Privacy · Ownership · Offline-first
Local-first software
Tools feel different when ownership, privacy, and offline use are properties of the architecture rather than promises in a policy.
Where the data lives
Local-first software starts with a useful question: what if the user’s device is the primary home of their data rather than a temporary cache for someone else’s server?
That choice affects much more than networking. It changes the failure model, the shape of collaboration, the meaning of ownership, and the amount of trust a tool must ask for.
Projects like tidyup and Outdegree are ways to explore that idea in practice. Their privacy claims are backed by dependency graphs, browser permissions, and default builds, not only by good intentions.