How to Build a Sign Language App in SwiftUI

A Sign Language app teaches users the ASL alphabet through looping video demonstrations and interactive practice sessions. It's ideal for beginners learning American Sign Language and iOS developers building accessible educational tools.

iOS 17+ · Xcode 16+ · SwiftUI Complexity: Intermediate Estimated time: 1 week Updated: May 12, 2026

Prerequisites

Architecture overview

The app uses SwiftData to persist per-letter practice state and quiz scores entirely on-device. An alphabet grid view and a letter detail sheet are driven by @Query and @State. AVKit's VideoPlayer streams mp4 demonstrations from a CDN via AVPlayer, while AsyncImage handles static fallback thumbnails. StoreKit 2 manages the subscription paywall with no server-side account required.

SignLanguageApp/
├── Models/
│   ├── ASLLetter.swift        # @Model: character, videoURL, imageURL
│   └── LessonProgress.swift   # @Model: completed letters, quiz score
├── Views/
│   ├── AlphabetGridView.swift
│   ├── LetterDetailView.swift  # AVPlayer + AsyncImage fallback
│   └── QuizView.swift
└── PrivacyInfo.xcprivacy

Step-by-step

1. Data model

Define SwiftData models for ASL letters and lesson progress so practice history survives app restarts.

import SwiftData
import Foundation

@Model
final class ASLLetter {
    var character: String
    var videoURL: URL?
    var imageURL: String
    var handshapeDescription: String
    var isPracticed: Bool = false
    var practiceCount: Int = 0

    init(character: String, imageURL: String, handshapeDescription: String) {
        self.character = character
        self.imageURL = imageURL
        self.handshapeDescription = handshapeDescription
    }
}

@Model
final class LessonProgress {
    var lettersCompleted: [String] = []
    var quizScore: Int = 0
    var updatedAt: Date = .now
}

2. Alphabet grid UI

Build a LazyVGrid that renders all 26 letters as tappable tiles, each loading a thumbnail via AsyncImage.

import SwiftUI
import SwiftData

struct AlphabetGridView: View {
    @Query(sort: \ASLLetter.character) private var letters: [ASLLetter]
    @State private var selectedLetter: ASLLetter?
    let columns = [GridItem(.adaptive(minimum: 88))]

    var body: some View {
        NavigationStack {
            ScrollView {
                LazyVGrid(columns: columns, spacing: 16) {
                    ForEach(letters) { letter in
                        VStack(spacing: 6) {
                            AsyncImage(url: URL(string: letter.imageURL)) { img in
                                img.resizable().scaledToFit()
                            } placeholder: { ProgressView() }
                            .frame(width: 64, height: 64)
                            .clipShape(RoundedRectangle(cornerRadius: 10))
                            Text(letter.character).font(.headline)
                        }
                        .padding(8)
                        .background(.quaternary, in: RoundedRectangle(cornerRadius: 12))
                        .onTapGesture { selectedLetter = letter }
                    }
                }
                .padding()
            }
            .navigationTitle("ASL Alphabet")
            .sheet(item: $selectedLetter) { LetterDetailView(letter: $0) }
        }
    }
}

3. ASL alphabet video playback

Stream each letter's demonstration video with AVPlayer, falling back to a static image when no video URL is available.

import SwiftUI
import AVKit

struct LetterDetailView: View {
    let letter: ASLLetter
    @State private var player: AVPlayer?

    var body: some View {
        VStack(alignment: .leading, spacing: 16) {
            if let player {
                VideoPlayer(player: player)
                    .frame(height: 260)
                    .clipShape(RoundedRectangle(cornerRadius: 16))
                    .accessibilityLabel("ASL sign for letter \(letter.character)")
            } else {
                AsyncImage(url: URL(string: letter.imageURL)) { img in
                    img.resizable().scaledToFit()
                } placeholder: { ProgressView() }
                .frame(height: 260)
            }
            Text("Letter \(letter.character)").font(.largeTitle.bold())
            Text(letter.handshapeDescription).foregroundStyle(.secondary)
            Button("Mark as Practiced") {
                letter.isPracticed = true
                letter.practiceCount += 1
            }.buttonStyle(.borderedProminent)
        }
        .padding()
        .task {
            guard let url = letter.videoURL else { return }
            player = AVPlayer(url: url)
            player?.play()
        }
    }
}

4. Privacy Manifest

Add PrivacyInfo.xcprivacy to your app target to declare accessed APIs — enforced by App Store since May 2024.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN"
  "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
    <key>NSPrivacyTracking</key>
    <false/>
    <key>NSPrivacyTrackingDomains</key>
    <array/>
    <key>NSPrivacyCollectedDataTypes</key>
    <array/>
    <key>NSPrivacyAccessedAPITypes</key>
    <array>
        <dict>
            <key>NSPrivacyAccessedAPIType</key>
            <string>NSPrivacyAccessedAPICategoryUserDefaults</string>
            <key>NSPrivacyAccessedAPITypeReasons</key>
            <array><string>CA92.1</string></array>
        </dict>
    </array>
</dict>
</plist>

Common pitfalls

Adding monetization: Subscription

Use StoreKit 2's Product.products(for:) to fetch subscription SKUs you defined in App Store Connect, then gate full alphabet access and quiz history behind a paywall. Check entitlements with Transaction.currentEntitlements — this works offline without a receipt file. Create one auto-renewable subscription group with monthly and annual tiers; Apple requires both to appear together on the paywall with their prices clearly displayed. Handle Product.SubscriptionInfo.RenewalState to surface grace-period and expiry messaging inside the app so users don't silently lose access.

Shipping this faster with Soarias

Soarias scaffolds the SwiftData models, AVKit video view, and StoreKit 2 subscription paywall from a single prompt, and generates your PrivacyInfo.xcprivacy automatically based on the APIs your code actually uses. It also writes your fastlane Deliverfile, captures App Store screenshots across all required device sizes, and submits directly to App Store Connect — steps that typically consume half a day each when wired up by hand.

For an intermediate project like this, developers typically spend 2–3 days on project scaffolding, fastlane configuration, and App Store Connect metadata before writing a single feature. Soarias compresses that overhead to under an hour, leaving the full week for ASL content, quiz logic, and UI polish.

Related guides

FAQ

Do I need a paid Apple Developer account?

Yes. The $99/year Apple Developer Program is required to distribute via TestFlight or the App Store. You can build and run on the Simulator for free, but real-device testing — essential for AVPlayer audio session behavior and video playback performance — requires a paid account.

How do I submit this to the App Store?

Archive your build in Xcode (Product → Archive), then upload via Organizer or xcrun altool. In App Store Connect, complete your app metadata, upload screenshots for all required device sizes, configure Privacy Nutrition Labels, and submit for review. First-time submissions typically take 1–3 business days.

Can I use the camera to detect ASL signs in real time?

Yes — pair VNDetectHumanHandPoseRequest from the Vision framework with an AVCaptureSession to detect hand landmarks live. This is advanced scope that significantly increases complexity, requires adding NSCameraUsageDescription to Info.plist, and must be tested on a physical device since the Simulator has no camera support.

Last reviewed: 2026-05-12 by the Soarias team.