About Purplelink
Purplelink LLC is a one-person software studio building Mac apps, iOS apps and web tools for writing, privacy, disk space, travel and health. The mission is simple: make software that solves real problems and lasts, not software that ships fast and deteriorates.
Who makes this
I'm Benjamin Ampel, a researcher in cybersecurity, AI and information systems, based in Atlanta. I've spent a lot of time in LaTeX: writing manuscripts, watching compile errors scroll by, checking references by hand before a deadline. The apps that stuck, for me, were always the ones that solved a specific problem I had, for people I understood. Purplelink is where I build those.
My day job is assistant professor of computer information systems at Georgia State University's Robinson College of Business. My research is on AI for cybersecurity, published in venues including MIS Quarterly and the Journal of Management Information Systems. I hold a PhD from the University of Arizona, and my dissertation received the ACM SIGMIS Doctoral Dissertation Award. My research profile is on Google Scholar, Georgia State, and bampel.com.
It is a one-person studio, so the person who answers your email is the person who wrote the code. If something is broken or missing, write to ben@purplelink.llc.
Ben
What we build
ModernTex, Vitae, GlobePin and the web tools are shipping. Haea is in active development:
ModernTex
A native macOS LaTeX studio for academic researchers. Multi-file editing, synchronized PDF preview, BibTeX autocomplete, and submission-readiness checks built for the manuscript workflow. Shipping since September 2026, now at version 1.3; a free 7-day trial, then $19.99 once.
Vitae
A local-first Mac app for academics: submissions, grants, projects and your CV in one place. Free, with an optional Vitae Plus subscription from $2.99 a month.
Paper Review
A pre-submission read of your manuscript: four AI reviewers, a check of every reference against CrossRef, and a figure scan. From $9 with no account, and the manuscript is deleted within a day.
Free tools
LaTeX to PDF, BibTeX validation, citation generation, LaTeX diff and more, in your browser. Plus Scholar Utility Belt, a Chrome extension for Google Scholar with a free core.
Haea
An on-device iOS health analytics platform. Advanced ML models for recovery, circadian rhythm, and biological age, all running locally with no cloud sync.
GlobePin
An iOS travel tracking app for mapping everywhere you've been, every flight taken, and every destination on the list. 3D globe, stats, goals, and shareable postcards. Version 1.0 shipped in September 2026, free on the App Store with ads; a one-time Pro purchase removes them.
How we build
Native first
Every app is written in Swift for the Apple platform it belongs on. No cross-platform shortcuts. Fast, native, and coherent.
Privacy by design
Haea runs fully on-device. No cloud sync, no analytics SDKs, no data sold. Privacy isn't a policy. It's an architecture decision.
Craft over speed
Software that lasts takes more time to build. The tradeoff is worth it: apps people actually keep on their phones and open every day.
Small and focused
Purplelink is a one-person studio. Small means accountable: every line of code and every design decision has an owner.
Photography
Purplelink also sells Benjamin Ampel's travel and landscape photographs as canvas, framed, and fine art prints. The collection covers the Swiss Alps, Japan, Iceland, Germany, and the Arizona desert. Browse it on Fine Art America, or read how the collection is organized.
Contact
For inquiries, press, or general questions: ben@purplelink.llc