Tool for indie foundries: Finding where your fonts are being used on the web

Lars Schwarz

Hi all,

I've been building a tool for independent type designers — a way to see where your fonts are being used across the public web — and I'd like to share what I'm aiming at and hear whether it lines up with what you'd actually find useful.

A few principles that have shaped the direction, informed by the recent FontRadar thread and conversations with designers I've worked with in the past:

You keep the customer relationship. The tool never contacts anyone on your behalf. No emails signed in your name, no legal letters, no outreach campaigns you didn't approve. A license inquiry is a conversation with a potential customer — you're the right person to have it.

Discovery first, enforcement if you want it. Most of what gets found won't be infringement. It'll be real uses of your work — for your portfolio, case studies, social posts, or just the quiet pleasure of knowing. Licensing gaps are one signal among many, not the whole product.

No font uploads, no customer database required. The tool identifies your fonts from what's already on the public web — including subsetted and renamed versions. You never hand over your catalog or your sales data. If you want to cross-reference against legitimate customers, you do that locally.

Flat monthly pricing. A predictable fee covers detection and the dashboard. If you use the tool to sell a license to an infringing site, I take a small processing fee on that transaction only. No contingency cuts on recovered revenue, no percentage of settlements you handled yourself, no contracts that penalize you for growing.

Honest coverage. I'm actively crawling a large pool of domains, prioritizing sites with real traffic, and expanding coverage as the project grows. I find a lot. I don't find everything. I'd rather tell you upfront if your library looks like it sits mostly outside my reach than take your money on a bet that doesn't work out.

I'd rather talk to the people who'd actually use something like this than keep building in isolation. If any of this resonates — or if there's something obvious I'm underestimating — I'd value hearing from you.

Happy to talk privately as well if you'd rather.

Lars

John Hudson

This sounds very similar to Font Monitor. Are you aware of that project, Lars? Do you think your tool will offer significant differences/benefits?