Every release, written down.

Compass: Digital & True North is in testing on Google Play

A new compass app for Android: a big clear heading, true north for where you are, and a warning when something is pulling the needle.

• See your heading in degrees and words, held upright, flat or tilted, in portrait and landscape.
• True north works out the correction for where you are, using only your approximate location, on your phone.
• Compass tells you when metal or a magnet is interfering, and shows you how to recalibrate.
• No ads and no account. An optional one-time Compass Pro adds bearing lock and four dial styles.

See CompassSee Compass

Challenge a friend in Nicked

Send a friend a cricketer of your own, and share your score as a picture made for WhatsApp.

• Pick any cricketer and send a challenge code. Your friend gets six clues to name them.
• Share your result as a score card picture for WhatsApp chats and Status, with no name or clue on it.
• Find Challenge on the Practice tab and on your daily result.
• After a daily win, from your third day, Nicked may ask for a rating through Google Play.

See NickedSee Nicked

Nicked goes clue by clue

One mystery cricketer a day, now revealed one clue at a time. Name them early for more runs.

• Six clues, vaguest first: debut year, formats, role and batting hand, bowling style, country, then initials.
• A wrong guess, or a tap on Next clue, shows the next clue. Solve it on clue 1 for a six.
• Wrong guesses show what they share with the answer: country, role, bowling type or era.
• A simpler game: Today, Practice and Stats. Run Chase, XP and badges are put away for now.

See NickedSee Nicked

Your first clean in Speaker Cleaner has no ads

Tap Start and your first clean begins right away, with no ad before it and no offer after it.

• A new user sees no ad before the first clean and no boost offer after it.
• Clean again now says correctly whether an ad comes next.
• Google Play's rating prompt now comes after your first clean, then every fifth.
• In landscape, the ad banner stays clear of a camera cutout at the side of the screen (from 1.0.6).

See Speaker CleanerSee Speaker Cleaner

A cleanup of mine lands in the Wikimedia Commons app

The code behind the app's achievements screen was too big for the project's own rules. It now sits in smaller, tested pieces, and the screen works as it did.

• One class with 27 functions is now three: the screen itself, its info dialogs and the part that fills in your stats.
• New unit tests cover the two new pieces.
• Merged by a maintainer on 27 October.

See the pull requestSee the pull request

CodeHorizon starts explaining the platforms it builds on

Insights is a new section of the site: plain, sourced explainers on the changes that affect anyone shipping on Android, Chrome and Shopify.

• Five articles to start: Android developer verification, WebMCP, Shopify's agentic commerce protocol, Chrome extensions after Manifest V2, and AI Overviews and search traffic.
• Each one has animated figures, lists its sources and can be followed by RSS.

Read InsightsRead Insights

My fix ships in the Wikimedia Commons app for Android

Share a mix of photos to Commons and it now leaves out the files it cannot upload, like RAW camera files, before copying anything to your phone.

• If you save a RAW file next to every JPEG, the RAW is no longer copied only to be thrown away (12.6 MB per photo in my test).
• The warning about unsupported files still appears, so nothing is skipped without telling you.
• Tested and approved by a maintainer and merged on 24 October, with new unit tests that cover it.

See the pull requestSee the pull request

Companion AI is now free with ads, and one purchase removes them

The quote app now shows ads, and a one-time purchase through Google Play turns them all off.

• Ads are new: banners, an occasional full-screen ad between quotes, and one ad card in your lists.
• Remove ads is a single purchase through Google Play, or watch a short video for some ad-free time.
• The whole app is now set in Google Sans, and it targets Android 16.
• The create button no longer covers your last custom quote.

See Companion AISee Companion AI

Quieter uploads for Wikimedia Commons, now in review

A fix for a bug first reported in 2019: the Commons app made a sound for every file while uploading. Now the progress shows silently and only the result alerts you.

• Upload progress moves to its own quiet notification channel, called Upload progress.
• Finished and failed uploads, and an expired sign-in, still alert you once.
• Waiting for review from the app's maintainers.

See the pull requestSee the pull request

Speaker Cleaner: Water Eject is out on Google Play

The app that pushes water and dust out of your phone speaker with sound is now free for everyone on Android.

• Water Eject plays a 165 Hz tone that pushes droplets out through the speaker grill in about a minute.
• Dust Clean, Vibrate and any frequency from 50 to 1000 Hz for everything else, then a test sound to check the result.
• Clean the earpiece too, for muffled call audio on Android 12 and newer.
• Free with ads, and an optional one-time purchase removes every ad.

