PlainApp is a free, open-source Android app that turns your phone into a self-hosted management hub you can access from any web browser on the same network β no accounts, no cloud, no subscriptions. Whether you need to transfer files, read SMS, browse photos, or mirror your screen, PlainApp puts full control back in your hands.
Most phone-management tools either route your data through their own servers, lock features behind subscriptions, or plague you with ads. PlainApp is different:
- 100% local β your data never leaves your network
- End-to-end encrypted β every connection is secured with TLS + XChaCha20-Poly1305
- Completely free and ad-free β no purchases, no upsells, ever
- Fully open-source β audit the code, build your own binary, or contribute
Open a browser on any desktop or laptop connected to the same Wi-Fi network and get a full dashboard to manage your Android device β no app installation required on the computer side. Supports PWA so you can pin it to your desktop like a native app.
| Category | What you can do |
|---|---|
| Files | Browse internal storage, SD card, and USB drives; upload, download, rename, delete |
| Media | View and manage photos, videos, and audio; stream them directly in the browser |
| Contacts | View, search, and manage your contacts |
| SMS & Calls | Read messages and call logs; send SMS from your desktop |
| Apps | List installed apps and export APKs |
| Notifications | Mirror phone notifications to the browser in real time |
| Screen Mirror | Live-stream the phone screen to the browser with audio and remote control support |
| Device Info | Check battery, storage, network, and system details |
PlainApp is also a capable standalone app β not just a server:
- Markdown Notes β write and organize notes with a clean editor
- RSS Reader β follow your favorite websites with a distraction-free reader
- Video & Audio Player β full-featured media player with playlist support
- TV Cast β cast media to any DLNA/Chromecast-compatible TV
- Peer-to-Peer Chat & File Sharing β share files and messages directly between devices without a server
- Pomodoro Timer β stay focused with a built-in work timer
- Sound Meter β measure ambient noise levels in real time
- No Firebase Analytics or Messaging β crash reporting (via Firebase Crashlytics) is optional and opt-in
- Zero data sent to any third-party server
- All traffic between phone and browser is encrypted (TLS + XChaCha20-Poly1305)
- No account registration required
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjRhC8pSQ6Q
Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/plainapp
Discord: https://discord.gg/RQWcS6DEEe
QQ Group: 812409393
| Feature | PlainApp | AirDroid | KDE Connect | AnExplorer | Pushbullet |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open source | β | β | β | β | β |
| 100% local / no cloud required | β | β | β | β | |
| End-to-end encrypted (local) | β | β | β | β | |
| Ad-free | β | β | |||
| Free all features | β | β | |||
| Web browser access (no desktop app needed) | β | β | β | β | β |
| File manager (browser UI) | β | β | β | β | |
| SMS from desktop | β | β | β | β | β |
| Screen mirroring | β | β | β | β | β |
| Media streaming in browser | β | β | β | β | |
| Notification mirroring | β | β | β | β | β |
| Built-in RSS reader | β | β | β | β | β |
| Markdown notes | β | β | β | β | β |
| P2P chat & file sharing | β | β | β | ||
| TV casting (DLNA/Chromecast) | β | β | β | β | β |
| PWA support | β | β | β | β | β |
| No account required | β | β | β | β | β |
β Fully supported Β
β οΈ Partially supported or requires paid plan Β β Not supported
This project needs you! If you would like to support this project's further development, the creator of this project or the continuous maintenance of this project, feel free to donate.
Your donation is highly appreciated. Thank you!
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Use WeChat to scan the code
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PlainApp requires Android 9.0 or higher.
http://docs.plain.icu/faq.html
PlainApp is fully open-source.
If you have any doubts, you're free to review the code, build your own version, or simply choose not to use it.
If you run into issues, feel free to open a GitHub issue β I'm always happy to help.
Please donβt leave a one-star review without giving it a fair try.
- Generate
release.jksfile under$rootProject/appfolder.
keytool -genkey -v -keystore ./app/release.jks -keyalg RSA -keysize 2048 -validity 10000 -alias plain- Create
keystore.propertiesfile with following content under$rootProjectfolder.
storePassword=
keyPassword=
keyAlias=plain
storeFile=release.jks


























