Building Zavala 4.0

Maurice Parker:

Adding data syncing to any application is hard. iCloud helps with that somewhat, but it is still really hard to get right. Shoehorning a hierarchical data structure like an outline into a flat data structure like iCloud is super hard and I did not get it right the first time. While I did improve the reliability of the syncing code over the course of many Zavala releases, it was never quite right. […] This has been resolved in Zavala 4.0.

To do this I had to change how Rows are stored in the internal database as well as how they are stored in the iCloud database. This new solution works really well, but isn’t compatible with the old versions of Zavala.

[…]

Love it or hate it, Liquid Glass is the new design language from Apple for their latest operating systems. If you are an app developer and don’t support it, your app is going to look dated and out of place on the latest OS’s. Fortunately, I feel like Zavala is one of those kind of apps where Liquid Glass looks good and isn’t the worst at usability.

Unfortunately, it is very difficult to have a Liquid Glass version of your interface along side the legacy look and feel of previous OS versions. This is because you have to update to the latest API’s to correctly use Liquid Glass and some things, like the spacing of elements have been changed. Basically to keep backwards compatibility for OS’s before the version 26 ones, you need to maintain two different versions of the user interface code.

[…]

I used Claude Code to translate Zavala into German.

Previously:

• NetNewsWire 7

Update (2026-03-02): Steve Troughton-Smith:

iOS 26 is the minimum for any major releases of my apps going forward. There’s just no way I’m maintaining two separate UIs for every app

Maurice Parker:

I only had one user write to me to let me know that not supporting older OS versions with Zavala 4.0 inconvenienced them.

Claude CloudKit Design iCloud iOS iOS 26 iOS App Liquid Glass Localization Mac Mac App macOS Tahoe 26 Outliner Syncing Zavala

Arizona Age Verification Bill

Ken Macon (Hacker News):

Arizona legislators have introduced what may be the most aggressive app store age verification bill in the country. House Bill 2920 would require age verification not just for app downloads, but for preinstalled software, the browser, the text messaging app, the search bar, the calculator, and the weather widget. Every piece of software on a mobile device would be subject to age-gating ID checks under this proposal.

[…]

For anyone under 18, the bill mandates that their account be “affiliated” with a parent account. The app store would then be required to obtain “verifiable parental consent” before allowing the minor to download an application, purchase an application, or make any in-app purchase.

[…]

If a developer makes what the legislation calls a “significant change” to an application, the parent account must provide renewed consent before the minor can access the updated version. […] This means a weather app that adds a banner ad would require fresh parental consent. An update to a note-taking app’s privacy policy would trigger the consent mechanism.

Previously:

• UK Age Verification for VPNs
• UK Child Protections and Messaging Backdoor
• Texas Age Verification Suspended

App Store Arizona Children In-App Purchase iOS iOS 26 Legal

France’s Social Media Ban

RTÉ (Hacker News):

French politicians have passed a bill that will ban social media use by under-15s, a move championed by President Emmanuel Macron as a way to protect children from excessive screen time.

[…]

It will now go to the Senate, France's upper house, ahead of becoming law.

[…]

The legislation, which also provides for a ban on mobile phones in high schools, would make France the second country to take such a step following Australia's ban for under-16s in December.

Previously:

• Australia’s Social Media Ban

Children France Legal Web