cross-posted from: https://lemmings.world/post/21143141
TL;DR: Loops is doomed because Daniel Supernault doesn’t actually want to develop it or release the source code properly.
I’ll try to provide evidence where I can, but a lot of evidence was destroyed via bans from the Discord, so I can’t retrieve my messages, and All I have are files I saved on my hard drive and mastodon links.
How I Got Involved I got into Loops because of the TikTok ban scare and wanted to help develop a non-corporate fediverse alternative to TikTok and YouTube Shorts. I signed up, made two accounts (wasn’t sure why I couldn’t log in), and got approved after two days.
Once I had an account, I downloaded the Android APK and joined the Discord. I introduced myself as someone who wanted to help and mentioned that I had tried (and failed) to make a Fediverse app before. I was interested in seeing where Loops would go. For about 12 days, I made videos for Loops, making sure there was consistent content so the platform didn’t go 10 minutes without something new. I also helped in Discord, answering questions about account activations and discussing how Loops could become a major part of the Fediverse (which, as of 2/16/2025, it still isn’t). I thought if Loops could launch before the next TikTok scare, it had a real shot.
I Start Asking Questions After 12 days of making content and being active in Discord, I was getting bored. I wanted to figure out why there weren’t any real developments. I knew Daniel had promised on Discord that Loops would be open-source “by the weekend” (this was 12 days ago). To me, that meant publishing the source code. So, I made a video calling him out (archived here: dalek.zone/w/jUUYe11xDvjz15ZRAxQuy7) and posted it on Discord. A few minutes later, Daniel deleted the link and removed the video from Loops. His only response was, “Misinformation is not appreciated”—with no further context.
To me, this reaction was suspicious. He didn’t explain why he hadn’t released the source code. He didn’t ignore it either, which I interpreted him as being guarded.
Getting Banned from the Discord After Daniel’s reaction, I started wondering if Loops was a waste of my time. Was anything actually happening? I tried decompiling the Android APK to see what was inside but couldn’t get it to recompile. I thought about forking the Loops GitHub with the decompiled source and posting it in GitHub as a fork—but I didn’t even need to. Instead, I asked why Loops wasn’t just a PeerTube instance, since PeerTube already worked on short formed video content with a tik Tok like interface. I even made another video about it: dalek.zone/w/fVW4GbW79bBpiyLrDGJBBa. The last thing that happened before my ban was me asking if anyone was actually doing work on Loops. Instead of answering, they flipped the question back on me. I replied, “Yes, I am decompiling the source code so we can do work.” after, Discord glitched, the Loops server disappeared, and I was locked out. My Loops account was also deleted. This made it clear: Daniel didn’t want me questioning loops or suggesting that PeerTube could do the job better.
Calling Him Out on Mastodon After my ban on discord, I did more research on Daniel and kept calling him out on Mastodon as a warning to others. Eventually, he did publish a “source code” for Loops. Just to spite him, I thanked Michael Downey (mastodon.social/@Cattail/113932221184535082) for pushing him to release it by asking him a question. But two hours later, I pointed out that the APK and the published source code didn’t match: (mastodon.social/@Cattail/113932308245134257).
Conclusion I’m glad I did what I did because it saved me from wasting more time on Loops. Instead, I built a bot that announces when Fediverse streamers go live on Mastodon, which actually helps the community. Daniel is asking for money that would be better spent on PeerTube development or maintaining existing Fediverse instances. Daniel is deceiving people, pretending Loops is making progress when it’s really just a rehash of Pixelfed. His Kickstarter has no deadline and only vague updates. If you still want to support him, that’s on you. I’ve seen enough.
Links & Receipts Official “source code”: github.com/joinloops/loops-app Loops development mention from 2020: mastodon.social/@pixelfed/104618452882003745?utm_source=perplexity Kickstarter: kickstarter.com/projects/pixelfed/pixelfed-foundation-2024-real-ethical-social-networks/comments
Links & Receipts Official “source code”: GitHub Loops development mention from 2020: Mastodon Kickstarter: Pixelfed Foundation 2024
I’m not sure. Are you basing all of this on one number in the version string? Or have you tried compiling the app, and see if it’s complete, works, and is roughly what’s pushed to the app stores? I mean all the Github repos are there. They contain a license. And whether you like the version number, or the exact development process, doesn’t really make it closed-source…
Apparently the login screen logo picture is different in the GitHub and APK. Also I did look at the decompile of the APK (ironically you can use WinRAR to decompile but I also used two other app) and the size is completely different sizes like the APK has way more folders. I’d have to look into it again to go through the differences but I’m pretty sure if you compiled the GitHub code you wouldn’t get loops apk
Yeah, it doesn’t work that way. You can’t use WinRar and for whatever imaginary reason you’re right… There’s only one way to find out: You need to install react-native, clone the repo and build the app. And then see how it actually runs and if actual features differ. One picture or word can be different. And unless you had a look at the code, you can’t tell whether that’s even the file that gets used. And you said the open source version number is different from the previously published one… Maybe there’s a reason why a picture is different…
Win rar actually worked and gave me pretty much all the pngs at the minimum. I’m sure installed native react but I couldn’t get it to recompile. Believe it or not I decided I was putting too much effort into decompiling and went the easier route a ask the discord why this isn’t a peertube base project and I figured out no one in that discord knew what was going on
Do you know what decompiling and compiling is? Apk files are just an archive format. You can extract the files of each apk file and it’ll give you the assets, (machine) code etc. But you need the proper framework to recompile it. Or even decompile it. And since you didn’t even try building it (which is far easier), I’d say you don’t even have the proper tools on your computer to properly look at the files or recompile them. I mean I don’t want to sound insulting or anything… But there are a gazillion technical reasons for assets like pictures to be not what you expected them to be. Filesizes or strings to differ… Proper and genuine technical reasons. And unless you have the technical knowledge to judge… You can’t immediately jump to conclusions and insult people…
I do know what decompiling is. I also know it’s a pain in the ass
Yeah, do it the other way round. Take the published code. Build it, run it and compare it to the version on the playstore. Otherwise you’d need to decompile it and that’s a PITA. But those are the two ways to find out what a software project actually does. Without any of that, it’s just a lot of unsubstantiated claims, and likely wrong in some way. Circumstantial evidence is often hard due to the complexity of software.
It’s not on the play store like loops isn’t even at that point and it’s being used as fundraiser talking point
I’d say the best course of action is, you and the Loops project just go seperate ways. Seems they (or the main/only dev) is/are annoyed with you, you are annoyed by them. And it’s not leading anywhere. On the contrary, it’s probably even keeping people from being productive and doing something else. I’d say just let it go, don’t write any more several page long articles or exposing videos and focus on something more productive. And keep away from their discord. It’s just bound to pull you in again.
There are a lot of different ways to package and publish an APK. If it’s done through the Google Play store, it almost definitely won’t look like a local debug or release build (Google does a lot of things to optimize for different devices).
The best way to check their work is to download the tools and try building it, and see if it’s functionally similar.
I could but I don’t need to confirm it that way. Apparently pixelfed is hostile to other instances and people have to register accounts via the flagship pixelfed instance. Also Dan got cancelled two weeks before I entered the discord for insulting a developer he hired for loops so circumstance. So it’s obvious to me it’s bs filler code that was meant to shut me up.
You could make me look stupid and compile the code on GitHub. I was too lazy to import and wait 3 minutes for Android studios to pop out an error code