Ask HN: Is there a market for privacy-first apps?
Free apps are convenient, but they are most likely free because they collect and sell personal information. Are you willing to pay for a privacy focused version of an app that is otherwise free?
Definitely a bit of extra work but can be minimal if event tracking is centralized in one area of the code.
But yeah, not saying I recommend you do it, just saying it’s possible and not something that should be seen as a waste of time, especially if you truly believe in creating privacy focused software.
Users will complain about it but it will rarely be a deal breaker. Will only matter if the product being offered holds really sensitive info
Either way if a company or Dev wants to respect privacy, that’s great and I applaud it. A product doesn’t need to collect every single piece of data on all their users to figure out their strategy...unless your product’s monetization strategy is all about selling user data
Also avoid sharing too much information about your users if using a third party provider for analytics. It shouldn’t be more than an user ID
If you are looking for a change from coding, product management or data science are relevant career paths where you can leverage your previous experience
As for being stuck in a position where learning opportunities are limited, try pushing for taking on tasks on other teams that are working on technologies you are interested in learning. If the company you are in frowns upon this sort of work then sounds like you should find a more open environment. They are companies out there that value this sort of curiosity.
Yeah apps that collect super personal information (i.e security solutions, baby monitors) I can imagine privacy being key. But what about everyday apps like fitness trackers, journals, habit trackers and personal finance? From what I gather people complain about privacy of those apps but would rather go a manual route instead of paying for a private version of it.
Free apps are convenient, but they are most likely free because they collect and sell personal information. Are you willing to pay for a privacy focused version of an app that is otherwise free?