See Speaker CleanerSee Speaker Cleaner

Nicked: Guess the Cricketer is out on Google Play

The daily cricket quiz is now free for everyone on Android: one mystery cricketer a day and six tries to name them.

• Every guess is compared with the mystery cricketer on six clues, and Nick explains each one.
• Run Chase: name as many cricketers as you can before the clock runs out.
• Practice by country, role and debut era, and catch up on any puzzle you missed.
• Streaks, XP and badges, with Play Games achievements and leaderboards if you want them.

See NickedSee Nicked

TabCluster is no longer live

I built and previously published TabCluster. It now remains as a past project and engineering case study.

• TabCluster is no longer on the Chrome Web Store or available for new installations.
• Its screens, redrawn from the last version, and the technical details remain as a record of what I built.

See TabClusterSee TabCluster

CSS Class Highlighter 4.1.0 is live

The new developer workbench is now available to everyone from the Chrome Web Store.

• Inspect any element with its box model, computed styles and readable matching rules.
• Search live class counts, pin highlights and export the class inventory as JSON or CSV.
• Compare computed CSS against a saved baseline and explore inherited design tokens.
• Material Design 3 Expressive with bundled Google Sans, and light and dark themes.

See CSS Class HighlighterSee CSS Class Highlighter

TubeFocus adds focus recipes and a 60-second Peek

Choose Learn, Watch or Explore, reveal hidden sections briefly, and return to focus automatically.

• Three recipes keep useful parts of YouTube available for your intention.
• Peek returns to your saved view after 60 seconds.
• A roomier Material 3 Expressive interface, new focus-dial icon and improved timer and settings reliability.

See TubeFocusSee TubeFocus

Notilo is no longer live

I built and previously published Notilo. It now remains as a past project and engineering case study.

• Notilo is no longer available for new installations.
• Screenshots and technical details remain as a record of what I built.

See NotiloSee Notilo

ShopGrade 4.9 brings a lighter, clearer popup

The popup and the card on the storefront move to a new light design, and every surface now agrees on what each plan includes.

• A new light design for the popup and the on-page storefront card, matching the refreshed shopgrade.in.
• Plan descriptions now match across the popup, the report and the website.
• The Free plan no longer shows the health scores as locked, and the report drops an empty toolbar pill on phones.
• New Chrome Web Store screenshots, taken from the current build. Version 4.9.1 followed on 13 October.

See ShopGradeSee ShopGrade

SecureVault 7.10 makes your first file easy

A guided import walks you through adding your first private file, and batch tools can be unlocked for a session.

• Choose a photo, video or document and the vault saves an encrypted copy. The original stays where it is.
• Select, share, move or delete files together with Premium, or for 30 minutes after an optional rewarded video.
• Smoother reward playback, and your selection carries on after earning access.
• New Play Store screenshots and a clearer description, including where ads appear in the free version.

See SecureVaultSee SecureVault

Nicked grows to 403 cricketers

The second test build adds 226 players and optional Google Play Games.

• 226 more players, for 403 international cricketers in all, each checked against a published source.
• Optional Google Play Games: badges as achievements and three leaderboards.
• A saved game that takes your streak to a new phone.

See NickedSee Nicked

Nicked: Guess the Cricketer is in testing on Google Play

A new daily cricket quiz for Android: one mystery cricketer a day and six tries to name them. It opens to everyone once testing ends.

• Every guess is compared with the mystery cricketer on six clues, and Nick explains each one.
• Run Chase: name as many cricketers as you can in 60 seconds.
• Streaks, XP, badges and new kit for Nick as you keep playing.

See NickedSee Nicked

Speaker Cleaner: Water Eject is in testing on Google Play

A new Android app that pushes water and dust out of your phone speaker with sound. It opens to everyone once testing ends.

• Water Eject plays a 165 Hz tone that pushes droplets out through the speaker grill in about a minute.
• Dust Clean, Vibrate and a custom frequency for everything else.
• A test sound afterwards, so you can hear whether it worked.

See Speaker CleanerSee Speaker Cleaner

CodeHorizon gets a proper home

codehorizon.in now has a page for every app and extension, with real screenshots and this changelog.

• Each product page walks through how it works, step by step, with the screens you will actually see.
• A contact form that fits how you like to talk: a quick hello, or a short project plan.
• Built light and fast, with no trackers.

Setting up SecureVault is clearer

The first screen now says exactly what you are choosing: the secret code you type into the calculator to open your vault.

• Clearer wording on every setup button and message.
• Your passcode is now stored with much stronger protection.
• Stability and speed improvements.

