A signature that is not a web page
A React Native canvas on PencilKit and Android ink, MIT, where the post says one import and the readme says the eraser and the footer still change.
- Category
- Developer tools
- Who it is for
- A React Native app that collects a signature and is already on the New Architecture.
- Possible model
- Open source
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Inspired by
- Inkpad · Inkpad
- Original launch
- Watch the launch · Oct 11, 2026
Difficulty is an editorial estimate of technical and operational complexity, not a score.
Startup idea analysis by Startup Ideas. Last reviewed Oct 11, 2026. How we read a launch.
The startup idea
Mohamed Rayen Sbai posted React Native Inkpad on October 11. A native ink canvas. It draws with Android's Ink API and Apple's PencilKit, without a WebView. Pen, marker, highlighter and eraser. Coming from react-native-signature-canvas, change one import. The readme says it draws with androidx.ink on Android and PencilKit on iOS. MIT. React Native 0.80 or later, New Architecture required. iOS 15.1 or later. Android 7.0, API 24, or later. Expo needs a development build. Expo Go is not supported. Export to PNG, JPEG or SVG. Save the strokes as JSON. The migration section changes one import, to react-native-inkpad/signature-canvas, and then lists what still changes: props that no longer apply are ignored, the footer looks different, the eraser removes whole strokes rather than pixels, and background images arrive in version 0.3. Web is unchecked on the roadmap, under 0.2. There is no price. This page did not install the package.
The opportunity is the signature that is a native view, not a page inside the app. A smaller product is one canvas, one pen, and an export. The post says one import. The readme says the import is the start of the migration, not the end.
Do not say it runs in Expo Go. Do not say the web build exists. The roadmap still lists it.
The problem
The signature field is a WebView. It feels late, and it fights the keyboard.
Who would pay for this?
- Primary
- A React Native app that collects a signature and is already on the New Architecture.
- Secondary
- A team leaving react-native-signature-canvas who will read the ignored-props list.
- Early adopter
- One canvas, one stroke, one PNG.
How could it make money?
Possible models. Nothing here is a claim about what Inkpad charges.
- No price.
- MIT.
- The post does not mention a paid plan.
What would the MVP look like?
- Pen, marker, highlighter, and an eraser that removes the whole stroke.
- Export to PNG.
- The one-line import, next to the props the readme says are ignored.
- A line that Expo Go is not supported.
How to validate the idea
- Ask five apps that use the WebView signature to swap the import on one screen.
- If the footer or the eraser blocks the swap, the one-import line was not the product.
- Do not add web until one iOS and one Android canvas export.
How to differentiate
- The drawing is PencilKit or Android ink, not a WebView.
- The old signature JSON still loads.
- The eraser is strokes, not pixels.
- Do not become a design tool.
Why this could be interesting now
The post and the readme agree on the native canvas and the import change. Only the readme names the New Architecture, Expo Go, and the parts of the old API that do not come across. The opening is one signature field a shipping app already has.
Original product launch
This launch is inspiration and evidence that someone shipped, not a partnership. The idea above is our reading of the broader opportunity. Inkpad did not write it.
- Product
- Inkpad
- Source
- Inkpad
- Film
- Inkpad, ink without a WebView
- Posted
- Oct 11, 2026 · 0:58
Product that inspired this idea
Rayen's post introduces React Native Inkpad, a native ink canvas. It draws with Android's Ink API and Apple's PencilKit, without a WebView. Pen, marker, highlighter and eraser. Coming from react-native-signature-canvas, change one import. The readme says androidx.ink and PencilKit, MIT, React Native 0.80 or later with the New Architecture. iOS 15.1 or later. Android 7.0 or later. Expo Go is not supported. The import change is to react-native-inkpad/signature-canvas. The same section says some props are ignored, the footer looks different, the eraser removes whole strokes rather than pixels, and background images wait for 0.3. Web is still on the roadmap. No price.
Posted by @WeskerTN. Watch the original launch. No separate product site is listed unless the post itself is the source.
- react-native
- drawing
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