Mathew Brown

Jargon Is in Closed Beta on Google Play

26 July 2026 • 2 min read
android google-play open-source hacker-culture jargon-file
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Jargon, my fully offline Android reader for the Jargon File, is now in closed beta on Google Play.

Before I can make it generally available through the Play Store, I need people to install it, use it, and help me make sure it works well beyond my own devices. If browsing through more than 2,300 entries from hacker culture sounds like your kind of thing, I would appreciate your help.

What Jargon does

Jargon puts the entire Jargon File on your Android device. You can browse entries alphabetically, search terms and definitions, follow cross-references, save favorites, or use “Surprise me” to open a random entry.

Everything works offline. The app asks for no permissions and has no accounts, ads, analytics, or network access. The dictionary ships inside the app, and nothing leaves your device.

How to join the beta

Because this is a closed Google Play test, joining takes two steps. Be sure to use the same Google account for the tester group and the Google Play Store.

  1. Join the Jargon Testers Google Group ([email protected]).
  2. Join the beta using either of these links:

Once you have opted in, install Jargon from Google Play and spend a little time browsing. Try a search, follow a few cross-references, save a favorite, and ask the app to surprise you.

What I would like to know

Please tell me about anything you notice. A few questions are especially helpful:

You can send feedback to [email protected]. Even a short note saying which phone you used and that everything worked is useful.

Jargon is free and open source, and the source is available on GitHub. This beta is the next step toward making it available to everyone on Google Play.

Thank you for helping me test it.

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