{"slug": "loupe", "name": "Loupe", "category": "dev-libs", "category_name": "Libraries and frameworks", "description": "", "recommenders": 3, "commenters": 6, "warners": 0, "score": 3.621, "rising": 0.35, "first": "2026-05-06", "latest": "2026-09-17", "why": "works quite well for small-to-medium single-instance apps", "why_is_quote": true, "has_verdict": false, "sentiment": {"recommend": 3, "neutral": 3, "compare": 0, "warn": 0}, "spark": [0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1, 1, 0, 1, 0, 0], "listed": true, "loved": [], "caveat": "", "short_quote": "works quite well for small-to-medium single-instance apps", "kind": "", "icon": true, "domain": null, "github_repo": "github.com/mysk-research/loupe", "official_url": "https://github.com/mysk-research/loupe", "pricing": "", "aliases": ["Loupe"], "verdict": null, "praise": [{"label": "", "summary": "", "quotes": [{"id": 791890400, "item_id": 49493150, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49493150", "by": "clemiclemen", "date": "2026-08-29", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "You can check this opensource iOS app", "excerpt": "Actually there are a lot of information that an app can do by default without asking for any permissions. You can check this opensource iOS app: https://github.com/mysk-research/loupe For instance: check if some apps are installed or not, and a lot of small informations about your device that can fingerprint your phone with 100% accuracy (like the exact time where the phone was setup).", "context": "", "use_case": "Auditing iOS app data access", "switched_from": "", "story": "\u201cIt works better in the app\u201d"}, {"id": 777853328, "item_id": 48615833, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48615833", "by": "coffeecoders", "date": "2026-06-20", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "This is excellent.", "excerpt": "This is excellent. Seeing this makes me appreciate how much visual awareness tools like this are needed. I built something similar, for the web. https://neberej.github.io/exposedbydefault/ Github: https://github.com/neberej/exposedbydefault", "context": "", "use_case": "showing what native apps can see", "switched_from": "", "story": "Loupe \u2013 A iOS app that raises awareness about what native apps can see"}, {"id": 768696976, "item_id": 48043561, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48043561", "by": "francislavoie", "date": "2026-05-06", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "works quite well for small-to-medium single-instance apps", "excerpt": "We've been using https://github.com/loupe-php/loupe, works quite well for small-to-medium single-instance apps.", "context": "", "use_case": "full-text search", "switched_from": "", "story": "Show HN: PHP-fts \u2013 Full-text search engine in pure PHP, no extensions"}]}], "caveats": [], "who": [], "tags": [], "use_cases": ["viewing photos", "auditing ios app data access", "showing app data exposure", "showing what native apps can see", "full-text search"], "compared": [], "makers": [], "threads": [{"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48608645", "title": "Loupe \u2013 A iOS app that raises awareness about what native apps can see", "mentions": 2}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49738710", "title": "Introducing GNOME 51, \"A Coru\u00f1a\"", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49477600", "title": "\u201cIt works better in the app\u201d", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48869989", "title": "Your 'App' Could Have Been a Webpage (so I fixed it for you)", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48041316", "title": "Show HN: PHP-fts \u2013 Full-text search engine in pure PHP, no extensions", "mentions": 1}], "sentiment_by_month": {"2025-11": {}, "2025-12": {}, "2026-01": {}, "2026-02": {}, "2026-03": {}, "2026-04": {}, "2026-05": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-06": {"recommend": 1, "neutral": 1}, "2026-07": {"neutral": 1}, "2026-08": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-09": {"neutral": 1}, "2026-10": {}}, "quotes": [{"id": 795913728, "item_id": 49744608, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49744608", "by": "samtheDamned", "date": "2026-09-17", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I was just wishing the photos app (apparently named Loupe) would show more info from the image metadata", "excerpt": "I was just wishing the photos app (apparently named Loupe) would show more info from the image metadata regarding the camera I used to take it. Wonderful timing on GNOME's part here.", "context": "", "use_case": "viewing photos", "switched_from": "", "story": "Introducing GNOME 51, \"A Coru\u00f1a\""}, {"id": 791890400, "item_id": 49493150, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49493150", "by": "clemiclemen", "date": "2026-08-29", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "You can check this opensource iOS app", "excerpt": "Actually there are a lot of information that an app can do by default without asking for any permissions. You can check this opensource iOS app: https://github.com/mysk-research/loupe For instance: check if some apps are installed or not, and a lot of small informations about your device that can fingerprint your phone with 100% accuracy (like the exact time where the phone was setup).", "context": "", "use_case": "Auditing iOS app data access", "switched_from": "", "story": "\u201cIt works better in the app\u201d"}, {"id": 782532672, "item_id": 48908292, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48908292", "by": "Barbing", "date": "2026-07-14", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "https://apps.apple.com/us/app/loupe-what-apps-can-see/id6766152470", "excerpt": "What marketer could turn this down? https://apps.apple.com/us/app/loupe-what-apps-can-see/id6766152470 Seconds since last reformat, number of times clipboard was used since last reformat, seconds since last reboot, dozens of other apps installed on the phone\u2026 On Apple devices, so much is leaked to developers, and they will use it. Loupe HN thread: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48608645", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Your 'App' Could Have Been a Webpage (so I fixed it for you)"}, {"id": 777868768, "item_id": 48616798, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48616798", "by": "nomilk", "date": "2026-06-21", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "Loupe itself can see if you have tinder/bumble/hinge installed", "excerpt": "Loupe itself can see if you have tinder/bumble/hinge installed (verify for yourself: install tinder, then install loupe, don't give it any permissions, and it can tell if you have tinder installed or not). So the answer is: buy the data from any app your partner has installed! Or more easily, a data aggregator which will have already combined data from hundreds/thousands of apps. So your partner only needs to have ha", "context": "", "use_case": "Showing app data exposure", "switched_from": "", "story": "Loupe \u2013 A iOS app that raises awareness about what native apps can see"}, {"id": 777853328, "item_id": 48615833, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48615833", "by": "coffeecoders", "date": "2026-06-20", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "This is excellent.", "excerpt": "This is excellent. Seeing this makes me appreciate how much visual awareness tools like this are needed. I built something similar, for the web. https://neberej.github.io/exposedbydefault/ Github: https://github.com/neberej/exposedbydefault", "context": "", "use_case": "showing what native apps can see", "switched_from": "", "story": "Loupe \u2013 A iOS app that raises awareness about what native apps can see"}, {"id": 768696976, "item_id": 48043561, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48043561", "by": "francislavoie", "date": "2026-05-06", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "works quite well for small-to-medium single-instance apps", "excerpt": "We've been using https://github.com/loupe-php/loupe, works quite well for small-to-medium single-instance apps.", "context": "", "use_case": "full-text search", "switched_from": "", "story": "Show HN: PHP-fts \u2013 Full-text search engine in pure PHP, no extensions"}]}