Recalcitrant Muse Software
Small software. Strong opinions about where your data belongs.
Who we are
In 2026, Privacy is under attack from every side. There is nothing that a user can trust except that money will do what money has always done. The not-so-old-saying goes: “If you aren’t paying for it, you’re the product.”
That’s disgusting.
It’s also the state of the internet and many of the connected ecosystems that make up today’s software landscape. It’s how we move through the world. Not the “Online World” because that isn’t real. There is only the world. We live in it. And we’re starting to resist.
Why we do this
There is very little one can do in this time without access to a smartphone. Even having a kid in a public school assumes that you can install an app for communications with teachers or coaches. Go to a restaurant? There’s a sticker with a QR code on the table so you can pull the menu from their website.
These ubiquitous experiences compound one another to the point where someone who says, “You don’t have to have a smartphone, ya know!” is disingenuous at best.
Every time we open an app, we are generating data for someone else. Every transaction leaves a fingerprint. Some of us have had enough.
For those of us who are walking away from “free” services and to something cleaner like Nextcloud, we have some software.
Why “Recalcitrant”?
The word means stubbornly resistant to authority or control. We think that’s the right posture when it comes to your personal data. The assumption that your notes, your photos, your contacts, and your calendar naturally belong on a large company’s server (and by extention that you should be grateful for the convenience) is one we refuse to accept.
Software can be excellent and still leave your data where it belongs: with you.
How we work
We’re a really, really, really small team. We make descisions quickly. We roll out features when they need to be rolled out. There’s no VC money breathing down our necks and there’s never going to be an IPO. This is an experiement. It’s scratching an itch. That’s it. Keyboards, computers, tapping…that’s how we do this.
Contact
For support, questions, or feedback: support@recalcitrantmuse.com