Privacy-first. Built in public.

There's a difference between knowing how to hold a brush and making something worth looking at. I use AI the same way — not as a shortcut for lazy work, but as a tool that helps me ship real apps. Hating on that misses the point: the outcome is the art.

Read on — I'll try and explain.

I started programming in 1995, when I wrote a 16-line QBASIC program on my Compaq Contura Aero 4/33C laptop. It generated lottery numbers and showed me that I could build something useful.

I've learned mainly through practical experience and books such as Linux Command by Example and Get Coding!. I build and test useful software with tools such as MobSF, ZAP, and HTTP Observatory. I even write my own master audit prompts — AI stays a tool I steer, not something I trust blindly.

I'm still learning AI to code. I feel like a beginner, but I learn a bit more every day.

I'm dyslexic. Learning code has been difficult, much like learning another language, but I have never used it as an excuse. I attended a specialist school that was among the first in the UK to let students use laptops in exams. Typing helped me communicate my ideas more clearly, which is also supported by research into assistive technology.

Dyslexic developers can be strong at systems design, pattern recognition, and seeing how different parts of a project connect. These strengths can be valuable in software development.

I've lived with anxiety for most of my life. Creating software gives me something positive to focus on and a real sense of achievement when I finish a project. Research supports the value of creative activities, with a UK study of more than 23,000 people finding that arts engagement can improve mental wellbeing.

I mainly build Progressive Web Apps because I understand PWA coding better than APK / native app work. PWAs are practical, maintainable, work across platforms, and fit how I build with privacy and security in mind. They use technologies such as HTTPS and service workers.

Why I prefer PWAs over ordinary installed apps for privacy and security:

• A PWA still runs inside the browser engine — the same sandbox built to run untrusted web code every day — instead of as a separate install with its own broader device foothold (MDN).
• Service workers only work in a secure context, so real installs require HTTPS. That forces encrypted transport by default (Workers).
• Service workers are scoped to one origin. They cannot quietly intercept traffic for other sites the way a privileged native app can reach across more of the device (origin).
• Sensitive APIs (camera, mic, location, notifications, and similar) go through browser permission prompts you can revoke, rather than a long install-time permission list many APKs ask for up front (Permissions).
• Local data (Cache, IndexedDB, and similar) stays sandboxed per site origin and can be cleared with normal browser site controls (Storage).
• Because the app is web-shaped, privacy tools in the browser — blockers, stricter settings, and DNS filtering — can still apply. Many native apps bypass those controls and talk to their own endpoints directly.

Running my PWAs inside privacy-focused browsers such as Brave, Vanadium, and GrapheneOS adds another layer of security on top of that model.

If you can code… Great! But I believe creating a good app is great too! If you're hating on me for vibe coding because I struggle to write code… Not so great! Be great!

ambr3 2026