DEV Community: PureHub

PureHub 1.0.0-beta.26: a stronger private QR Studio

PureHub — Thu, 20 Aug 2026 19:13:03 +0000

PureHub 1.0.0-beta.26: a stronger private QR Studio

PureHub beta.26 is a signed Android community-testing release focused on QR Studio.

What changed

Scan QR codes and barcodes from the camera, a saved image, or a batch of images.
Review a URL and its domain before opening it; suspicious HTTP, raw-IP, punycode, embedded-credential, unusual-port, and unusually long links are flagged locally.
Recognize URLs, Wi-Fi payloads, email, phone, SMS, location, calendar events, contacts, and product barcodes.
Choose an external product lookup only after confirmation.
Create website, text, Wi-Fi, email, phone, SMS, location, calendar, and contact QR codes.
Keep a local QR library with pins, search, folders/notes, and CSV export.

PureHub stays free, open source, ad-free, and privacy-first. QR data is not uploaded for scanning.

Try the signed beta

Download PureHub 1.0.0-beta.26, APKs and checksums.

I welcome practical feedback, especially device-specific scan reliability reports and unusual QR payloads.

Building privacy-first utility analytics without tracking every click

PureHub — Thu, 20 Aug 2026 16:50:47 +0000

Building privacy-first utility analytics without tracking every click

A useful utility app should know whether a workflow helped without turning every button press into a behavioural profile. In PureHub?s latest PWA update, we changed the measurement point from opening a tool to finishing a meaningful local result.

What counts as a result

A QR scan is useful when it gives you a result you can review, copy, open, save, or share. OCR is useful when text is extracted, saved to a local library, or exported to PDF. The same principle now applies to local file hashes and ZIPs, habit check-ins, encrypted vault backups, expense exports, sound-reading CSVs, and finished screen recordings.

Each tool emits a context-specific completion signal only after that outcome happens. A small success card can then offer helpfulness feedback or sharing. It does not appear simply because someone opened a tool.

Why this is better

Page opens tell us which routes were visited; they do not tell us whether the tool solved a problem. Meaningful completion data lets us identify where an interaction is confusing, while keeping the metric intentionally minimal. PureHub deduplicates a tool?s completion event per browser per day, and the tool payload never contains the scanned content, file contents, secret, image, financial entry, or other personal data.

QR and OCR got clearer next steps

QR Studio now focuses the post-result flow on safe actions: inspect the result before opening a link, then copy, save, share, or continue. OCR Studio adds an honest expectation for first use: language packs may need an initial download, while a typical ready-to-run page takes roughly 10?30 seconds. OCR can then move into a searchable PDF workflow without a cloud account.

This is a small product detail, but it makes the tool feel much less like a blank scanner and more like a complete private workflow.

Try the updated QR Studio or explore the full PureHub PWA.

Use breathing pace controls for a short offline reset

PureHub — Thu, 20 Aug 2026 12:02:35 +0000

Use breathing pace controls for a short offline reset

PureHub is a free, ad-free, open-source collection of 26 utility tools. This article shares a practical engineering lesson from the project rather than a product pitch.

What we changed

We focused on clearer mobile interaction, local-first behavior, and measurable loading or testing improvements.

What we learned

Small utility features become easier to trust when their limits and data behavior are visible.

Explore the implementation and share feedback: https://hub.blissbiovn.com/en/zen-breath?utm_source=devto&utm_campaign=community-foundation-30d-v1

Disclosure: this article was prepared with AI assistance and reviewed by the PureHub maintainer before publication.

PureHub 1.0.0-beta.22: clearer privacy controls and backup status

PureHub — Wed, 19 Aug 2026 15:06:28 +0000

PureHub 1.0.0-beta.22: clearer privacy controls and backup status

PureHub is an open-source collection of 26 utility tools for Android and the web. This beta focuses on making privacy behavior easier to inspect instead of adding silent background behavior.

What changed

A Permission Center explains Android permissions and opens system settings when you need to change one.
Encrypted backups now show the last verified export time and a short SHA-256 fingerprint.
Android feedback/reporting is easier to reach, with a reminder not to include private files, passwords, or API keys.
The Download and Settings experience now clearly distinguishes Android and PWA availability for all 26 tools.

The Android release is signed, ad-free, tracker-free, and checked to ensure the APK does not request Internet access.

Try the PWA or download the signed Android build: https://hub.blissbiovn.com/en/download?utm_source=devto&utm_campaign=beta22_release

Useful bug reports include the tool name, Android version, device model, and steps to reproduce the issue.

PureHub 1.0.0-beta.21: Deep Cleaner, Photo Privacy, and 26 Synced Tools

PureHub — Sat, 15 Aug 2026 18:06:24 +0000

PureHub 1.0.0-beta.21: Deep Cleaner, Photo Privacy, and 26 Synced Tools

PureHub 1.0.0-beta.21 is now available as a signed Android preview and production PWA update.

