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Finally installed F-Droid

Since simple mobile tools will soon become a spyware and I use 3 of their apps regularly, yesterday I installed F-Droid after reading many Lemmy recommendations.

Wow, I’m pleasantly surprised.

A new app I’ve tested is Spotube (Spotify open source alternative; edit: apparently it uses Spotify metadata but it streams from YouTube. My bad.).

Any other underrated app y’all recommend?

brax ,

The version of t-ui (Linux Command Line Launcher) is way better on there than it is in Google Play

9488fcea02a9 ,

I moved a lot of my foss apps over to f-droid. But i’m a little worried about security.

The odds of a bad actor being able to takeover f-droid and update my keepass app with a malicious version seems a lot higher than someone being able to do the same google play, right?

Knusper ,

This F-Droid-like model (also popularly implemented by Linux distributions) is usually considered an improvement in security.

The thing with FOSS is that ideally you don’t have to trust the developer at all.
In theory, you could read the entire source code and compile it yourself. Then you’d know for sure that no malware is included.

Obviously, in practice, you can only hope that some nerds dig into the source code and notify journalists of malware-like behaviour.
It is no perfect protection. But it is the only tangible protection that FOSS actually delivers.

What does not protect you, is to trust each individual developer. They could publish innocous source code and then build the release binaries from a version with the malware-like behaviour patched in.

But because you likely don’t want to compile each app yourself, you might still feel compelled to entrust that work to a third party. This is where the F-Droid team comes in. Rather than trusting each developer, you just have to trust a single team.

Well, and if an app is built in a reproducible build, then even the work from the F-Droid team can be verified.

9488fcea02a9 ,

I trust the debian repo because fortune 500 companies run debian and rely on it

F-droid repo doesnt have the same level of scrutiny

Knusper ,

Yeah, that is a valid opinion to hold. I am saying that trust is garbage.

You could consider compiling the KeePass app yourself, if you’re worried about that one in particular.
A guy I used to study with, decided that he just wouldn’t have a password manager on his phone.
I’ve certainly considered switching to a Linux phone for that, among many other reasons…

DeltaTangoLima ,
@DeltaTangoLima@reddrefuge.com avatar

You consider using Obtainium instead? It installs (and updates) directly from source release (Github repo, etc). That puts you directly in control of everything then.

neonred , (edited )

Foxy Droid: alternative F-Droid-Client but with the classic and for me much more accessible UI of the old F-Droid-Client. Uses the exact same repos. Can be downloaded using the normal F-Droid-Client, which then can be uninstalled

neonred ,

I’ve just seen Droid-ify is a fork or at least pretty similar to Foxy Droid, so I’d recommend that, too

Moneo ,

A new app I’ve tested is Spotube (Spotify open source alternative).

This is super misleading. Spotube isn’t a Spotify alternative, it uses Spotify metadata and streams the audio from youtube.

GutsBerserk OP ,

Edited. Thanks for the correction.

Moneo ,

Thank you! They advertise it pretty confusingly, I didn’t figure it out until I saw a reddit post explaining.

ammonium , (edited )

Really? How does it do that? Not everything on Spotify is on YT is it.

Edit: github.com/KRTirtho/spotube/issues/835

Hmm, I think this is a bit deceiving from the developer. I have premium but just want an Android client which doesn’t force podcasts on me :(

winter ,

AntennaPod for podcasts KeepassDX for a password manager LibreTorrent

And remember to donate the developers :)

RatzChatsubo ,

Are there any alternative repos I’m missing out on guys? I just took everyones advice and started using f-droid lite. Noticed you can add repos so I’m curious

cupcakezealot ,
@cupcakezealot@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

get neostore too (front end for f droid)

shrugal , (edited )

Droid-ify: Same functionality as F-Droid, same repos etc, but with a much nicer UI.

Xtra: Alternative client for Twitch with support for blocking ads.

LibreTube: Native Android client for the alternative YT frontend Piped.

uis ,
@uis@lemmy.world avatar

Newpipe, OMaps, Jerboa, VLC, zxing/barcode reader.

Newpipe also acts as a client of peertube and soundcloud.

RTRedreovic ,

Can you elucidate more on «Simple mobile tools will soon become a spyware.» I use a few of their apps available on F-Droid.

