We got tired of
being the product.
Notrace started when one developer got annoyed enough to actually do something about it. A flashlight app requesting GPS access was the last straw.
The Founder
Solo developer → Building in public
Started notrace after the flashlight incident
"I built the flashlight app in a weekend. Then I published all the code publicly and said: here's everything. Judge it yourself. That's the whole philosophy."
1
Founder
2
Apps shipped
$0
VC funding
Every "free" app
has a price.
We changed the model.
The standard model for free apps is: give users the app for free, then quietly harvest their data and sell it to advertisers. The user is the product. It's legal (barely), profitable, and ubiquitous.
NotRace rejects this. Our apps are free to use because we believe software should work for users, not against them. We sustain ourselves through honest subscriptions — $9/year, no coercion.
We're not building a company on surveillance. We're building a company on trust.
The notrace Rule
If an app doesn't need a permission to do its job, it doesn't have that permission. Full stop.
Timeline
Jan 2024
notrace founded
One developer, one weekend, one flashlight app with zero permissions.
Mar 2024
First 1,000 downloads
Word spread on privacy forums. No marketing spend.
Jun 2024
First $9 payment received
Someone paid voluntarily. The model works.
Sep 2024
Open source audit published
Full permission manifest published. Independent security review completed.
2025
notrace Keyboard in development
Building the second app. Same philosophy, zero exceptions.
2026+
The full suite
Every category of app that harvests data gets a clean alternative.
What we actually
believe.
Radical transparency
We publish our source code, permission manifests, and financial reports. If we can't show it, we don't do it.
Minimal by design
Every feature request is evaluated against: does this require new permissions? If yes, we need extraordinary justification.
Users, not users' data
Our customers are the people who use our apps. Not the advertisers. Not the data brokers. You.
Loud about it
We don't just build clean apps — we expose the ones that aren't. The more people know, the better the ecosystem gets.
Our commitments.
In writing.
These aren't aspirations. They're binding commitments we hold ourselves to publicly. Any violation is disclosed in our changelog.
- 01
We will never request permissions our apps don't strictly need.
- 02
We will publish source code for every notrace app on release.
- 03
We will publish a signed permission manifest before every update.
- 04
We will publish quarterly financial reports showing revenue and expenses.
- 05
We will never sell, share, or barter user data to any third party.
- 06
If we ever violate any of the above, we will publicly disclose it.
Press & Research Inquiries
Journalists, security researchers, and academics are welcome to reach out. We'll respond within 48 hours and provide full source access on request.
press@notrace.appAudit the Code
Every notrace app is on GitHub. Fork it, audit it, pull request it. We review all security disclosures within 24 hours.
View GitHub