Hobnob is built and maintained by a single developer. There is no team, no company, no investors. Just someone who wanted a meeting tool that respects privacy and decided to build it.
Every feature, every bug fix, every release is done by one pair of hands. This means updates come steadily but not on a corporate schedule. It also means there is no support team, no sales department, and no one collecting your data.
Apple requires a paid developer account ($99/year) to notarize and sign macOS apps. Hobnob does not have one. This means macOS will flag the app as unidentified the first time you open it.
The app is safe. It runs entirely on your machine with no network calls after the initial model download. The source is available for audit to anyone who asks.
The first time you open Hobnob, macOS will block it. Here is how to allow it:
Double-click the app. You will see a message: "Hobnob cannot be opened because it is from an unidentified developer." Click Cancel.
Go to System Settings → Privacy & Security.
Near the bottom of the Privacy & Security pane, you will see a message: "Hobnob was blocked to protect your Mac."
Click the Open Anyway button. You may be asked to enter your password.
Double-click the app again. This time macOS will show an Open button. Click it and Hobnob will launch.
You only need to do this once. After the first launch, Hobnob will open normally.