Price Detection & Tracking
Note: This documentation covers the core price detection and tracking features of Lio Price Browser, which are the foundation of the app's functionality.
Introduction to Price Detection & Tracking
Lio Price Browser's primary purpose is to help you track product prices across e-commerce websites. The price detection and tracking system is designed to identify product prices on web pages, store them, and monitor changes over time.
The Lio Price Browser interface showing the price tracking features
Key Components
The price detection and tracking system consists of several important components that work together:
| Component | Description | Function |
|---|---|---|
| Automatic Price Detector | Scans webpages for product pricing information | Identifies common price patterns across different website formats |
| Manual Selection Tool | User-guided price selection interface | Allows precise selection of price elements when automatic detection is insufficient |
| Price History Database | Local storage of all tracked prices and timestamps | Maintains historical record of price changes |
| Visualization Engine | Chart and graph generation system | Creates visual representations of price history |
| Update Scheduler | Background price checking system | Automatically refreshes prices at configurable intervals |
| Notification Manager | Alert system for price drops | Sends notifications when prices decrease beyond set threshold |
Technical Details
Automatic Price Detection Technology
The automatic price detection system uses several sophisticated techniques to identify prices:
- HTML Pattern Recognition: Analyzes webpage structure to find common price element patterns
- Currency Symbol Detection: Identifies currency symbols ($/€/£/etc.) and associated values
- Contextual Analysis: Evaluates surrounding elements to determine if a number is likely a price
- Product Association: Matches detected prices with product names and images
- Network Traffic Analysis: Examines API responses and JSON data for price information
Technical Note: The automatic detection system can identify both regular prices and sale prices, and will prioritize the current selling price over list or comparison prices.
Manual Selection Technology
The manual selection system provides a more precise way to select prices:
- Highlighting Engine: Dynamically highlights potential price elements as you move your finger across the screen
- Element Inspector: Analyzes the HTML structure of the selected element
- XPath Generation: Creates a unique identifier for the selected price element
- Adaptive Selection: Learns from your selections to improve future detection
Price History Storage
Price history is stored in a local database with the following structure:
- Product Records: Store basic information like name, URL, image, and metadata
- Price Records: Store individual price points with timestamps
- Detection Method: Tracks how each price was detected for future reference
- Update Success Rate: Monitors the reliability of price updates for each item
All data is stored locally on your device. No pricing information is transmitted to our servers.
Scheduled Updates
The scheduled update system allows for automatic price checking in the background:
- Update Interval: Configurable from 1-168 hours (1 week)
- Background Processing: Uses iOS background fetch capabilities
- Battery Optimization: Intelligently schedules updates to minimize battery impact
- Failure Handling: Automatically retries failed updates with exponential backoff
- Network Awareness: Can be configured to update only on Wi-Fi
Important: iOS may limit background operations based on battery level, device usage patterns, and system load. For the most reliable updates, we recommend opening the app periodically.
Price Notifications
The notification system alerts you to price drops:
- Threshold-Based: Notifications trigger based on percentage decrease (configurable)
- Intelligent Grouping: Multiple price drops are grouped into a single notification when appropriate
- Rich Notifications: Show price change details and percentage directly in the notification
- Quick Actions: Allow viewing the item or marking as seen directly from the notification
Notification permissions must be granted for this feature to work. The app will request this permission during setup.
Integration With Other App Features
The price detection and tracking system integrates with other app features:
- Browser: Tracking is initiated from the browser interface
- Bookmarks: Bookmarked sites can be quickly accessed for price checking
- Tracked Items View: Displays all tracked items with their price history
- Safari Extension: Allows sending products from Safari directly to tracking
- Share Extensions: Support for sharing product links from other apps
Supported Websites
The price detection system works with most e-commerce websites, with varying reliability:
| Website Category | Automatic Detection Reliability | Manual Selection Reliability |
|---|---|---|
| Major retailers (Amazon, Walmart, etc.) | High (90%+) | Very High (95%+) |
| Department stores | Medium-High (80%+) | High (90%+) |
| Specialty retailers | Medium (70%+) | High (85%+) |
| Small businesses/boutiques | Low-Medium (40-60%) | Medium-High (75%+) |
| Dynamic JS-heavy sites | Low without traffic capture (30%) | Medium with traffic capture (65%+) |
Success rates may vary based on website design, complexity, and update frequency.