👉 Join the waitlist: https://dozema-nkdq.vercel.app/en
What is Dozena?
A free, open-source platform that puts solo devs in the same room:
- 12 devs. Each one brings their own app.
- 14 days. Everyone tests everyone else's app in a synchronized round.
- Everyone meets the requirement. You give 12 testers, you get 12 testers.
No middleman. No paid testers. No stranger who disappears on day 3.
How it works
- Join the waitlist.
- When a round fills up, you're matched with other devs.
- You test their apps. They test yours.
- 14 days later, everyone has completed the cycle.
Honest limits
I'd rather tell you now than let you find out later:
- Dozena doesn't promise Google's approval. It helps you meet the testing requirement; the review is still Google's call.
- Dozena doesn't host your APK. Your app stays where it is.
- It's early. Right now I'm validating: I need 26 devs on the waitlist in ~10 days to run the first pilot (rounds of ~13 devs).
- Free, and licensed under AGPL-3.0. Read the code, break it.
Why I'm building this
Every solo dev I know has been stuck on this rule. It doesn't need a company
or a paid service. It needs 12 people willing to help each other.
Your turn
- 🧪 Join the waitlist if you have an app waiting to ship.
- 🔍 Tell me what's broken in this model. I read every comment.
- ⭐ Share it with one dev who's stuck on the 12/14 wall.
I'm 16, I'm just getting started, and this is the first version. 😉
Top comments (3)
Good idea, and the “honest limits” section is a nice touch. Since you asked what could break:
. Dropouts. The requirement is 12 testers opted in for 14 consecutive days. If one dev quits on day 9, everyone in that round falls to 11. Keeping one or two reserve testers per round, ready to join, would protect the whole group.
. Opted in isn’t the same as used. In my experience, keeping 12 people on the list is the easy part. Getting them to actually open the app and go through the main flow is much harder, and that’s what the production-access form asks you to describe.
. A small daily task per app (“today: complete onboarding and report one confusing screen”) plus a shared feedback form would give every dev real feedback to quote at the end, not just a counter.
Good luck with the pilot!
Thanks for catching that — dropouts are exactly the failure mode I worry about.
The round starts with 15 devs, giving each app 14 opted-in testers against the 12-tester minimum. Those 2 extra slots are buffers, not replacements: Google requires 12 testers to remain opted in for 14 consecutive days, so someone joining on day 9 can't save the current window. Replacement tooling is planned post-MVP, but recovery would take another 14 days. Your comment made me realize this math needs to be clearer on the landing page.
And you're right about opted-in ≠ engaged. The MVP already requires check-ins on 2 distinct days and 3 written feedback reports (80+ characters each), but I'm testing a more useful prompt: complete onboarding and report one confusing screen. Attendance isn't feedback.
If you're stuck behind the 12-testers-for-14-days rule, I'm looking for 20 more devs for the pilot: dozema-nkdq.vercel.app/en
Starting the round with 15 is a clean way to do it, and you’re right that a late joiner can’t rescue a window that’s already running. A small timeline on the landing page (day 1, day 14, what happens if someone leaves on day 9) would probably explain it faster than a paragraph.
On the reports: an 80-character minimum tends to produce filler. Asking for the screen name plus “what did you expect to happen?” gets shorter answers that are much easier to act on.