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PlainApp is an open-source app that lets you securely manage your phone from a web browser. Access files, media, contacts, SMS, calls, and more through a simple, easy-to-use interface on your desktop.

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PlainApp

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.

Get it on Google Play Get it on F-Droid Get it on GitHub

Why PlainApp?

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

Features

🌐 Web-Based Phone Management

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

πŸ“± Built-in Android Tools

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

πŸ”’ Privacy & Security

  • 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

How PlainApp Compares

Feature PlainApp AirDroid KDE Connect AnExplorer Pushbullet
Open source βœ… ❌ βœ… βœ… ❌
100% local / no cloud required βœ… ⚠️ partial βœ… βœ… ❌
End-to-end encrypted (local) βœ… ⚠️ paid ❌ ❌ ❌
Ad-free βœ… ⚠️ paid βœ… ⚠️ paid ⚠️ paid
Free all features βœ… ⚠️ freemium βœ… ⚠️ freemium ⚠️ freemium
Web browser access (no desktop app needed) βœ… βœ… ❌ ❌ βœ…
File manager (browser UI) βœ… βœ… ⚠️ limited βœ… ❌
SMS from desktop βœ… βœ… βœ… ❌ βœ…
Screen mirroring βœ… βœ… βœ… ❌ ❌
Media streaming in browser βœ… ⚠️ limited ❌ ❌ ❌
Notification mirroring βœ… βœ… βœ… ❌ βœ…
Built-in RSS reader βœ… ❌ ❌ ❌ ❌
Markdown notes βœ… ❌ ❌ ❌ ❌
P2P chat & file sharing βœ… ⚠️ paid ❌ ❌ ⚠️ limited
TV casting (DLNA/Chromecast) βœ… βœ… ❌ ❌ ❌
PWA support βœ… ❌ ❌ ❌ ❌
No account required βœ… ❌ βœ… βœ… ❌

βœ… Fully supported Β  ⚠️ Partially supported or requires paid plan Β  ❌ Not supported

Donations ❀️

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!

Screenshots

Android App

files home music player chat
audio images videos rss

Web Dashboard

home images
videos notes
files calls
messages contacts
audio rss
encryption screen mirror
image viewer video player
chat

Compatibility

PlainApp requires Android 9.0 or higher.

FAQ

http://docs.plain.icu/faq.html

Support

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 don’t leave a one-star review without giving it a fair try.

Build

  1. Generate release.jks file under $rootProject/app folder.
keytool -genkey -v -keystore ./app/release.jks -keyalg RSA -keysize 2048 -validity 10000 -alias plain
  1. Create keystore.properties file with following content under $rootProject folder.
storePassword=
keyPassword=
keyAlias=plain
storeFile=release.jks

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PlainApp is an open-source app that lets you securely manage your phone from a web browser. Access files, media, contacts, SMS, calls, and more through a simple, easy-to-use interface on your desktop.

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