Conversations goes fully free as developer breaks up with Google Play
inputmice · hn · 2026-09-24
Daniel Gultsch, developer of the open-source XMPP client Conversations, explains in a blog post why the app is now fully free and why he is leaving Google Play. He details how Play Store fees, shifting review policies, and payment cuts became unsustainable for a small open-source project. The app will continue distributing via its website and F-Droid, with paid support replaced by voluntary donations—a rare first-hand account of the indie open-source predicament inside app-store ecosystems.
More from Venture
- Anthropic paid $5B for short-term compute in Q3 as spot prices run ~2x long-term deals — tengyanAI · 2026-11-11
- AI chip startup Fractile raises $720M Series C for DRAM-on-processor design — Tom_Westgarth15 · 2026-11-11
- Everyone fears AI labs eating SaaS—Theo is moving faster than the labs in every direction — weswinder · 2026-11-11
- AI founder shares 'tray-table GTM': cold pitch to advertise in IndiGo's inflight magazine — devenbhooshan · 2026-11-11
- Robinhood's SEO turnaround: Top-3 keywords explode to 169K as organic traffic hits 13.9M — gaganghotra_ · 2026-11-11
- Indie maker Tibo shares the playbook behind his $8M acquisition and $1M MRR SaaS portfolio — tibo_maker · 2026-11-11