Your AI-Built App Works in the Demo. Is It Safe for Real Users?
Lovable, Bolt, Replit, v0, and Cursor make it easy to ship something that looks finished. The gap is everything underneath: who can see whose data, what happens under load, and what breaks at the edges. We review that gap.
No dismissiveness about AI tools — we use them too. This is about what has to be true before real customers, staff, or money flow through it.
The Gap Between "Demo" and "Production"
These are the things AI builders rarely get right on their own — and the ones that hurt once real people are using the thing.
Auth & access
Can one user see another's data? Are admin actions actually protected, or just hidden in the UI?
Data handling
Where does customer/staff data live, who can read it, and is it exposed in API responses or logs? Real GDPR exposure starts here.
Secrets & keys
API keys and credentials hard-coded in the front end or committed to the repo are the most common AI-prototype leak.
Reliability under load
What happens with bad input, concurrent users, or a third-party outage? Demos test the happy path only.
Deployment & backups
Is it hosted somewhere you control, can you deploy a fix, and is the data backed up — or is it one accidental delete from gone?
Maintainability
Can it be changed safely later, or is it a tangle only the original prompt understood? This decides harden-vs-rebuild.
A Clear Verdict: Harden, Rebuild, or Keep
Risk read
The specific things that would bite you with real users, ranked by how badly.
Harden or rebuild
Whether the prototype is a solid base worth hardening, or a great spec for a clean rebuild.
Smallest safe step
The minimum to make it safe to put in front of real users — not a gold-plated rewrite.
Honest "it's fine"
If your prototype is genuinely OK for its current use, we'll tell you that and save you the spend.
Tell Us About Your Prototype
What did you build it with, what does it do, and who's going to use it? A link or a screen recording is ideal, but a description is plenty to start. We'll reply with the main risks and an honest recommendation.
AI Prototype Review FAQ
Is the prototype review free?
Yes — the first look is free and no-obligation. Describe or link the app and we reply with the main risks and an honest recommendation.
Will you tell me to rebuild everything?
No. If your prototype is genuinely fine for its current use, we will say so. We only recommend hardening or a rebuild where real users or real data are actually at risk.
What do you check?
Authentication and access control, data handling and exposure, secrets and API keys, reliability under load, deployment and backups, and whether the code can be maintained safely.
Which tools do you review?
Anything AI-built or no-code — Lovable, Bolt, Replit, v0, Cursor and similar — plus n8n, Zapier and Make automations.
What should I send?
A link or a short screen recording, plus a sentence on who will use it. Please do not paste secrets or API keys.