See SecureVaultSee SecureVault

ShopGrade 4.7: a report you can hand straight to a client

Agencies can turn any audit into a presentation deck with their own branding, ready for a client meeting.

• Client decks: landscape slides made for showing a store owner, not the report squeezed onto a page.
• Add your logo, colours and agency name to reports and PDFs.
• Reports stay private until you open a share link, and you can close it again with one click.
• More reliable scans on stores with custom web addresses.

See ShopGradeSee ShopGrade

SecureVault 7: a decoy vault, intruder selfies and a private notebook

The biggest SecureVault update yet, and the app is now free to download.

• Decoy vault: a second passcode opens an empty vault if someone forces you to unlock it.
• Intruder selfie: a wrong guess quietly takes a photo of whoever is trying, and logs the attempt.
• Private notes, plus a built-in viewer for your photos, videos and audio, so nothing has to leave the vault.
• A calculation history, so the calculator side is genuinely handy too.
• Free to download. A one-time Premium adds the decoy vault, intruder selfies and batch actions, and removes ads. Anyone who bought the app before keeps all of it.

See SecureVaultSee SecureVault

ShopGrade is live on the Chrome Web Store

Open any Shopify store, click once, and see what is slowing it down and where it is losing shoppers.

• An overall grade with a plain-language verdict, plus scores for speed, trust, mobile, conversion and search.
• A to-do list sorted by impact: what to fix first, the evidence, and the next step.
• Scan again later to see what you fixed and what is new.
• Share a live link to the report or export it as a PDF.

See ShopGradeSee ShopGrade

ShopGrade becomes a product of its own

What began in May as a fix for a real annoyance, checking one Shopify store with five different tools, moves into its own project.

• The extension, its report and a dashboard, on a backend of its own.
• shopgrade.in, the product's own website, followed three days later.

See ShopGradeSee ShopGrade

TubeFocus 6.3: focus mode with a live countdown

One click hides every distraction on YouTube for 15 to 60 minutes, and you can watch the time tick down.

• A cleaner popup, redesigned in Google's Material 3 style.
• Turn Shorts into regular videos, so they stop auto-scrolling.
• More precise hiding, so only the distractions go.

See TubeFocusSee TubeFocus

Notilo 3.2.5: easier-to-read highlights

Highlights look smoother and read better, whichever of the six colours you pick.

• Search your notes on a page faster.
• Cleaner exports when you save your notes as a file.
• Steadier all round.

See NotiloSee Notilo

TabCluster 1.2.10 with a fresh icon

The same one-click tidy-up for a crowded tab bar, with a new look in your toolbar.

• Preview how your tabs will be grouped before anything moves.
• Save a whole set of tabs as a workspace and bring it back later.

See TabClusterSee TabCluster

Companion AI's quote cards now bend as you swipe

A softer, calmer look, with cards that respond to your finger.

• Quote cards round their corners as you drag them, so every swipe feels physical.
• New minimal icons and a redesigned side menu.
• Rebuilt under the hood for better stability.

See Companion AISee Companion AI

Shake to lock: SecureVault gets a panic switch

If you need to hide your files in a hurry, shake your phone and the vault locks straight away.

• Turn it on in Security settings. It is free for everyone, always.

See SecureVaultSee SecureVault

Kalpa Corporate Artz goes online

A gallery website for a company that makes museum-quality reproductions of India's master painters: browse by style, explore the artists and book a consultation.

• Artworks organised by style, from brass paintings to abstract and traditional pieces.
• A guided booking flow that takes visitors through a few simple steps.
• Designed in Figma, built with Next.js and served quickly from Cloudflare.

Visit the siteVisit the site

SecureVault arrives on Google Play

A calculator that really works on the outside, and an encrypted vault for your photos, videos and files on the inside.

• Type your secret code and press equals to open the vault.
• Everything is encrypted on your phone. No account, no cloud.
• Take photos and videos straight into the vault with the built-in camera.
• Hide it from recent apps, block screenshots and choose the name it shows on your home screen.
• Forgot your code? An offline recovery question gets you back in.

See SecureVaultSee SecureVault

Companion AI arrives on Google Play

One thoughtful quote a day, at the time you choose. No feed, no noise.

• Save your favourites and share any quote as a good-looking image.
• Keep your own quotes alongside the daily ones.
• Swipe through with smooth, gentle animations.

See Companion AISee Companion AI

CodeHorizon begins

The first Chrome extensions ship, each one built to fix something that annoyed me.