Free software you can count on: two sides, one promise

The OpenApps store now has two sides: apps for work and apps for life. Both keep one promise: "Free software that is reputable, secure, reliable, and stays free." Below is what each of those words means in practice, and the first new apps for everyday life: Lingo for languages, Still for rest and sleep, and Monitor, a baby monitor made from two phones.

Two sides, one store

The store started with work: the small subscriptions people pay for to sign a contract, run a survey or send an invoice. But people pay for small subscriptions at home too. A language app that runs out of energy before you are done practicing. A meditation app that is mostly a paywall. A baby monitor that needs its own camera, with a yearly plan on top for the extras.

So the store now has two sides.

For work: Sign, Forms, Links, When, PDF, Invoice, Bio, Book, Dictate, Images, Resume, Paste and Record.

For life: Lingo, Still, Monitor, Split and Sheets.

Reputable

Every app carries the same name and the same promise, and its source code is public. You do not have to take our word for what an app does with your data: you, or someone you trust, can read it.

One shared name also raises the bar. If one app let you down, it would hurt every app in the store, so each one is held to the same standard, including honesty about limits. App pages say plainly what an app does not do. Dictate is a dictation pad you copy from, not a tool that types into every app. Record does not host your videos. Invoice does not collect card payments yet.

Secure

Private by default. There are no ads, no tracking pixels and no data for sale, in any app.

Where an app can run on your device, it does. PDF, Images, Dictate and Record do their work in your browser, so your files, photos, voice and screen recordings are never uploaded. Still makes its sounds on your device.

Monitor goes further. Its video goes straight between your own devices, peer to peer and encrypted. It never touches our servers, and it is never recorded or stored.

Things you make are private unless you share them. A document in Sign can only be opened from its long, random private links, and a paste in Paste can be encrypted in your browser so the server holds only scrambled text.

Reliable

Every app is built on OpenApps. Each app's data rules are written down and enforced on every write.

Two examples. In Sheets, a slot that needs three people can never take a fourth, even when people sign up at the same moment. In Book, two people can never book the same time. These are not checks scattered through the app's code. They are rules on the data itself, and every write has to pass them.

Stays free

Free products have a habit of not staying free. A tool gets popular, changes hands, and the free plan shrinks.

Every app here is an OpenApp. Each one has public source and an agent of its own that keeps improving it. It cannot be quietly closed or turned into a paid app, and it can be handed to the people who use it. Our about page explains how each app can open to its users as it grows.

OpenApps pays for the hosting and the data. Most of these apps cost almost nothing to run: a form response or a sign-up is one tiny write, and the apps that run on your device cost nothing at all.

The exception is anything with a real cost every time you use it, like AI. That is charged at cost: exactly what it costs, never more, and said on the page so you know first. Lingo's page already says it: if Lingo adds AI conversation practice, that will be charged at cost. Monitor's page says the same about a relay for devices that cannot connect directly, if one is ever added. More on this in why these apps are free, and what "at cost" means.

New for life: Lingo, Still and Monitor

Lingo is bite-size language lessons: tap the right words, build sentences, listen, type and speak. Spanish and French have full beginner courses, and German, Italian and Portuguese have their first units. Make all the mistakes you want. There are no hearts, no energy and no ads, so nothing locks you out. Streaks with free streak freezes, XP, daily goals and weekly leagues are all there, and practice brings back the words you miss. You can start without an account. Lingo is steady, free practice, not a promise of fluency. See a free Duolingo alternative with no hearts.

Still is meditation, breathing and sleep sounds. Box breathing, 4-7-8 and coherent breathing with a gentle guide. A meditation timer with start, end and interval bells. Guided sessions for sleep, stress, focus and mornings. A mixer of rain, ocean, wind, fire and white, pink or brown noise, with a sleep timer that fades out, and calm stories read aloud. It works offline after your first visit. Breathing exercises help many people relax, but Still is not therapy or medical care. See a free Calm and Headspace alternative.

Monitor turns an old phone into a baby monitor. Put it by the crib and watch and listen from your own phone or laptop. Pair with a code or QR code, get an alert when the baby makes noise, talk back, play a lullaby and switch on night view. Several parents can watch at once. Monitor is not a medical device. It does not track breathing, heart rate or oxygen, and it does not replace safe sleep practices or an adult's supervision. See how to use an old phone as a baby monitor.

They sit alongside Split, for sharing costs on trips and in shared houses with no daily cap, and Sheets, for volunteer, potluck and shift sign-ups.

How the two sides point to each other

Work and life are not separate drawers. The parent who needs a baby monitor also has a daycare form to sign. The student practicing French also needs a first resume.

So the two sides link to each other. The home page shows both, with a link to jump to each side, and every app page ends with more apps from its own side, then a line listing every app on the other side. Because every app keeps the same promise, when one works well for you, you know what to expect from the next.

For lists that cross both sides, see free apps for students and free apps for new parents.

What comes next

More apps, on both sides, chosen by what people ask for. If you pay for an app that should be free, ask for it on the store's request page. For how the store began, see introducing OpenApps free apps.

Questions

What is the OpenApps promise?

"Free software that is reputable, secure, reliable, and stays free." Every OpenApps app has public source and the same name, is private by default with no ads or data sold, has its data rules checked by a prover before every release, and is an OpenApp that cannot be quietly closed or turned into a paid app.

Which apps are on the life side of the store?

Lingo for language lessons, Still for meditation, breathing and sleep sounds, Monitor for a baby monitor made from two phones, Split for sharing expenses, and Sheets for sign-up sheets. All are free, with no subscription and no ads.

Will OpenApps apps stay free?

Yes. OpenApps pays for hosting and data. Only things with a real cost each time you use them, like AI, are charged, at exactly what they cost, and the app says so first. Every app is an OpenApp, so nobody can quietly turn it into a paid app later.

Do OpenApps apps show ads or sell my data?

No. There are no ads, no tracking pixels and no data for sale. PDF, Images, Dictate and Record run entirely on your device, and Monitor's video goes straight between your own devices.

Can I read the source code of OpenApps apps?

Yes. Every OpenApps app is an OpenApp with public source, so you, or someone you trust, can check exactly what it does with your data.