Introducing the beta!

2 min read

We started working on NextApp in December 2023. The first feature, GreenDays, was ready in January 2024. Since then, the application has gradually matured with new features and useful tweaks, month by month, until today - Saturday, May 31st, 2024.

Today, we are excited to announce the public beta of NextApp.

The goal has been to create a productivity app that actually works for people who strive to improve - both at work and in their personal lives.

In addition to the app’s functionality, we have also followed a set of core values that have guided us along the way:

Privacy matters

The app has no ties or dependencies on services from Google, Microsoft, Apple, or other big data companies. We plan to distribute the app via Google Play and the Apple App Store for convenience, but you can also download it anonymously from GitHub and run it with your own backend if you prefer.

Also, the app does not contain any telemetry. It does not spy on you. If you use our public cloud backend, your data remains your property. We don’t use it for anything except syncing it to your PCs and phones.

Security matters

We’ve gone to great lengths - and done a lot of thinking - to make the right choices.

The communication between the app and the backend requires signed TLS certificates on both ends. Only the server knows its private key. Only the client knows its private key.

For features like a /metrics HTTP/HTTPS endpoint in the backend, we’ve disabled them by default. If enabled, the server will generate a strong, random password by default.

We don’t store passwords in the database - only salted hashes, with the salt being unique for each server or entry.

Performance matters

We are not a startup burning through investor money. Every expense hurts.

So the backend is designed to be as efficient as possible, capable of serving many users on small, inexpensive cloud virtual machines. That’s good for us - and it’s good for you if you decide to deploy your own backend.

Even if you don’t, it means we can keep the cost of using our public backend low (when we start charging, sometime in the future).

Decency matters

The app doesn’t contain ads. You may have noticed that our website is also ad-free. We are not here to monetize you.

We hope you’ll become a valued beta tester and that the app will, over time, become something you truly appreciate.

If you like the app, please:

• Report bugs and problems You can email us at contact@lastviking.eu, or create issues directly on the project’s GitHub page.

• Give us your honest feedback and your best ideas You can do that via email, or on the project’s GitHub discussion space.

• Spread the word This is an open source project. We don’t have a marketing budget, so the project depends on organic growth to succeed.

• Contribute back If you have the time and energy, your help would be welcome. The app could immediately benefit from better documentation, translations, improved UX, more features, and automated tests.

If you don’t like the app, please tell us why. Negative feedback is valuable too.

What excactely does that mean that an application is in beta?