this post was submitted on 21 Apr 2025
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Privacy

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glitr.io

hey. im working on a p2p file sharing app. its far from finished, but ive got enough to put it up for testing and demo purposes. it would be great if you would like to take a look and share feedback.

the aim is for this is to make it easier to transfer files between your own devices.

(my app-description combined with security-claims typically raises eyebrows, so id like to include a link to a related reddit post: https://www.reddit.com/r/cryptography/comments/1evdby4/is_this_a_secure_messaging_app)

some pending things to add:

  • improved connection stability when over the internet.
  • increased file size capacity (currently limited to around 50MB)
  • add file-transfer progress indicator (useful for larger payloads).

feel free to reach out for clarity.

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[–] jim3692@discuss.online 3 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (2 children)

TL;DR: Do not sell the app, sell the service

After reading all the comments, I am a bit confused.

Based on my understanding, this a self-hostable, privacy friendly app, that does not contain a libre license, as you plan on monetizing it.

First of all, the primary reasons of opting for libre software are privacy and freedom. So, the lack of such license can be considered a red flag.

Second, a lot of privacy conscious Android users download their apps from services like F-Droid, that have strict rules against closed-source. So, trying to sell a privacy solution on Play Store does not sound like a good business model.

Tips for monetizing a libre service:

  1. The client should have a libre license. You code running on the user's device should be verifiable.
  2. Charge for your STUN/TURN server.
  3. Sell the server blob. Sandboxing apps on a Linux system is far easier (to prevent them from accessing the internet and potentially leak data).

There are apps that are even available on F-Droid, and are similarly monetized. Some examples, that I use, are: Bitwarden, Mullvad, Telegram and Tailscale.

[–] autonomoususer@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Can't see anyone replacing my on-device p2p libre apps with an app/service only they control. Try taking payment before making something no one asked for.

Not only OP, lots keep trying it. Don't fall for this scam.

[–] positive_intentions@lemmy.ml 0 points 1 week ago

thanks for the advice. perhaps you have some tips of where i might have done something incorrectly in a previous attempt at open source and libre software. this could be a whole discussion, but i will try to be brief.

https://github.com/positive-intentions/chat

i optimistically started with the aim to get grant funding for a novel approach to secure and private communication using p2p tech. after countless rejections im dont think i should presue that direction.

so then i thought to create something competative in the space of file-transfer. the app would be is a simplified version of the chat app and with less complexity in exchange increased stability. thats that app mentioned in the parent post. mi might not work as privacy solution, but it could still be competative in the tools for file-transfer if i can get it to nice stable polish that can work with massive file-sizes.

i briefly looked at how to get it on the f-droid store and there were details like moving things to gitlab. i then decided to push back indefinately in favor of focusing on the the file-transfer project.

if anyone want to help me with getting the chat app to the f-droid store, some initial changes can be found here: https://www.reddit.com/r/tauri/comments/1j6g71h/is_there_any_examples_out_there_of_a_tauri_app_in

im not entirely sure i have a service to sell. my efforts are on the PWA. the service i can sell is to provide the native build because people wont want to compile thier own. its a shot in the dark with the Play store, but im curious to see what happens.