> they all seem to be hell bent on keeping users actively engaged instead of actually helping them hit their goals That's a fundamental tendency for any profit

> they all seem to be hell bent on keeping users actively engaged instead of actually helping them hit their goals That's a fundamental tendency for any profit-driven business: The more they keep you using it, the more money they make. To avoid that tendency, you'd need to make the app open-source and figure out alternative ways of funding its development (donations and/or grants).