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Aldin Kozica
Aldin Kozica

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Dealing with the first user feedback: The good, the bad, and the Brave Browser

#buildinpublic #webdev #saas #showdev

After 3 months of diving into SaaS discovery, marketing, and content creation—things that often make me feel uncomfortable as a developer—I finally got a sign that gave me a huge push.

There’s nothing quite like getting that first email from a stranger using your tool. I recently launched YouThumb Tester, and the first piece of feedback just landed in my inbox.

Screenshot of an email from a user providing feedback about YouThumb Tester, mentioning a bug on Brave Browser and a missing disable button, while expressing they love the extension.

The Reality Check

Building in a silo is one thing, but real-world usage always reveals the cracks:

  • The Bug: It seems like there's a caching or injection issue on Brave Browser. The thumbnail doesn't always show up instantly without multiple reloads. Brave's aggressive shields might be playing a role here.
  • The UX Flaw: I completely missed a "clear/disable" button. Once the user is done testing, the preview persists in their feed. That's a friction point I need to kill immediately.

The Extension Struggle: Waiting for Approval ⏳

Here is the kicker for anyone who isn't a browser extension dev: The fix isn't instant.

Unlike a standard web app where I can just push a hotfix to the server and it's live for everyone in seconds, the Chrome Web Store (and other stores) has a manual review process.

Even if I fix this bug in 10 minutes, I have to:

  1. Bundle the new version.
  2. Submit it for review.
  3. Wait anywhere from 24 hours to several days for it to be approved.

It’s a strange feeling knowing there is a bug out there and having the solution ready, but being forced to wait behind a "Pending Review" status.

The Win 🚀

Despite the technical hiccups, the user mentioned they "really love the extension" and specifically the advice it provides during the test. This is the ultimate fuel for any solo dev. It validates that the core value proposition is there, even if the implementation needs polish.

Next Steps

  1. Brave Debugging: Investigating DOM injection issues specifically for Chromium-based browsers.
  2. The "Reset" Button: Adding a clear "Reset to Original" button in the popup.
  3. Better State Management: Improving logic so the preview doesn't "ghost" after the user's session.

Technical note: I tried to move as much logic as possible to my Node.js backend to keep the extension "thin," but since the issue is with DOM injection and Brave's shields, the fix still has to go through the content-script. I'm currently looking into implementing a Remote Config strategy to update selectors and UI flags via API, so I don't have to wait for a store review every time a CSS class changes.

Check out the project here: YouThumb.online

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