Open source means that the code of an app is open for anyone to look at and make their own projects out of the other one. They all usually come with a GPL license for use. GPL means that the code is yours and you can redistribute it in any way you want. This is great for coders, because you can use the code for anything. To create a minecraft clone, a simple app with more features clone, and other things.
Here are the benefits:
- Privacy
Privacy is really what we all care about. Open-source ensures that basically anyone can modify the code and remove trackers or ads, and have the service for free. This means that no one can make privacy-invasive apps open-source, because everyone will be able to know.
2. Less spying and mass surveillance
Mass spying is a big problem these days and almost everyone suffers from it. Open-source helps us verify spying code and eliminate it. This way we all have a private life.
3. Helps you and other people
The more code you write for the community, the more your app will develop and get bugfixes and extra features. Instead of supporting a company which is basically trying to spy on you as much as possible and get as much as data to sell as possible, you support people like you who care about privacy and spying. On most platforms such as GitHub, you can communicate and fix problems in your project.
4. A lot more.
There is a lot more things, but this is just a summary of what open-source is.