FAQ
Every question, in one place.
29 answers on what the apps hold of yours, what they cost, what is in the workshop, and what you keep if you walk away. The search stays with you down the page.
Start here
What is UnBuild?
An independent software studio in Bengaluru, run by one person. It takes one everyday tool at a time, removes what went wrong at the last mile, and finishes it. Pop Task is out now, three more apps are coming soon, and one observability runtime, Commotion, is in the workshop.
Who makes the apps?
One person, with 27 years in infrastructure at HPE and VMware and four granted US patents. You talk to the person who wrote the code.
Do I need an account?
No. None of the apps has one. There is nothing to sign up for and nothing to sign in to, on any of them.
What runs where?
Pop Task, Tiny Habits and Car Note are iPhone apps. Pinora is a Mac app. Commotion, when it ships, is a Linux runtime. Only Pop Task is out today — Tiny Habits, Pinora and Car Note are coming soon.
The apps
Which apps can I get today?
Pop Task. Tiny Habits, Pinora and Car Note are coming soon — write to hi@unbuild.me and you will hear when each one lands.
Where is my data kept?
On your device, in the app’s own storage — and in your private iCloud container where the app says so and you have iCloud switched on. There is no UnBuild server holding a copy.
Do the apps work offline?
Yes, all of them, all the time. On a plane, in a basement, on bad hotel wifi. There is no server to be out of reach of.
Does Car Note send my voice anywhere?
No. Speech is transcribed on the phone. Nothing is uploaded for processing.
How do I back things up?
Your device backup covers them: iCloud Backup or an encrypted local backup includes each app’s storage. I hold nothing to restore from, so keep the backup you already keep.
Is there an Android or Windows version?
Not today. If one comes it will be because the tool needed it, not because a checklist did.
Which OS versions do they need?
Pop Task needs iOS 18 or later, Car Note iOS 17 or later, and Pinora macOS 15 or later. Each app’s page states its own requirement.
Money
What do they cost?
Pop Task is free. Tiny Habits gives you 429 of its 431 cards for nothing. Pinora is free for three notes and $12.99 once after that. Car Note’s page states its terms. Those prices apply when each app lands.
Are there subscriptions?
No. A paid app or unlock is a one-time purchase for the version you bought and the updates published for it.
Is there a trial?
The free tier is the trial, and it is not time-limited. Nothing expires while you decide.
How do refunds work?
Through Apple, on Apple’s terms, using the Apple Account you bought with. I cannot issue one myself. If a request is refused and an app did not do what its page said, write to me.
Do you sell my data to pay for the free apps?
There is nothing to sell. The apps collect nothing and send nothing.
Commotion
What is Commotion?
Observability for Linux processes, rebuilt from first principles: every process on every node is judged on the node, once a second, and only what is wrong is sent. It names which of CPU, memory, disk or network started the trouble, and shows the kernel counters that say so.
When does it ship?
It is in the workshop. There is no date I would stand behind yet — write to hi@unbuild.me and you will hear on the day it runs.
Who is it for?
Teams running their own Linux fleets, on bare metal, VMs or Kubernetes, who are paying more for telemetry than the telemetry is worth.
Will it replace Prometheus or OpenTelemetry?
No. It speaks OTLP and Prometheus remote-write and exposes what it finds as ordinary series. Point your collector at it and keep your dashboards.
What will it cost?
The intent is flat, per node — not per series, not per gigabyte. The number is not set.
Will it be open source?
Undecided. I would rather answer that once than change the answer twice.
Studio
What kind of work do you take?
Four kinds: Apple platform apps, API and data infrastructure in Go, observability and performance, and architecture reviews.
How much work can you take?
A few engagements a year. One person can only hold a few at once.
How do we start?
Write to hi@unbuild.me and tell me what fails at the last mile. If it is not work I should take, I will say so.
What are your rates?
They depend on the shape of the engagement, and they go in the written agreement before work starts. Ask and I will quote.
Do you work across time zones?
Yes. Bengaluru, working with teams in most of them.
Leaving
What happens to my data if I stop using an app?
Nothing leaves your device, and deleting the app deletes its copy. There is no account to close and no export to request — you already hold the only copy.
What if UnBuild disappears?
The apps keep working. They have no server to go dark, no licence check to phone home, and no account to be locked out of. That is the point of building them this way.
How do I report a bug or ask for something?
hi@unbuild.me. One address for support, studio work and telling me something is broken.
Still unanswered? hi@unbuild.me — one person reads it.