Open-Source Software Is Already Running Your TV, Router, And Car
If you've been following tech news, you've probably heard a lot about open-source software lately, from vulnerabilities in PHP to people ditching Windows 11 for Linux. What you might not know is that you don't have to be running a self-hosted website or a Linux PC to actually be using open-source software. All you have to do is turn on a smart TV, start the ignition on a car, or connect your phone to Wi-Fi. Even just using a smartphone is usually an open-source-based experience.
For example, the Tizen operating system on Samsung TVs is technically a Linux distribution, as promoted by the Linux Foundation, and so is Roku OS on Roku TVs. Other smart TV operating systems, like Fire OS for Amazon Fire TVs, are just modified versions of Android, which is itself based on open-source code. So is, as you might guess, Android Automotive OS, which you can find in the head units of many cars.
The router that's probably connecting you to the internet right now is also making use of open-source software, as you'll learn by visiting TP-Link's GPL Code Center. There, you can actually download the open-source GPL-licensed code TP-Link uses on its routers and other networking equipment.
There's More Open-Source If You Just Look Around
Open-source software is all over, even when you're using proprietary software. In an audit of commercial codebases, Black Duck found that 98% of companies were using open-source software in their code in 2025. That's actually up by one percentage point from the year before, so it appears open-source is proliferating more than ever. You're almost certainly relying on open-source code by using just about any tech you bought off of Amazon, or by working in your employer's proprietary in-house software.
That goes for services you're probably using in the background, too. If you open the Spotify app and find in its settings the Third-party Licenses page, you'll see a message of appreciation for open-source by Spotify that reads, "Several fantastic pieces of free and open-source software have really helped get Spotify to where it is today." It then credits a swath of well-known open-source projects like flac, libogg, and, on the desktop app, OpenSSL and curl. It demonstrates Xkcd's famous "Dependency" comic very well.
You can also find tons of 100% open-source apps that don't involve any proprietary code available in software stores. Google Play Store offers many open-source Android apps worth your time. If you're in the Apple camp, you also have your pick of handy open-source apps for Mac.