I use Day One, a journaling app for Mac and iOS. I like the app because I can record notes and ideas, and they sync across my devices.
At least I used to like it. Day One used to sync via Dropbox or iCloud, and syncs were reliable. With the latest version, the developers decided to create their own sync server. And no longer offer any other sync options.
When you create a sync server, if you can’t provide 100% uptime, you’ve failed. Here’s the latest sync status:
Sync is hard. If you can’t get it right, don’t try and roll your own sync server. There are other solutions, which worked well enough with the previous version of the app. Also, it’s not clear how secure the data is on this server.
I consider that I’ve been ripped off, buying the new version of an app that I like and depend on, only to find that it’s features have been broken because the developers thought they had a good idea. I’m going back to the previous version, and I may even request a refund from Apple, because this app does not work as advertised. I’m not alone; look at the many negative reviews for this app on the Mac App Store and the iOS App Store.
If you think you need to make your own sync server for your app, think again. You may end up with lots of unhappy users.