"Ah, yes! Let's get a free piano from the neighbor down the street who is moving and then we will use one of those online app's to give us lessons anytime we want at our own pace! I am such a genius sometimes."
No, you're not. (Sorry guys.)
First of all, "there is no such thing as a free lunch." Sound familiar?
Many free pianos have cracked sound boards and delaminated pin blocks which make it almost impossible for the piano to hold a tune. Many of them should go straight to "piano heaven" where they belong. Free pianos often need about an average of 5 pitch raises to get them back to A440, the piano concert pitch standard.
Many of these piano learning app's are fun, but hold on to your wallet. Having 5 pitch raises is going to cost over $700 at least!
Here's a better idea. Have an experienced piano technician inspect the piano that you really want to buy. Pay them for their time. Buy a used piano that has been well taken care of, maybe tuned every six months. Have the piano tuner tell you how the overall pitch is and if it is up to or close to A440.
Then have them tune the piano about a few days after it is delivered to your home.
Test the app while the piano tuner is present. It should work fine if your piano is close to A440.
Consider a keyboard workstation in addition to your acoustic piano. For those of you who fell off your chair after reading the above info, you may have realized that you promised everyone in the house that they could use the online app, but grandma's baby grand which we all love so much is almost a full step low.
You can pick up an inexpensive Casio or Yamaha keyboard which is always at A440 and use this as a workstation. Although piano keyboards do not give the student the finger-building skills or percussive strikes they need, they still can serve a purpose.
Turn on the app. Pick a song you like, "Eternal Flame" by Susanna Hoffs perhaps, then buy the sheet music for that song also.
Now learn the song on the keyboard slowly with the app. Faster and faster tempo every day. When you get it down, grab the sheet music and bring it to the acoustic piano (grandma's baby grand). Do not use the app, read the score like a real musician!
Now you will read the sheet music, but somehow you will be able to get through the song with ease.
There you have it! The natives are happy, the kids are happy, the dogs are smiling, the student is progressing, Mom and Dad are hugging and the world is now a better place.
