It's not even a free app, there's like a €10/month premium.

I need a way to make money too, but we have laws saying I can't do it by hitting you over the head with a club and taking yours. We also have laws saying Flo can't do it by lying about who they sell private data to.

I would advise anyone tracking medical data with an app to use something open source and local-only or network-optional if at all possible. I know there are open source cycle tracking apps, but I do not know if they're any good.

“They had to find a way to make money” is not a moral blank check.

By that logic, almost anything becomes defensible. I was out of work, so I became a contract killer. I had to find a way to make money.

No. Companies still have to follow the law. They also have the option of being decent and not tracking or sharing intimate data like sexual preferences with Meta, Google, TikTok, and the advertising industry.

I’ve been asked as a contractor to build this kind of thing. I refused, before and after GDPR. It cost me money. Fine. I can live with that.

What I cannot respect is people who decide that revenue matters more than basic privacy, then hide behind “business needs” as if that ends the conversation.

>By that logic, almost anything becomes defensible. I was out of work, so I became a contract killer. I had to find a way to make money.

Ah, see, that doesn't work because you're a person not a company. The company had to find a way to make money, that's why they denied your chemotherapy. Tough luck for you.

A better way to out this is: if it’s free, you’re the product.

where do open source apps fit into this philosophy?

You're the guinea pig

If it's not free (like the app Flo Premium), you're still the product.

My apps are free or freemium with a one time payment. I just started publishing, and my main drive is resentment towards the current state of surveillance in software. It doesn't have to be filled with ads and trackers on top of a subscription.

I’ve also started publishing a small collection of what I call “spite apps” (a reference to Larry David’s spite store when he makes his own coffee shop to go against mocha joe).

These apps are super simple in terms of privacy policy: - we don’t track you (no telemetry) - we don’t show you ads - no account - free with optional tip

Sure I don’t make much money with them but I feel like I’m pushing back on making humanity worse.