# FAQ

<details>

<summary>Is BitBanana really for free?</summary>

Absolutely! All fees paid within the app are Bitcoin network fees. BitBanana does not receive a single satoshi.

</details>

<details>

<summary>How is BitBanana financed?</summary>

BitBanana is mostly a one-person effort. There’s no funding behind it and no business model in place. I work on it in my free time because I personally want this kind of app to exist.\
If you’d like to support it, feel free to [donate](https://bitbanana.app/donate).\
\
I’d also like to express my gratitude to [GitBook](https://www.gitbook.com/) and [Weblate](https://weblate.org/) for generously supporting the project with their free services.

</details>

<details>

<summary>What is the difference to Zeus?</summary>

[Zeus](https://zeusln.com/) is probably the closest alternative to BitBanana. It’s a great app built by a different team, and the two share many features, though each has its own unique strengths. BitBanana emphasizes user experience and focuses on remote controlling a node, while Zeus tends to move faster in adopting new features, includes an embedded node and offers integrated paid services to simplify node management.\
\
[Here](/about/faq/bitbanana-vs-zeus.md) is a detailed comparison.

</details>

<details>

<summary>Will there be iOS support?</summary>

No. BitBanana is built natively for Android. Creating an iOS version would mean starting from scratch. Moreover BitBanana embraces openness and user sovereignty — values that iOS, with its walled-garden approach, doesn't support well.

</details>

<details>

<summary>Will BitBanana support a local node on the device itself?</summary>

Most likely not — at least for now.\
Running a local node comes with significant drawbacks. If those challenges are eventually solved in a practical way, we’ll gladly revisit the idea. For the time being, our focus remains on providing robust remote node control.

Here are the key reasons why local node support isn’t planned at the moment:

* Local nodes are frequently offline and unable to route transactions which ties up liquidity on routing nodes. A Lightning Network filled with passive, offline nodes isn’t the future we believe in. To keep the network vibrant and efficient, we focus on enabling users to run reliable, always-on routing nodes — and making that as easy as possible.
* More complex backups
* Migrating to a new phone becomes difficult
* If the phone is lost or stolen, all channels will be closed during restore process
* Channel management still remains too complex for most users (What's the use of a local node if it is still to complex for beginners? Experts can and should run a dedicate node anyway)
* Larger app size
* Higher bandwidth requirements (node must stay synced)
* Increased energy consumption
* More ongoing maintenance
* It takes time to implement
* BitBanana risks losing its core focus

</details>

<details>

<summary>Why isn’t BitBanana more popular?</summary>

I’m terrible at self-promotion — no social media strategy, no conference appearances. I try to let the work speak for itself.\
But if you think BitBanana deserves more attention, go ahead and make some noise — I’d really appreciate it!

</details>


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