About

Ben Dodson

I’m a UK-based freelance Apple app developer and consultant that has worked on hundreds of apps for iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, Apple Watch, and Vision Pro. I’ve been building for Apple platforms since the App Store launched in 2008 for high-profile brands as well as self-publishing a number of my own best selling apps. Hopefully on this page you’ll be able to learn more about me than you’d find in any resumé – If you have any questions, feel free to get in touch.

A sense of identity

I first started dealing with the web back in 1996 at a time when everybody was creating their own little space on the web to promote themselves and their hobbies. You could get everything from Terry Pratchett fan sites to computer game walkthroughs but crucially there was very little actual business. This, of course, quickly changed and the web went through a period of marketing hype before the inevitable burst of the "dot com" bubble. We then had the re-invention of the internet into "web 2.0" and I watched the focus of the web swing back again to the individuals that make it and again to creating a sense of identity; your own little niche on the information super highway. This time, rather than learning HTML and trying to decide if a <MARQUEE> tag is what you need to stand out, we instead witnessed the birth of the “lifestream”; a syndication of our identity on multiple social networks. Whilst I was very fond of this at the start it soon became overwhelming to "check in" for every interaction in my life.

Nowadays I spent very little time online. I do not maintain social media profiles, nor do I maintain a LinkedIn profile. I prefer to keep my portfolio, apps, writing, and contact details here rather than on a recruiter-driven social network.

Trivia

A few fun facts about myself:

I have sat as a Magistrate in Leicestershire and Rutland since 2018.
I spend far too much time and money playing board games (my favourite is Eclipse: Second Dawn for the Galaxy).
I was retained by Counsel as a Technical Expert for a high-profile class action lawsuit involving Apple in 2026.
I play the piano and organ, sing bass, and compose my own music, including an hour-long opera based on The Fall of Troy.
In 2016, Apple updated iOS 10 to require user permission to access the media library after I started a campaign to fix the privacy flaw.
I nearly became an Air Traffic Controller in the RAF.
I spent 9 months directing a production of Gilbert & Sullivan’s Iolanthe at the Northcott Theatre, with a run of 9 performances over 1 week.
I studied Politics & Philosophy at Exeter University, though I was originally meant to study Psychology.
On a project I did with friends at Hack Day London, Yahoo! rewrote their Maps API for us so we could pull more data. This was a big deal in 2007 😂
When I was around 7 years old, my dream job was to be a croupier.

Media

I have spoken at conferences and appeared on national television to comment on mobile apps, web development, freelancing, privacy, and remote work.

Working LunchThe BBC asked me to talk about error messages on e-commerce websites. I later provided quotes for news reports including one on online cashback schemes.
The Gadget ShowI built an app named Social Beacon for a Channel Five programme about iPhone app development. The app reached #4 in the charts.
Nonick 012 ConferenceMy social game WallaBee was voted the Best European Gaming Startup of 2012 after a presentation I gave in competition with other startups.

I have also been interviewed or quoted by:

If you are interested in interviewing me, asking me to speak, or hiring me for work on an Apple platform app, please get in touch.

Comments

I don’t accept comments on my weblog. If you want to respond to something I have written, either contact me or write on your own site and link to the relevant entry.