Why apps are text, not code

An OpenBuddies app is two text files: one says what it is, the other tells the buddy how to help. There’s never any code. That’s what makes it safe to add an app that someone else wrote.

• An app can’t run anything on your computer.
• An app can’t add tools. It can only ask for features OpenBuddies already has, like reminders or pictures.
• An app can’t change the rules. OpenBuddies’ own instructions sit above the app’s, and the checks in How a message is handled run whatever the app says. Homework answers stay hidden, worrying messages still alert you, and help levels and allowances still apply.
• You read it first. You see every word before adding it, and the copy installed is exactly the one you read (OpenBuddies checks its fingerprint).
• It starts switched off. Nobody gets a new app until you choose who does.

flowchart TD
  F(["You find an app"]) --> R("You read every word")
  R --> A{{"Unchanged?"}}
  A -- yes --> I("Added, but off")
  A -- no --> X("Not added")
  I --> O("You choose who gets it")
  class X quiet

This also means anyone can write an app: a parent, a teacher, or a child with a good idea. See Write your first app.