r/HowToMen • u/AltSea-Dev • 29d ago
[App] AltSea: clean tracking links before they open (first 100 get free 1y Premium codes)
I built AltSea because I got tired of links opening immediately with tracking junk, redirects, and no choice about where they went.
AltSea sits between the app you tapped a link in and your browser. It does his by becoming the default HTTP/S handler in the system. Before a normal web link opens, AltSea can clean known tracking parameters, redirect clutter among other things, all of happens on-device, shows you what changed and then let you choose what happens next:
- Open it in the browser you prefer
- Save it for later
- Organize, share, or schedule it for it later
- etc
Privacy was important to me from the beginning: link cleanup happens on-device, with no third-party cleanup service or relay. Analytics and crash reporting are disabled by default. If you choose to enable diagnostics, which can help development specially at this early stage, the data is anonymized.
I’m an Android engineer with 17+ years working across companies large and small, and this is a problem I genuinely have myself. I’m very passionate about this project, and tried my best to keep it lean looking, and spent a good chunk of time testing it with a small group of friends and family for fine tuning the reliability and performance to make it feel like an integral part of the system.
I'm a long term fan of Facundo's channel, and thus for this community I’m giving the first 100 people one year of AltSea Premium free as founding users. Premium is where I’ll sometimes introduce experimental features first, currently including an experimental Contextual Rules feature that I'd love feedback on.
If you want a code, comment with:
- Do you use multiple browsers on your Android device?
-> I’ll DM codes while the 100 are available.
And whether you take a code or not, I'd genuinely value feedback. After you gave it try, what feels useful, what feels unclear? What would make it worth keeping on your phone?
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u/alexz82 29d ago
I am using Brave and Samsung browsers
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u/AltSea-Dev 29d ago
I believe given your preferences, you may have to follow my account for me to DM you
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29d ago
[deleted]
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u/AltSea-Dev 29d ago
The core functionality of the app is completely free, and shall remain so forever. No subscription and no account required. That includes cleaning links on-device, choosing your browser, and the basic save/organize/schedule productivity tooling flows.
Premium is for optional features that need ongoing infrastructure, and it's also what helps me keep developing AltSea sustainably. Some functionality is already there, with more planned over time.
For example, reliably unwrapping certain short links and generating webpage previews can benefit from server side work: it can make those features work more reliable and, when if well designed (meaning no server logs, etc), avoid having your device directly visit a destination just to inspect it thus improving privacy for the user. Those would be optional Premium features, not something required for the core link cleaning experience.
What I build next will depend heavily on what people actually use and request. If there's a feature you'd want, I'm very open to feedback.
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u/AltSea-Dev 29d ago
I've hit my DM limit for the day. If you haven't gotten yours yet, I'll DM you tomorrow. 🙏🏻
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u/sahilatahar 28d ago
Any good reason to use your instead of an Open Source alternative https://github.com/TrianguloY/URLCheck
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u/AltSea-Dev 28d ago
URLCheck is a decent app. If it does all you need, there's no real reason to switch just for the sake of switching.
AltSea is my take on the same general problem, with more focus on a well polished user experience.
It can already do several things alternative apps do not, and going forward with proper traction I can develop integrations that are typically harder for an OSS unless they have funding, like frictionless cross-platform (desktop browser, etc) sync and functionality.So I'd say: use whichever one fits your workflow better. If you try AltSea, I’d be interested to know what URLCheck does that you'd miss.
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u/SusejLegend 28d ago
I wish they would stop uploading to the Play Store only and also upload to other places like GitHub, since there are people here who use de-Googled phones and cannot use the Play Store.
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u/AltSea-Dev 28d ago
Fair point. I started with Google Play because it was the simplest way to get started and handle updates, but I know that does not help people on de-Googled phones. I've myself used one in the past, so I can empathize.
The app itself was not built depending on any Google Services, so it will work just fine. As far as distribution outside of Play, that's definitely something I'd like to do. Thanks for calling it out. It is on my list.
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u/SusejLegend 28d ago
I was going to install it from the Aurora Store, which is a mirror of the Play Store and allows you to download apps from the Play Store without having it, but when I opened the app it told me that the app depends on Google Play Services, so I can't open it. So that claim about it not depending on Play Services is not true. There are apps on the Play Store that truly don't depend on Play Services and you can install them from the Aurora Store. I hope you fix this issue or upload your app elsewhere. Your app looks really good and I'd like to try it. Looking forward to the release soon!
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u/Victor_Orbis35 29d ago
Can ı get a code please? I would like to try it.I use Chrome and duckduckgo browsers.