I think companies shifted to online apps because #1 it solved the copy protection problem. FOSS apps are not in any hurry to become centralized because they dont care about that issue.

Local apps and data are a huge benefit of FOSS and I think every app website should at least mention that.

"Local app. No ads. You own your data."

Native software being an optimum is mostly an engineer fantasy that comes from imagining what you can build.

In reality that means having to install software like Meta’s WhatsApp, Zoom, and other crap I’d rather run in a browser tab.

I want very little software running natively on my machine.

Yes, there are many cases when condoms are indicative of respect between parties. But a great many people would disagree that the best, most respectful relationships involve condoms.

> Meta

Does not sell or operate respectful software. I will agree with you that it's best to run it in a browser (or similar sandbox).

I think this is sad.

I know the browser is convenient, but frankly, its been a horror show of resource usage and vulnerabilities and pathetic performance

The idea that somehow those companies would respect your privacy were they running a native app is extremely naive.

We can already see this problem on video games, where copy protection became resource-heavy enough to cause performance issues.

In contrast as long as you have a native binary, one way or another you can make the thing run and nobody can stop you.