For Spotify, you can try ViMusic.

sunnie ,
@sunnie@sopuli.xyz avatar

github.com/SimpleMobileTools/…/241

RTRedreovic ,

Thanks. That appears to be quite an unfortunate turn of events. I just deleted and replaced the apps w/ alternatives I already have in my personal list.

illi ,

Any recommendation on alternative for notes? Preferably something where I can import backup from Simple Notes?

RTRedreovic ,

I am not sure if it supports importing from Simple Notes specifically but I use Notesnook. Needs an account however.

Scrollone ,

There’s a new maintainer, search for FossifyX on GitHub. They plan to keep supporting the open-source versions of all the Simple Mobile Tools apps.

lascapi ,
@lascapi@jlai.lu avatar

Looks bad for privacy… 😞

Endorkend ,
@Endorkend@kbin.social avatar

An Israeli firm bought them.

1984 ,
@1984@lemmy.today avatar

Newpipe!

Matth78 ,
@Matth78@lemmy.world avatar

Agree with all suggestions. I didn’t see any image viewer so my recommendation for that is to use Aves.

Pantherina ,

Aaand now uninstall it again and try F-Droid Basic. Its the version of F-Droid using modern libraries, which is way more secure. Featurewise that means modern apps have automatic updates

Annoying but thats why I always recommend to install that APK instead. You can just install it from F-Droid.

I tried all other F-Droid clients and they all have some bugs. G-Droid is discontinued but had an awesome rating system, Neostore has cool features but seemed buggy, Droid-ify is just fancy and has many repos preinstalled (but deactivated).

The lack of 3rd party repos being already in the menu with just a click away is the only problem with the official clients.

DeltaTangoLima ,
@DeltaTangoLima@reddrefuge.com avatar

I switched to Obtainium some time back, and ended up uninstalling all F-droid clients altogether.

Pantherina ,

Yeah no way. I found it nearly unusable, and many great apps are only on F-Droid

DeltaTangoLima , (edited )
@DeltaTangoLima@reddrefuge.com avatar

Lol - I found it far from unusable, but no worries. Obtainium also supports F-droid apps, so I get the best of both worlds.

burgersc12 , (edited )

Obtainium - update manager for FOSS

Droid-ify - a nice and simple F-Droid frontend

Seeker - SoulSeek downloads music

ViMusic/BlackHole/InnerTune - Youtube Music

Antennapod - for podcasts

Florisboard - a keyboard, great for basic use (no predictive text/autocorrect) and has swipe function

Breezy Weather

Material Files

OpenCalc

Acode - text editor

Bitwarden - password manager

Librera - pdf/ebook reader

Kvaesisto - Launcher thats similar to Niagara, but FOSS

Mull - a privacy centric browser

K-9 mail

Read You - RSS reader

Simple Notes - not related to Simple Mobile Tools btw

Newpipe x sponsorblock - youtube but less annoying

Lemuroid - almost any emulator you would want (except GameCube and Wii, use Dolphin)

Tachiyomi - Read manga

AL-chan - keep track of watched anime/manga with AniList

Showly - keep track of movies and shows with Trakt

superduperenigma ,

Is Florisboard still being developed? Hasn’t been updated in 18 months according to F-Droid. Some buttons generate a TODO pop-up when pressed and the predictive text still uses placeholder values.

burgersc12 ,

There is development being done still on suggestions. Last i heard is there would be news once thats completed

DeltaTangoLima ,
@DeltaTangoLima@reddrefuge.com avatar

Yeah - this is the feature we’re all waiting for.

Salix ,

github.com/florisboard/florisboard/…/2314

mulcahey ,

Do I need Droid-ify, Obtaniun, and F-Droid Basic? Feels like there’s a lot of overlap there, no?

