Hello frenz...

A few months ago, I shared here that soon you’d be able to upload videos directly through the app. Of course, that’s no small feat — and we’re working closely with our friends at @threespeak to make it happen.

That said, yesterday our buddy @eddiespino had a lightbulb moment.

A Common Problem

It’s no secret that internet speed and availability vary wildly across the world. Most Hive users are on mobile, and many of them don’t have a strong or stable connection.

That makes uploading videos a real challenge. A one-minute video recorded on a phone can take hours to upload if all you’ve got is a spotty 3G signal.

The obvious solution? Compression.

Shrinking a video before uploading it makes perfect sense — but most encoders are complicated, sometimes not free, and when they are free, they’re often packed with annoying ads.

We figured it was time to do something about that.

Presenting: My Simple Encoder

Built as a Progressive Web App (PWA), my encoder lets you choose between three different compression levels before you upload your video. Everything happens locally — right on your phone — so you’re not uploading anything until you decide to.

The interface (I hope!) is simple and intuitive, but feedback is always welcome. As with all our projects, this one is open source and already live.

👉 Try it here: https://simpleencoder.vercel.app/

Since it’s a PWA, you can even install it on your phone in seconds for quick, offline access.

Give It a Try!

We’d love to hear what you think. We’re confident this will be super helpful for Hive users with slow connections — and for anyone who just wants to save a bit of storage on their device.

It works with all standard video formats too: MOV, MKV, MP4, AVI.

A Word of Caution

Encoding can use up battery life since it’s a bit of a workout for your phone — but then again, so does spending an hour uploading a big video file.

Think of this as another tool in your creative arsenal. Use it when you need to, and let it make your workflow a little smoother.

This Is a Gift 🎁

We’re not seeking funding for this tool — so no pearl clutching required.

This was built as a gift to the @threespeak community, and to all Hiveans who could use a little helping hand.

Much love, – Snapie 🐝