What Nomad does

Nomad is an indie app development portfolio operated by sole proprietor Brian Kennish under the RocketShip Apps brand, focused on consumer privacy, ad-blocking, and security tools distributed across iOS, Android, Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Opera. Founded in 2012, the portfolio historically included 17+ apps spanning ad blockers (AdblockFast, the flagship with 10M+ users), call blockers (Callblock, 50K+ users), browser privacy extensions (the Disconnect suite), tracking visualizations (Collusion), narrow VPNs for search (Disconnect Search), and ancillary utilities. The underlying technology is rule-based content filtering, VPN tunneling, and tracking-domain blocklist maintenance rather than machine learning.

The business model is dual-tracked: ongoing freemium app sales through the iOS App Store and Google Play for active products (AdblockFast, Callblock), supplemented by one-time licensing revenue from historical acquisitions. In 2017, Brian Kennish sold the entire Disconnect-branded product suite (Disconnect, Disconnect Kids, Collusion for Chrome, Disconnect Search, Facebook Disconnect, Google Disconnect, Twitter Disconnect, Privacy Icons, and FBME) to Disconnect.me in a single divestiture, while retiring six additional products. Currently, the portfolio maintains AdblockFast and Callblock as the only active monetizing products, with no disclosed institutional funding and a team size of approximately five. Go-to-market is purely product-led, relying on app store visibility, open-source presence on GitHub, and earned press coverage rather than sales or marketing infrastructure.

Name

Nomad

Legal name

Brian Kennish

Website

https://getnomad.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Nomad is an indie app development portfolio (sole proprietor Brian Kennish / RocketShip Apps) building consumer privacy, ad-blocking, and call-blocking tools distributed across major app stores and browser extension marketplaces.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Personnel

Revenue model

1. App Sales (Current): Revenue from currently active apps including AdblockFast and Callblock sold through iOS App Store and Google Play
2. App Acquisitions (Historical): Multiple privacy-focused apps (Disconnect, Disconnect Kids, Disconnect Search, Facebook Disconnect, Google Disconnect, Twitter Disconnect, Privacy Icons, Collusion for Chrome, FBME) were sold to Disconnect Inc., generating one-time acquisition revenue

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Nomad is the personal portfolio and brand for indie developer Brian Kennish, under which he ships privacy and ad-blocking software for mobile devices and web browsers. The active catalog is anchored by AdblockFast, a multi-platform ad blocker for iOS, Android, Chrome, and Opera with 10M+ users, and Callblock, an iOS app that blocks unwanted phone calls with 50K+ users. The portfolio historically also included a suite of Disconnect-branded privacy tools that were sold to Disconnect Inc.

Product overview

Nomad is an indie app developer portfolio consisting of privacy and productivity-focused mobile and browser applications. The core active products include AdblockFast (the world's fastest ad blocker available across iOS, Android, Chrome, and Opera with 10M+ users) and Callblock (ad blocking for unwanted calls on iOS with 50K+ users). The portfolio also includes multiple Disconnect-branded privacy tools (Disconnect, DisconnectKids, DisconnectSearch, FacebookDisconnect, GoogleDisconnect, TwitterDisconnect, PrivacyIcons, Collusion for Chrome, FBME) which have been sold, plus retired products including ARTool Belt (mixed-reality iOS app), Werd Derp (searchable word stickers), CostumeStickers, Image Search Keyboard, Hardened Paste, and Top (tech news aggregator). Many products are distributed as browser extensions (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Opera) and mobile apps (iOS, Android).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• AdblockFast: The world's fastest ad blocker with 10,000,000+ users, available on iOS, Android, Chrome, and Opera.
• Callblock
• Disconnect
• Disconnect Kids
• Top

Products and services

• AdblockFast The world's fastest ad blocker, distributed as a free and paid app on iOS, Android, Chrome, and Opera for individual consumers who want faster, ad-free browsing across devices. Has reached 10,000,000+ users.
• Callblock An iOS app that blocks unwanted phone calls by applying ad-blocking techniques to the phone call surface area, targeted at individual consumers. Has reached 50,000+ users.

Quantifiable outcome

• 10,000,000+ users for AdblockFast
• +3 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature8 records

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• AdGuard: Direct competitor offering ad-blocking, privacy protection, and parental control across iOS, Android, and desktop. Competes with AdblockFast on the same app store shelves and targets the same privacy-conscious consumer segment.
• 1Blocker: Premium iOS content blocker that competes head-to-head with AdblockFast in the Apple App Store. Same product category, same target buyer, same freemium distribution model.
• Adblock Plus (Eyeo): The largest standalone ad-blocker franchise, also distributed as browser extensions and mobile apps. Closest direct competitor to AdblockFast on performance and feature parity.
• Ghostery: Browser extension and mobile app for ad-blocking and tracker visualization—directly comparable to the legacy Collusion for Chrome and Disconnect products. Targets the same privacy-conscious users.
• Disconnect Inc. Acquired the Disconnect suite from Brian Kennish in 2017 and now operates the privacy tools (Disconnect, Disconnect Kids, Disconnect Search). Direct peer in the privacy-extension market and a known counterparty in the company's history.
• Wipr (Great Leap Software): Premium iOS and macOS content blocker competing directly with AdblockFast in the Apple App Store. Same target buyer and same product category, with a comparable paid-only freemium model.

Broad incumbents

• Brave: Privacy-focused browser with built-in ad/tracker blocking, a VPN product, and a search engine. Bundles the capabilities of AdblockFast, Disconnect Search, and the broader privacy suite into a single free product with a much larger team.
• NordVPN (Nord Security): Major consumer VPN and privacy bundle that competes with Disconnect Search's narrow-VPN premise. Larger scale, bundled offering, and consumer-mindshare leader in the privacy category.
• DuckDuckGo: Privacy-focused search and browser products that bundle tracker blocking and a VPN. Overlaps directly with Disconnect Search and the privacy-extension category where Nomad's products compete.
• Proton: Operates ProtonVPN, Proton Mail, and Proton Pass—a privacy suite that subsumes the narrow-VPN and tracker-protection capabilities Brian Kennish pioneered. A significantly better-capitalized competitor in the privacy category.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/topnotifier
• GitHubgithub.com/rocketshipapps
• YouTubeyoutube.com/watch?v=zvLKGxwmGxo
• Facebookfacebook.com/topnotifier
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/getnomad

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Nomad