Our conversation with MacPaw’s Senior Software Engineer Serhii Popov and Product Manager Pavlo Haidamak continues to explore the intersection of product development, ethical data practices, and user trust. The team shares their experience building CleanMyMac and Setapp, emphasizing the importance of transparency, responsible data handling, and thoughtful feature design—like their decision to bring back the Space Lens module after unexpected user outcry. With real-world examples, they unpack how customer feedback and cultural perspectives inform their work, and why they believe developers should treat users as collaborators—not data sources.

This edition of MacVoices is supported by Notion, the best AI tool for work. Check it out at notion.com/macvoices.

Show Notes:

Chapters:

00:08 Introduction to Developer Perspectives
14:02 Insights from Setapp Developers
23:30 Gathering Customer Feedback
31:18 Treating Customers as Team Members
36:51 Wrapping Up and Final Thoughts

Links:

MacPaw Discord Server:
https://discord.gg/eN4dX2RRkN

Guests:

Pavlo Haidamak is a Product Manager at MacPaw, currently leading the team behind CleanMyMac. With a background in Computer Science, Pavlo began his career as a QA engineer and has since managed acclaimed products such as Gemini 2, Setapp, and SpyBuster. As a CODA (Child of Deaf Adults), he is dedicated to driving innovation and making apps smarter and more accessible.

Outside of technology, Pavlo is an avid painter and analogue photography enthusiast, with a particular love for Polaroid cameras. In his free time, he enjoys baking bread, vibe coding and spending time with his tiny chihuahua, Loretta. You can connect with him here: www.linkedin.com/in/haidamak

Serhi Popovi is a Senior Software Engineer at MacPaw with more than 7 years of experience developing world-class multi-platform apps.

An expert in Swift, Swift Multiplatform, MarketplaceKit, Accessibility and other technologies, he's worked on several projects like Setapp, Setapp software development kit, and Spark Email. As the engineering lead of Setapp Mobile, Serhii has lead his team to develop one of the first successful alternative marketplaces for iOS, all while contributing to the Apple developer community through conference presentations, advocacy, and education.You can connect with him here: