Joisst.com the journey to Fix What Broke the Internet
Most app stores suck now! I mean, don’t they? I used to get apps for m the apple store all the time, but now each one want its own subscription or it loaded with ads or it is shard to actually find an app I can pay a few bucks to do a job, well, unless i am being completely derpy and can’t find the filter to show only that, but if that is the case, its still an issue that it isn’t obvious. So i never got to the apple app store anymore. It would be nice to have one place, like the app store equivalent of Wikipedia where you could go and use to basic apps for free and get some simple tasks done. I mean even for a price that would be ok, but the thing about Joisst is that the enshitifcation of the internet (and everything else) is largely because companies have to keep making more an more money! So what about an App Store with out that pressure. An independent. One that understand there is a cost of living crisis and that if someone needs a simple app for a simple task, then it would be great to have a place to go.
It might seem like I am being harsh, but think about it for a second. You download a “free” app on a big app store now and immediately get hit with ads, subscriptions, popups, login walls, tracking requests, premium upgrades, notification spam, and sometimes a weird emotional manipulation strategy where the app acts disappointed if you don’t pay $12.99 a month to crop a photo.
Joisst Wants to Be the Wikipedia of App Stores. I think We Need That Now.
It would be nice to have one place, almost like the app store version of Wikipedia, where you could open a site, find a useful little app, do the task you came for, and leave without being psychologically processed into a recurring revenue stream.
That is basically the pitch behind Joisst.
A free app store built around practical tools, privacy, lightweight AI features, games, utilities, and business apps that are supposed to help people instead of constantly extracting from them.
And honestly, the timing makes sense because the enshittification of the internet is very real now.
Everything wants more money.
More engagement.
More retention.
More monthly recurring revenue.
The result is software that feels exhausting to use.
We simply cant give them all that time an money, why does every pieces of software feel like it should be the only thing in your life!
“Free” Apps Barely Feel Free Anymore
Think about what happens now when you download a “free” app from a major platform.
First there’s the popup asking for notifications.
Then account creation.
Then tracking permissions.
Then the premium upgrade screen.
Then the “limited time” discount.
Then another subscription offer.
Then ads.
Then maybe the app finally lets you do the one simple thing you opened it for in the first place.
Sometimes it genuinely feels like modern software is disappointed in you for trying to use it without paying $12.99 a month.
People are tired of it.
I know I am.
And judging by how many people complain about subscriptions online every day, I doubt I am alone.
Joisst Was Built by People Who Already Went Through the Disaster
The story behind Joisst is actually part of why the project feels different.
The small team behind it spent years building apps for other companies. Then last year they lost their jobs. Not “almost lost everything”. Not “we had a difficult quarter”.
The disaster already happened.
Instead of stopping, they just kept building.
Every day for about a year.
Some apps were simple. Some became surprisingly advanced. Eventually they realized they had built an entire ecosystem of useful tools, so they combined them into one platform.
Now there are more than 50 apps live and growing.
Some are productivity focused.
Some are AI-focused.
Some are privacy-first tools.
Some are games.
Some are just weird little utilities solving oddly specific problems that somehow every normal person actually runs into eventually.
That last category is honestly where Joisst feels strongest.
The Apps Feel Designed Around Real Problems
One thing Joisst does differently is the apps are built around solving a problem instead of fitting neatly into categories.
That sounds minor but it changes how the platform feels.
For example, QuickPic strips image editing down to the stuff most people actually need. Resize images. Crop them. Remove distractions. Make quick fixes. Done.
No giant professional interface pretending every user is editing a Netflix documentary.
Same thing with Easy Background Remover. Upload image. Remove background. Export it. Finished.
Fast matters now because people are overwhelmed already.
Nobody wants to spend 45 minutes learning software just to make a thumbnail.
There are also privacy-focused apps that feel surprisingly relevant right now.
Redactly helps redact sensitive information locally in the browser instead of uploading documents to cloud services.
Privacy Blur does the same kind of thing for images.
That local-processing approach matters because people are finally starting to realize how much data modern software quietly absorbs.
The AI Stuff Is There, But It Is Not Constantly Screaming at You
This part surprised me.
A lot of platforms right now slap “AI” onto absolutely everything whether it improves the product or not.
Joisst handles it more carefully.
There are AI-powered features across the ecosystem, but most apps are still designed to function properly without them. That is important because AI is useful in specific situations, but not every tool needs a chatbot bolted onto it like a confused microwave from the future.
Apps like Easy Web Chatbot actually make sense because businesses genuinely do need better automated support systems.
Help Me Prompt also feels practical because most people are still terrible at writing prompts and end up getting robotic garbage back from AI systems.
The AI is being used as a tool instead of the entire identity of the platform.
That already feels healthier than a lot of tech right now.
Some Apps Solve Problems You Didn’t Realize Annoyed You
This is where the platform gets kind of interesting.
You start finding little utilities and suddenly realize, “Actually yeah, I do hate doing this manually.”
CleanTXT cleans up messy text formatting instantly.
ShopBudget tracks grocery spending in real time so you do not get financially jumpscared at checkout.
Time Match helps people coordinate meetings across time zones without destroying somebody’s sleep schedule.
Peak Passwords takes a completely different approach to password management that avoids cloud vaults entirely.
Not every app will matter to every person obviously.
But that is kind of the point.
It feels less like a marketplace trying to maximize conversion and more like a toolbox filled with useful stuff.
The Games Are Surprisingly Decent Too
Normally when platforms include games alongside utility software it feels random and low effort.
Not here.
Mathsteroids somehow turns mental math into a retro arcade shooter and it weirdly works.
WordMesh is chaotic in a fun way.
Solitaire Shootout feels like someone looked at solitaire and thought, “This needs more panic.”
The important thing though is the games do not feel engineered to psychologically trap you forever.
That alone feels unusual now.
There Are Downsides Too
To be fair, a smaller ecosystem also means limitations.
Joisst does not have the gigantic infrastructure or integration ecosystem of major platforms. Some apps will evolve quickly. Some may disappear. Some still feel early-stage around the edges.
And realistically, running a free platform without drowning users in ads is hard.
Very hard.
AI costs money.
Servers cost money.
Development costs money.
So the long-term sustainability question is real.
But honestly, I would rather see teams trying to build healthier software ecosystems than just accepting that every app must eventually become an extraction machine.
Because that assumption is exactly how we got here in the first place.
Maybe People Just Want Useful Software Again
That frustration is basically the reason Joisst exists. It is not trying to become another giant locked ecosystem where every useful feature slowly gets sliced into subscriptions and “premium tiers”. The whole idea is closer to a public toolbox for the internet. Open it, find something useful, solve the problem you came for, and move on with your day. Some apps have optional AI features that cost money because AI genuinely is expensive to run, but the important thing is the core apps are supposed to stand on their own without making you feel cornered into paying. That difference matters more than people think.
Maybe Joisst stays small. Maybe it grows into something much bigger. Either way, I think the idea behind it hits a nerve because people are exhausted by software that constantly tries to extract more money, more data, and more attention. Sometimes you just want an app that does the thing it says it does. Fast. Clean. No nonsense. And honestly, if more software companies focused on usefulness instead of squeezing every possible cent out of users forever, the internet would probably feel a lot less broken than it does right now.