store maps at scale. Maps already merge across shoppers. Not built: resolving conflicts between maps. Source: assistant/docs/SPEC.md, "Not in scope".
  • Shared lists, further. Not built: split lists inside a group, and sharing a list with another account through the API (docs/API.md, "Later").
  • Item and store profile pages; split the list (kids or a partner); friend run notifications (designed, not built); reimbursement tracking for items bought for others.
  • Invite links work today (/?join=CODE opens Join a group). Ideas for growth as a community product, none designed: shared recipe or meal lists, and a public page for a store's map status.

AI and open weights​

  • Bring your own Meta key. Decided against for now. The code is in the repo, unfinished and switched off (see "Use your own Meta key" below).
  • Replay mode (recorded answers, so the AI parts work without a key). Planned, not built.
  • More use of open weights. Muse Spark Open is a second seat on the staple judge and labels dictionary names today. Wider use would need the personal data rule kept (names only).
  • More languages. Ask answers in the language you write. Spanish and Hindi were the ones verified. The app's buttons and labels are English only (assistant/docs/MULTILINGUAL-ASK.md). Translating the app itself is a separate project.
  • A hosted open-weights option. Today one open model (Muse Spark Open) is hosted on Baseten for two small jobs. A fuller option for people who want their reads on open weights is an idea only.
  • Models we did not use (Spark Contributor for a community tier, Muse Glimmer self-hosted): see docs/MODELS.md.
  • A non-English Ask currently sends the whole feature guide (about 19 KB) on each question. Trimming that is planned.

Trust and privacy​

  • A photo opt-in and a full privacy policy; store permission for mapping. Source: docs/quest/ARCHITECTURE.md.
  • Security review items that were deferred, tracked as GitHub issues.
  • A community tier with user opt-in is an idea only (assistant/docs/MODEL-POLICY.md).
  • The forgot-password flow is held, by choice (assistant/docs/ARCHITECTURE.md, section 13, "Not built / held").
  • Arya's own code is MIT licensed (LICENSE). The Meta models and third-party code keep their own terms (NOTICE.md).

Running it yourself​

  • More for self-hosters: a one-command setup for a small server with TLS (the laptop setup is in docs/RUN-IT-YOURSELF.md).
  • Off-site backups with rclone (ARYA_BACKUP_REMOTE exists; no bucket is set up) and a staging address to check a deploy before the live one.
  • Cost proposals from the cost watcher, tracked as GitHub issues.
  • Scale out as the community grows. Today Arya is one server process on one VM (see Known limits). The plan, not a promise: make Postgres the master copy, move demo and session state out of memory, run several processes, and move to a cloud provider in step with the number of shoppers. The design, phase by phase, is in SCALABILITY-DESIGN.md (a plan, not built).

Developer platform and integrations​

The starting point today is the Lists API and the developer portal at /developers (with a quickstart and an interactive reference; docs/API.md), plus the MCP connector that lets an AI agent read and edit your lists (assistant/docs/AGENT-CONNECTOR.md). The API is for your own data, with a personal token. Desk research on who else is in this space, with its unverified claims flagged, is in MARKET.md. Everything below is future work and not built:

  • A bigger developer portal, so other platforms can connect to Arya, with Arya's household data as the shared source. That means more endpoints (receipts, spend, what is running low), webhooks, OAuth sign-in instead of a personal token, SDKs and sample apps.
  • Smart fridges, cooking devices and home robots that add what is empty or expiring to the list and feed back what was used.
  • Online grocery delivery services and apps, to send a list for ordering and to bring back the real receipt and prices. (There is no cart or payment in Arya today; see assistant/docs/SPEC.md, "Not in scope".)
  • Any app that understands a household's food and purchase habits (meal planners, nutrition and budgeting apps), connected through the same API and the import and export below.
  • Every integration would be opt-in, per household, with scoped permissions and a clear way to revoke it.

Spending, import and export​

  • Richer spend tracking and analysis, with filters (by store, category, person, period, price per unit). The Spending screen exists today; deeper analysis and filters are not built.
  • Export to other budgeting apps (spend and receipts as CSV or a direct connection). Today the API lists your own data (docs/API.md); a budgeting export is not built.
  • Import lists from other list apps (a file or a link). Not built.

More ideas for growing the app and its community​

All of these are ideas. None is designed or built. Each would need my go-ahead and, where it touches personal data, a privacy review first.

Everyday use

  • Meal planning from what is running low and what to use soon, with a shopping list built from the plan.
  • Recipe to shopping list, then to stores. Turn a recipe (link, photo or typed) into list items, then use the household's receipt history to suggest where and which brand to buy. Not built.
  • Budget goals per store or per month on the Spending screen, with a gentle heads-up and never a lock.
  • Barcode scan to add an item or check a price against your own history.
  • Pantry and fridge check-in by photo (outside the current spec).
  • Home Screen widgets and watch glances for the list and for use-soon items.
  • Calendar-aware reminders, such as "you host on Saturday".
  • Voice assistants (Siri, Google Assistant) adding to the list (Alexa is built but switched off, see below), and more connectors beyond the Muse agent and MCP.
  • Receipt import from email or a store account, so no photo is needed.
  • Warranty and return reminders read from receipts (Return Regret already shows returns are tracked).
  • Waste tracking and a monthly "what we threw away" view.
  • Gift and event lists with a shared link and no account needed to view.
  • Accessibility: a screen-reader review and a calmer Quest mode. (Text size and spacing already exist in Settings, under Display.)

Community

  • Neighborhood and store pages with shared tips, labelled as opt-in.
  • Verified store news from shoppers, expiring when nobody confirms it.
  • Seasonal Quest events, themed skins (escape room) and household leaderboards that stay private by default.
  • A mapper reputation and thanks for people who map stores, with no pay attached.
  • Clubs and teams (families, roommates, offices, school pantries, food banks).
  • A public gallery of store maps that are fresh and photo-backed.
  • Shared price alerts when a household opts in to share a figure.

AI and open weights

  • A hosted open-weights reader for receipts, for people who want that choice.
  • A smaller on-device model for offline add and quick matches.
  • Better product merge and split suggestions in the Curator, and learned substitutions (the usual brand when one is out of stock).
  • Ask Arya acting on more things, with a confirm step for anything that changes data.
  • A public set of evals so others can check the reader scores.

Trust, privacy and operating it

  • One place for privacy controls. Export my data and Delete my account already exist in Settings, under Account. The idea is to gather them with the other privacy choices.
  • A public status page and an uptime history.
  • A staging address, and automated CI instead of manual runs.
  • A published API with webhooks and OAuth (docs/API.md, "Later").
  • Store permission programme for mapping, and a takedown route for stores.

Alexa skill: built, switched off, not tested on a device​

The code is merged (#515 and #516) behind the ARYA_ALEXA flag, which is off in the live app and the demo. I paused it until after the hackathon. It adds items by voice only and has not been tried on a real Echo. Amazon has retired its Alexa list API, so Arya cannot sync with Alexa's own lists.

Use your own Meta key: unfinished, switched off, not used​

The code exists (PRs #391 and #393), it is unfinished, and it is switched off in the live app and the demo. I decided on 2026-11-02 not to use it. Operator notes: assistant/docs/OPS.md, "Own Meta keys (BYOK)".