Fear and Loathing in the App Stores: when FLOSS principles collide with the Gatekeeper interests

<p>The promise of smartphones was freedom in your pocket. The reality? Two corporate gatekeepers controlling what software billions of users can run on devices they supposedly own. This talk examines the uncomfortable compromises FLOSS developers face when trying to distribute apps through iOS and Android app stores, where every principle we hold dear—user freedom, privacy, transparency, and community control—runs headlong into the profit-driven interests of the global mobile duopoly.</p> <p>We'll explore the battleground where free software principles meet platform restrictions: mandatory code signing that undermines reproducible builds, opaque review processes that can arbitrarily reject apps exercising user freedom, 30% revenue cuts that punish sustainable FLOSS funding models, and Terms of Service that can revoke your ability to distribute software overnight. The Digital Markets Act promised to open these walled gardens, but has it? Or have we merely traded one gatekeeper's rules for slightly different ones?</p> <p>This isn't just about technical hurdles—it's about fundamental questions. Should FLOSS projects compromise on GPL compliance to reach users? Is it ethical to pay fees and developer taxes when that money funds the very infrastructure restricting user freedom? When F-Droid and alternative app stores offer true freedom but reach only 2% of users, do we accept the compromise or maintain ideological purity while our potential impact dwindles?</p> <p>The stakes are existential. As our digital lives increasingly occur on locked-down mobile devices, FLOSS becomes the last line of defense against surveillance capitalism, planned obsolescence, and the erosion of user agency. If we can't effectively distribute free software on the platforms where users actually are, we risk relegating FLOSS to irrelevance precisely when it's needed most.</p> <p>But there's hope. New regulatory frameworks, emerging alternative stores, advances in progressive web apps, and creative technical solutions offer paths forward. We'll discuss practical strategies for maximizing reach while minimizing compromise, building communities that value freedom over convenience, and preparing for a post-duopoly future.</p> <p>This talk will challenge both the compromisers and the purists, asking uncomfortable questions: Are we collaborating with platforms that fundamentally oppose our values? Or are we pragmatically meeting users where they are? The answer may determine whether free software thrives or withers in the mobile era.</p>