Make it truly yours
Data ownership, exportability, vendor lock-in, and exits: make sure you actually control the app you built, and can leave a tool if you need to.
Get started: Start the ownership audit · Score your lock-in
In plain English
Owning an app is more than logging in. It means controlling your code, data, domain, accounts, and billing, and being able to move if a tool changes. This hub helps you check and strengthen all of that.
Who this is for
- Builders unsure whether they truly control their app
- People worried about being locked into one tool
- Anyone whose app is central to their business or livelihood
When to use this hub
- Before you depend more heavily on one platform
- When a tool changes pricing or terms
- When you are deciding whether to stay or move
What owning your app really means
Real ownership has five parts: your code, your data, your domain, your accounts, and your billing. If any of those sits only with a tool or a contractor, you are more exposed than you think.
You do not have to leave your tools. The goal is to know where you stand and keep an exit within reach, so you are choosing to stay rather than being stuck.
Guides in this hub
- Do You Actually Own Your App? — the audit
- Export Your Data and Code From a No-Code Platform
- 7 Ways You Lock Yourself Into a Tool
- Own Your Bubble App: Export, Back Up, Exit — a worked example
- Vendor Lock-In, Explained
- Migrate Off a Tool Without Downtime
Where to go next
Score your lock-in
See how hard it would be to leave your platform.
Run the ownership audit
Confirm you control code, data, domain, and accounts.
Tools & landscape
Weigh tools on exportability and portability.
Find out where you stand
Score your lock-in, then keep your data exports current so you always have a way out.
Score your lock-in · Read the reading map
Own FAQ
How do I know if I really own my app?
Check five things: your code, data, domain, accounts, and billing. If each is in your control and exportable, you own it. The ownership audit walks through each.
What is vendor lock-in?
How hard it would be to leave a tool. Some lock-in is a fair trade for convenience; the risk is not choosing it on purpose or having no exit.
Can I get my data out of a no-code tool?
Usually yes, in some form, though completeness varies. The export guide covers what is typically exportable and the common gotchas.
Should I try to leave my platform?
Not necessarily. The goal is to keep an exit within reach, not to move for its own sake. Migrate only when there is a real reason.
What is the cheapest ownership win?
Owning your domain and keeping current data backups. Both are low effort and dramatically reduce your risk.
Kodbe is an independent publication about maintaining and owning software you built with AI or no-code tools. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to Kodbe Inc (the Albany, GA educational nonprofit), Kodobe, Kodable, or Kodu.