During Google Summer of Code 2024 (Technically it’s winter in Australia at that time 🥶), I worked as a Flutter developer with CCExtractor Development to build a full-stack mobile app called It’s Urgent App — a tool designed to help people reach others even when they’re in Do Not Disturb mode, but only when it’s truly urgent.
🔧 The Problem
Sometimes, messages need to break through — but not everything is urgent. The challenge was to:
- Respect a recipient’s DND settings
- Let the sender justify why their message deserves attention
- Deliver the alert only after a challenge is solved (e.g. password, math puzzle, swipe pattern)
📱 The App
Built from scratch using Flutter, the app supports:
- Real-time, secure messaging
- Challenge-based alerts (sender must pass a test)
- Priority categories for messages (low, medium, high)
- Notification triggers for urgent-only mode
🧩 Key Features & Learnings
- Firebase Cloud Messaging for instant alerts
- Firebase Auth (Phone/SMS) for secure user sign-in
- Firestore for real-time messaging and DND status sync
- Firebase Cloud Functions (written in TypeScript) for backend logic and serverless triggers
- Platform Channels in Kotlin to detect DND status on Android (my own custom Kotlin implementation)
- Rich frontend built using Flutter + Riverpod with clean architecture and proper error handling
- User feedback animations, hold-to-send logic, and message expiration
🔗 Project Links
💬 Reflection
This project wasn’t just about code — it was about solving a very real human problem with empathy. Working across native Android, Flutter, Firebase, and cloud functions pushed me to grow as a full-stack mobile developer. I also learned how to:
- Collaborate asynchronously with open-source mentors
- Write clean, scalable code with real users in mind
- Design a system where urgency is earned, not assumed
GSoC taught me to lead my own work, manage technical complexity, and build tools that put people first. And that’s a value I carry forward into every project.