Why I'm building small, private apps

I’ve spent about ten years writing software for other people. IndieDeveloperJ is where I build my own: small apps for iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch, each one aimed at a single job that somebody does every week.

There are three in the works right now:

• EcoFormPro for wetland scientists, who fill in the same federal data sheet at every sampling point.
• Own Miles, a mileage log for anyone who drives for work and has to prove it at tax time.
• My Life in Color, a journal where each day is a color you pick in one tap.

They look nothing alike, and that’s on purpose. I’d rather judge each app on whether it’s useful than squeeze them all onto one shared platform.

The rules every app follows

Your data stays on your devices. None of these apps has an account to make, and nothing you record goes to a server of mine. Where there’s sync, it goes through your own iCloud. A mileage log is a map of your life and a journal is a diary; neither belongs on someone else’s computer.

It should feel like it belongs on your phone. Widgets, Siri and Shortcuts, the Apple Watch, Dark Mode, Dynamic Type and VoiceOver. If Apple ships a way to make an app quicker to use, I want to use it.

Boring is good. A field form, a tax log, a daily habit. Nothing here needs to go viral; it just needs to save someone ten minutes, every time, without breaking.

No ads, no tracking. The apps pay for themselves with an optional subscription sold through Apple.

What’s next

All three are heading to TestFlight betas, then the App Store. I’ll write here as each one moves along: what was hard, what changed after testers tried it, and what’s next. A tracker for continuing-education credits comes after that.

If you’d like a short note when there’s something new, there’s a form at the bottom of this page.