Gander, an Android file viewer that asks for no permissions

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Hi HN, I built an Android file viewer that opens PDF, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, images, video, audio, Markdown and code, and asks for no permissions at all. I have always been uneasy about opening files people send me. On Android you either install a 400 MB office suite and sign in or use a small free viewer that wants storage access and ends up uploading your file to a server to render it. Also the hassle of having to download different apps for different file formats was really annoying. Gander holds no permissions, not even INTERNET so the OS itself guarantees the file cannot leave the phone. PDFs use Pdfium, media uses Media3, and Office formats are rendered by bundled JS libraries in a WebView and so no request goes to any server. It is a viewer only. Complex PowerPoint decks come out approximately right, spreadsheet charts are not drawn, and old binary .doc and .ppt are unsupported. I'll work on it as issues come up :P It is 14 MB, MIT licensed and uploaded on Github releases. Do try it! I would love some feedback especially on files that render badly or need new support.

Visit product View on Hacker NewsJul 31, 2026

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Indie HackersFits the IH revenue-focused audience · Missing: supports, reddit linkedin, podcasting

81%81% predicted probability of success on Indie Hackers, based on ML models trained on real launch data.

best fitHighest predicted score across all platforms for this description.

Product HuntOn track for Day 1 leaderboard · Strong signals: apps, new, code · Missing: mac, agents, macos

56%56% predicted probability of success on Product Hunt, based on ML models trained on real launch data.

Hacker NewsStrong engagement from HN community · Strong signals: ide, io · Missing: https docs, excited, just released

52%52% predicted probability of success on Hacker News, based on ML models trained on real launch data.

nativeThis product was originally launched on this platform.

TrustMRRLess likely to generate early MRR · Strong signals: apps, video, way · Missing: mobile apps, ios, personal

43%43% predicted probability of success on TrustMRR, based on ML models trained on real launch data.

AppSumoMay struggle as an AppSumo deal · Missing: plus, platform, intuitive

34%34% predicted probability of success on AppSumo, based on ML models trained on real launch data.

Acquire.comPre-revenue stage for this audience · Missing: arr, mrr, revenue

17%17% predicted probability of success on Acquire.com, based on ML models trained on real launch data.

BetaListMay not resonate with beta-testers · Strong signals: audio · Missing: web3, chat, crypto

0%0% predicted probability of success on BetaList, based on ML models trained on real launch data.

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