App improvement & maintenance
App improvement and maintenance is not greenfield development — it's work on a live product that already has users, a commit history and accumulated tech debt. Mistakes cost more here: one careless release can break what has worked for years. So we first understand the existing code, then change it — step by step, with a clear rollback at every stage.
We take on apps built with React Native (and the native iOS/Android parts where they exist), bring them up to current SDKs, add features, fix what has piled up, and set up a release process where the product keeps evolving instead of freezing out of fear of touching anything. After the work is done we stay on for maintenance — for as long as the product needs it.
A safe way into someone else's code
Before the first line of code, we figure out what we actually inherited: architecture, dependencies, RN and native module versions, build state, test coverage and CI. We get the project running on our side, achieve a reproducible build on iOS and Android, and read the git history and pain points.
The short onboarding ends with a map of the app and a list of risks: where the code holds together by luck, what will break on the next OS update, which areas can't be touched without tests. That gives a realistic sense of scope before we change anything.
New features without regressions
Adding a feature to a mature app is harder than to an empty one: a new screen touches navigation, state, analytics and the backend. We fit the feature into the existing architecture rather than bolting it on, and cover the critical paths with tests so neighbouring functionality doesn't break.
Every notable change goes in its own branch and passes review and checks on real devices. Anything uncertain in scope we estimate and agree up front, so there are no surprises in timeline or budget.
Tech-debt cleanup and refactoring
Tech debt isn't an abstraction — it's the specific spots where every edit becomes a risk: duplication, missing typing, dead dependencies, logic tangled into the UI. We don't rewrite everything; we pick the parts that actually slow down development and clean them up under the cover of tests.
Refactoring happens in small, safe, behaviour-preserving steps: TypeScript typing, layer separation, removing unused code. The goal is for the next feature to cost less than the last one, not more.
Updates for new iOS and Android
Apple and Google raise the bar every year: target SDKs, new privacy rules, deprecated APIs. An app that isn't kept up to date eventually stops building or gets pulled from the store. We bump React Native and native dependencies, fix what the upgrade breaks, and verify behaviour on current OS versions and devices.
This also covers preparing for tighter store policies — permissions, privacy, build requirements — so the next release doesn't get rejected in review.
Zero-downtime releases and support
Shipping an update to an app with a live audience takes care: data migrations, backward compatibility with the backend, staged store rollouts, crash monitoring right after release. We set up the process so an update doesn't break current users, and so issues show up immediately rather than in reviews.
After the work we stay on for maintenance: watching stability, responding to incidents, planning what's next. The product keeps living and updating instead of turning into abandoned code.
FAQ
Will you take on code you didn't write?
How much does app improvement cost?
What does our team get in the end?
Tell us about your product — a path to production follows
A 30-minute call: the task, the risks and the format of working together. No obligations.