I built RegWatch to turn the firehose of federal rulemaking into something a person can actually follow.
RegWatch pulls proposed rules, final rules, notices, and presidential documents straight from the Federal Register and explains them in plain English right on your phone. Regulations are written for lawyers, and the comment windows that let the public weigh in close quietly. I wanted an app that made both parts approachable.
Overview
RegWatch grew out of the gap between how much the federal government publishes and how little of it is readable. Hundreds of rules and notices flow through the Federal Register, each one dense and written for specialists, even though many of them directly affect everyday life.
The feature I care most about is the on-device plain-English summary. Open any rule and your phone produces a short explanation of who is affected, what changes, and when comments are due, using Apple Intelligence so the text never leaves your device. The free app intentionally includes the full research experience.
The other half is timing. Comment windows are where the public actually has a say, so RegWatch puts deadlines on a calendar and, for premium users, sends reminders and watches saved searches so a relevant rule does not slip by unnoticed. There are no ads, no accounts, and no analytics.
At a glance
Audience: Anyone who wants to keep an eye on federal regulations, from small business owners and professionals to people who simply want to follow the topics they care about and comment before deadlines pass.
Built with: SwiftUI, iOS, Apple Intelligence, Federal Register API
Project type: iPhone app
Key features
- Browse, search, and filter the full Federal Register feed by document type and agency.
- Read a clear, two-to-three sentence summary of any rule generated privately on your device.
- Follow curated topics like healthcare, environment, finance, and small business, refined with your own keywords.
- See every upcoming comment deadline on a calendar and jump straight to the source.
- Upgrade once for new-rule alerts, saved-search watchlists, and deadline reminders, with no subscription.
Highlights
Pulls rules, notices, and presidential documents directly from the Federal Register.
Generates plain-English summaries on device using Apple Intelligence, with nothing sent to a server.
Tracks public comment deadlines on a calendar, with optional alerts for the topics you follow.
How it is built
I built RegWatch as a native SwiftUI app on top of the public Federal Register and Regulations.gov data. Plain-English summaries are generated on device with Apple Intelligence, so nothing is sent to a server, and a comment-deadline calendar plus optional alerts keep track of what is closing.
Why it matters
The public comment process is one of the few direct ways people can influence federal rules, but it is nearly invisible if you are not a full-time professional watching for it. RegWatch tries to lower that barrier with readable summaries, topic following, and timely reminders.