About
The name
Under feudal law, you held land from a lord, and the lord could take it back. Udal land (Old Norse óðal) was owned outright, with no lord above it.
Our take: most technology today works the feudal way, like a rented room. We work the udal way: your devices and data are your own.
Why we started
Most technology is offered as a pair: Windows or macOS, Android or iPhone, Chrome or Safari. Whichever you pick, your data goes to their cloud and they set the terms.
There are options that already work, such as Linux on computers and GrapheneOS on phones. They don't get advertised, and switching looks harder than it is.
What we're building
Linux and GrapheneOS already do their job well. Udal is an ecosystem that makes apps and games simpler, with a tunnelling agent for the ones that need to reach other people.
How we build
These are the terms we hold ourselves to, so that what runs on your devices stays yours.
Local-first
Everything runs on your device first. The apps work offline, your data stays where you put it, and the network is only used when you ask for it.
No hidden behaviour
There are no ads, no telemetry, no cloud sync you didn't switch on, and no profiling. Your data stays on your device unless you decide to move it.
Built the Linux way
Like Linux, the software is yours to run and configure as you see fit.
True privacy
“True privacy is simple: what's yours stays yours, because you can encrypt it yourself before anyone else ever gets to see it.”