Dev Journal
Dev Journal #4 — PWAs: The Right Idea, Misused
Every time I talk about Epheme, someone eventually says:
“Isn’t this just a PWA?”
And the answer is:
PWAs are close — but the industry used them wrong.
PWAs were supposed to be the web’s way of saying:
“You can build local-feeling software without turning everything into a SaaS.”
They gave us:
- installability
- offline capability
- local caching
- background sync
- device integration
- no mandatory accounts
- no forced cloud storage
On paper, PWAs are the perfect foundation for local-first, privacy-respecting software.
But that’s not how they were used.
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Where PWAs Went Off Track
Instead of becoming a way to escape SaaS, PWAs became a way to package SaaS.
Most PWAs today:
- still require accounts
- still phone home constantly
- still store everything on vendor servers
- still depend on cloud infrastructure
- still break when the company shuts down
- still track usage, behavior, and identity
- still lock users into subscriptions
The PWA became a wrapper, not a philosophy.
It’s the right tool, but pointed in the wrong direction.
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What PWAs Could Have Been
PWAs had the potential to bring back something we lost:
Software that runs locally, feels native, and doesn’t depend on a vendor to exist.
Imagine if PWAs had been used to build:
- local-first note apps
- local-first photo editors
- local-first journals
- local-first productivity tools
- local-first creative tools
- local-first utilities
All installable.
All offline.
All private.
All yours.
The browser could have become the new desktop — not the new cloud terminal.
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Where PWAs Fit Into Epheme
Epheme isn’t anti-PWA.
It’s anti-misuse.
PWAs are a good foundation because they give us:
- local execution
- local storage
- offline behavior
- ephemeral state
- no required identity
- no required backend
- no required analytics
- no required cloud
They’re the closest thing the modern web has to “ship a desktop app.”
But Epheme adds the missing layer:
A philosophy.
PWAs give you the mechanics.
Epheme gives you the constraints:
- No accounts
- No tracking
- No vendor lock-in
- No forced cloud storage
- No analytics
- No SaaS dependencies
- No “phone home” behavior
- No data leaving the user’s environment
A PWA can be SaaS.
A PWA can also be sovereign.
Epheme is about choosing the second path.
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The Real Opportunity
PWAs are not the solution.
They’re the starting point for a different kind of web:
- local-first
- ephemeral
- privacy-respecting
- sovereign
- user-owned
- simple
- durable
A web where apps behave like desktop software again — not like rented terminals.
PWAs gave us the tools.
Epheme is trying to give them a purpose.