What changed

Deep Cleaner flagship: a clearer storage review and cleanup workflow across Android and the PWA.
Photo Privacy: now a separate tool that creates a share-ready image without copying GPS, camera, author, or EXIF metadata.
26-tool catalog: Android, PWA, localized SEO routes, and Command Center records are synchronized.
Aurora Phoenix splash: Android no longer shows the old letter-P launch graphic.
Private operations split: the public repository contains the app/PWA source, while operator automation is maintained separately.

Privacy and release verification

Both Android flavors pass unit tests and lint. Release automation verifies that every APK remains offline-only with no android.permission.INTERNET. The F-Droid flavor is also checked for prohibited Google Play Services, Firebase, or ML Kit runtime dependencies.

The release includes signed standard and F-Droid APKs, architecture-specific APKs, an AAB, SHA256 checksums, and GitHub build provenance.

Feedback from real devices is welcome through GitHub Issues or the PureHub Telegram community.

PureHub 1.0.0-beta.20: A New Signed Build for Community Testing

PureHub — Sat, 15 Aug 2026 15:07:31 +0000

PureHub 1.0.0-beta.20: A New Signed Build for Community Testing

We're excited to announce the release of PureHub 1.0.0-beta.20, a new signed Android build ready for community testing. PureHub is a collection of 25 free, no-ads, privacy-first, open-source utility tools — all in one app.

What's New in This Release

This beta includes the latest improvements and fixes. For a detailed list of changes, see the full changelog.

Download & Test

APK: Download PureHub-1.0.0-beta.20.apk
AAB: Download PureHub-1.0.0-beta.20.aab
SHA-256: 6163381df7485b073b6b185756b9db0d6a1602defcae4fe0c10bd454b524a803

Why PureHub?

Free forever – no hidden costs
No ads – clean, distraction-free experience
Privacy-first – your data stays on your device
Open source – transparent and community-driven

Call for Feedback

Your feedback is crucial for improving PureHub. Try the beta, report issues, and suggest features on our GitHub repository. Let's build a better utility app together!

PureHub beta.19: a better Bubble Level, honest install metrics, and offline builds

PureHub — Sat, 15 Aug 2026 13:04:11 +0000

PureHub beta.19: a better Bubble Level, honest install metrics, and offline builds

PureHub beta.19 continues our goal: 22 useful Android and web tools that are free, ad-free, privacy-first, and open source.

What changed

🫧 Bubble Level becomes a flagship tool

The level now includes Surface, Edge X, and Edge Y modes; adjustable tolerance; zero calibration; stable-position feedback; vibration; and clear accuracy guidance. Sensor readings stay on-device.

📊 Honest growth analytics

An APK download is not the same as an install. The dashboard now reports APK download clicks, accepted PWA installs, standalone PWA opens, and completed useful results separately.

🛡️ Standard and F-Droid-ready builds

The release includes signed per-ABI APKs plus a fully offline F-Droid flavor using ZXing and Tesseract without ML Kit, Play Services, Firebase, ads, analytics, or trackers.

🎬 Reproducible demos

Three new short demos for Bubble Level, QR safety, and OCR-to-searchable-PDF were generated from the current interface and scheduled on YouTube.

Try it

Feedback is welcome: which workflow should we improve next?

Engineering lesson: load OCR language data only when requested

PureHub — Sat, 15 Aug 2026 12:30:46 +0000

Engineering lesson: load OCR language data only when requested

PureHub is a free, ad-free, open-source collection of 22 utility tools. This article shares a practical engineering lesson from the project rather than a product pitch.

What we changed

We focused on clearer mobile interaction, local-first behavior, and measurable loading or testing improvements.

What we learned

Small utility features become easier to trust when their limits and data behavior are visible.

Explore the implementation and share feedback: https://hub.blissbiovn.com/en/tools?utm_source=devto&utm_campaign=community-foundation-30d-v1

Split a receipt after OCR instead of typing every line

PureHub — Sat, 15 Aug 2026 12:30:45 +0000

Splitting a Receipt After OCR: A Practical Workflow

Typing every line of a receipt is tedious. With PureHub's OCR, you can extract text and then split it into individual items. Here's a verifiable detail: the OCR supports English, Vietnamese, and Simplified Chinese packs loaded on demand, and it's part of the OCR + PDF Document Suite.

The workflow:

Capture or upload a receipt image.
Run OCR to get the text.
Split the text into items (e.g., by line or by amount).

Question for you: What's the trickiest part of splitting a receipt—handling tax, tips, or uneven splits? Let me know in the comments.

Try it: PureHub OCR

This article was written with AI assistance.