burgersc12 ,

If you want them, but you don’t need but one of them. I like Obtainium the most as it updates from Github and F-droid, but i find Droid-ify makes it easy to search for new apps so i like to have it. I never liked F-droid Basic, but i would pick between that and Droid-ify for the best looking front end

x2XS2L0U ,

Some of them are not underrated, but I’d just share my favorites…

  • AntennaPod for podcasts.
  • Aurora Store if you need some Google apps to be updated.
  • Binary Eye is a nice and slim qr code scanner and generator.
  • CriticalMaps is a good tool if you’re into critical mass events.
  • GadgetBridge can be a companion app for your smartwatch (if you have the right one).
  • GPS logger just logs your position in an interval you can set. I use it to track my movement in 30min bits.
  • GymRoutines is a privacy friendly gym exercise app with a database of your progress.
  • K9 mail (soon to be rebranded as Thunderbird mobile) is a powerful mail app.
  • KeePassDX is an android password manager compatible with keepass files.
  • LibreTorrent is a nice way to torrent your favorite linux distros while on the go.
  • Location Map Viewer I use with the gpx files I get from GPS logger to visualize my movements.
  • mpv just plays a lot of media without being a bloated thing like vlc. I use mpv for videos, vlc for music.
  • NewPipeSponsorblock is available in a custom repo only.
  • Ning is a nice way to get an overview over a local network.
  • OpenTracks can be used in combination with GadgetBridge to record your sports with gps.
  • OSMand gives you a frontend for using openstreetmap with offline maps, navigation and more.
  • PDF Doc Scan is my way to digitalize important letters as a pdf on the go.
  • StreetComplete is a gamificated way to fill in missing things in openstreetmap. it’s fun.
  • Syncthing-Fork (important to use the fork) is a file sync tool I use to backup a lot of my phones folders to a pc.
  • Tusky is my favorite way to browse mastodon.
  • VLC is a powerful media player (I then use only to shuffle through my mp3s).
alphacyberranger ,
@alphacyberranger@lemmy.world avatar

Thanks for this list.

Chicagoz ,

Interesting list. Antennapod is an excellent podcast app - use it every day. I’ve never found VLC to be bloated though. And am curious about the SyncThing fork vs. regular SyncThing.

otter ,

This is such a great list, saving and installing a few!

Adding on (and likely seconding a few):

  • 2048: game
  • Aegis: for 2Fa stuff
  • AntennaPod: second this one
  • AnkiDroid: Flashcards, the Anki project is huge and extends way past android. Worth exploring if you want/need to memorize things
  • Droid-ify: Fdroid client I use, but I keep the main app installed too
  • Eat Poop You Cat: game to be played in a group
  • Feeder: for RSS
  • FFShare: for compressing photos/videos before sharing
  • FlorisBoard: The keybaord I liked, although I don’t use it full time
  • GPTAssist: Frontend for chatGPT
  • Material Files: File manager
  • Native Alpha: Have websites run like apps, while isolating each site
  • OpenFoodFacts: A bit buggy, but it’s similar to OSM but for food
  • RetroStack: Another game
  • SDMaid SE: Same dev from the popular playstore one, is rebuilding a better one from scratch, AND it’s now FOSS
  • SkyMap:
  • Survival manual
  • Termux
  • Translate You
  • UntrackMe: To redirect Tiktok/Twitter/Pinterest/etc. links to the frontends
  • URLCheck: Highly recommend getting this one to clean trackers from links
  • Unitto: Calculator of choice. I explored a bunch before settling on this one

For OSM specifically, I second the ones mentioned. Here are some other OSM related things: lemmy.ca/post/6586265

otter ,

Formatting, please 😅

LarryTheMatador ,

deleted_by_author

    •
    helenslunch ,
    @helenslunch@feddit.nl avatar

    The only apps that work on iOS are from the Apple Store.

    Nunya ,

    Thanks for the recommendations, especially URLCheck. I already had FDroid and have been trying to figure out an easy way to clean tracking URLs.

    otter ,

    Glad to help! It works really nicely

    BenGFHC ,

    Why is it important to use the fork of syncthing?

    BearOfaTime ,

    I use it because it moves a lot of settings into the sync jobs.

    So now I can set individual sync jobs to only run on my home wifi and ac power, and other sync jobs (like my photos) to sync over any network and any power state.

    DeltaTangoLima ,
    @DeltaTangoLima@reddrefuge.com avatar

    The dev said a couple of weeks ago that they’re planning on closing their Google Play Developer account, so using the fork means you’ll be able to keep up with new releases from that point.

    LarryTheMatador ,

    deleted_by_author

    •
    csfirecracker ,

    Yes. These are all android apps from the f-droid app store

    toothpaste_sandwich ,

    I do love OSMand, it is easily the app I have used and depended on the most in the past ten-ish years.

    sabreW4K3 ,
    @sabreW4K3@lemmy.tf avatar

    I didn’t know about the SyncThing Fork.

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