PureHub beta.18: encrypted backups and local receipt OCR

PureHub — Tue, 11 Aug 2026 16:20:09 +0000

PureHub beta.18: encrypted backups and local receipt OCR

PureHub is a free, no-ads, open-source collection of 22 everyday utility tools. Beta.18 focuses on making the finance and personal-data workflows more useful without sending private content to a server.

What changed

Encrypted backup and restore: Zen Habit and Expense Tracker can export password-protected .purehub backups and restore them later.
Receipt OCR: Expense Tracker and Bill Splitter can read a receipt locally, suggest merchant, total, tax, and line items, then ask the user to review the result.
Document workflow: QR Studio, OCR Studio, and Doc to PDF now form a clearer path from capture to searchable PDF.
Android choices: the release includes signed Standard APKs and a fully FOSS flavor using ZXing and Tesseract without ML Kit, Play Services, Firebase, ads, analytics, or trackers.
Cross-platform parity: the same core finance backup and receipt workflow is available in the PWA.

Why local processing matters

Receipts, habits, and expense history can contain sensitive information. PureHub keeps OCR and backup preparation on the device. The encrypted export uses AES-GCM with a password-derived key, while imported data is validated before merging.

Try it

If you test receipt OCR or encrypted restore, please share the device, browser or Android version, and an anonymized description of what worked or failed. That feedback will guide the next release.

AI-assisted development was used during implementation and verification; release decisions and testing were reviewed by the project maintainer.

From QR scan to searchable PDF: a practical PureHub workflow update

PureHub — Tue, 11 Aug 2026 15:02:31 +0000

A utility app should help someone finish a task, not merely open another screen. This PureHub update focuses on that principle across QR Studio, OCR Studio, Doc to PDF, Pomodoro, and Sensor Suite.

QR Studio: useful before a link opens

QR Studio can now batch-scan up to 20 images. For URLs, it explains concrete risk signals: plain HTTP, raw IP addresses, punycode, embedded credentials, unusual ports, and unusually long links. QR generation also checks foreground/background contrast and warns when a design may be difficult to scan.

OCR Studio to searchable PDF

OCR results now include per-page confidence. Pages and recognized text can move directly into Doc to PDF, where the exported document keeps the page image and adds a searchable text layer. This reduces copy-and-paste between tools and keeps the workflow local-first.

Focus and measurement tools

Pomodoro sessions survive reloads and can optionally send a completion notification. Sensor Suite now stores compass, level, and sound calibration, highlights suspicious magnetic jumps, and exports readings to CSV.

Honest product analytics

Repeat opens no longer inflate daily usage. PureHub now separates daily tool opens, installed-PWA opens, completed results, helpful votes, and shares. The Command Center can therefore prioritize workflows people actually finish.

SEO and sharing

Localized mini-app routes now ship prerendered title, description, canonical, and social metadata. Share actions create a branded 1200x630 result card instead of copying a generic link.

PureHub remains free, ad-free, open source, and privacy-first. Try the updated QR workflow and tell us which edge case still feels awkward:

https://hub.blissbiovn.com/en/qr-studio?utm_source=devto&utm_campaign=workflow-quality-2026-08-11

Source and implementation: https://github.com/shoyrulove-dev/PureHub/commit/c0f8c35

This article was prepared with AI assistance and reviewed against the implemented code and test results before publication.

PureHub beta.17: building an Android utility suite without Google runtime dependencies

PureHub — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 13:07:36 +0000

PureHub beta.17: building an Android utility suite without Google runtime dependencies

PureHub is a free, no-ads, open-source collection of 22 everyday utility mini-apps. Beta.17 introduces a separate Android build intended for people who want a fully FLOSS dependency graph.

What changed

QR Studio now scans with ZXing in both Android flavors.
The F-Droid flavor performs OCR locally with Tesseract.
English, Vietnamese, and Simplified Chinese OCR models are bundled for offline use.
The F-Droid runtime graph contains no ML Kit, Google Play Services, or Firebase.
The APK requests no INTERNET permission and includes no ads or tracking.
Signed per-ABI APKs are published; the F-Droid arm64 build is about 16 MB.

Why keep two builds?

The Standard build keeps ML Kit OCR because it currently provides stronger recognition quality for many real-world documents. The F-Droid build prioritizes a transparent, Google-independent runtime and fully offline processing. Users can choose the trade-off that fits them.

Verification

CI builds and lints both flavors, rejects prohibited Google dependencies from the F-Droid runtime graph, checks APK permissions, and publishes SHA-256 checksums. QR and OCR flows were also exercised on a physical Android device.

What comes next

The build is F-Droid-ready, not yet listed in the official repository. We will start with IzzyOnDroid feedback and then continue through the F-Droid review process.

Download the signed APKs, inspect the source, or report an issue:

https://github.com/shoyrulove-dev/PureHub/releases/tag/v1.0.0-beta.17

Feedback on OCR accuracy, QR camera behavior, and installation across Android devices is especially welcome.