Alright boys, I've been converted to the light side and have installed F-Droid. Now what?

Basically title. I waited on installing F droid for a long time because my phone threw many scary warnings when I tried a long time ago. But now I have it, and I got some fossify apps, but since there is no “Editor’s Picks” on F- droid I dont really know where to go from here.

What apps do you recommend I install first to remove my dependence on closed ecosystems?

What is my vulnerability surface ie, which sort of apps should I watch out for?

Are there any bad faith companies in the open source sphere?

John,

My first step is always to add the Molly and Bitwarden repos.

Tangent5280,

Hi, quick question. I already have some apps installed via play store, thats also available on F-Droid. Is there any advantage to uninstalling them, and installing them back, from F-Droid?

John,

Some Fdroid Version may have less trackers or replace Google Services(Signal-FOSS/Molly or Telegram for example use a own push service)

Zerush, (edited )
@Zerush@lemmy.ml avatar

Most privacy tools from the PlayStore are light versions “decaffeinated” by Google. Google hate all apps which avoid his control. Recommended app for Android is InviZible Pro (FOSS)

https://file.coffee/u/idR4rTiumCbcyy1GkkZHV.png

peregus, (edited )

I’ve never heard about this app, it seems interesting. What does

Access to Restricted Content: Unblocks blocked websites.

means?

RovingFox,
@RovingFox@infosec.pub avatar

Wait until you find out about Obtainium.

Unmapped,

I’m loving obtainium. I just found it about 2 weeks ago and, I’ve been slowly switching everything I had installed with f droid over to obtainium. Only problem so far was one didn’t have apk releases. Only a .zip. There is already a issue on github about it and I expect obtainium will be able to handle that in the near future. It has be getting updated a lot lately. Plus version 1.0.0 just released.

RovingFox,
@RovingFox@infosec.pub avatar

Yeah, I did the same when I found it. For some apps I still left the fdroid version, but they update with obtainium.

PlutoniumAcid,
@PlutoniumAcid@lemmy.world avatar

Well…?

Tangent5280,

Im thinking its another app storefront, similar to f droid?

alkheemist,

Obtainium lets you install FOSS programs directly from the developers source. You can get updates from the github/gitlab of app developers before they get uploaded to F-droid.

crashoverride,

How do I use it? I downloaded it but I don’t see the apps on it

alkheemist,

You have to add them manually, either by url or with the built in search. For example, you can add newpipe by searching sources and checking github as a source to search. It will then show you repos that match newpipe, which usually is the regular newpipe repo and then a bunch of forks of it.

Obtainium isn’t for finding FOSS apps, it’s for installing them. To find them, you can check out existing repos such as f-droid or izzy, or you can ask around. This post has a bunch of recommendations in the replies

uuhhhhmmmm,

Important note: app developers don’t publish their apps on the official F-Droid repository. Other people (maintainers) download source code and compiling these apps. Therefore, updates are delayed by a week. You cannot update the app from other source because F-Droid version signed by a different key, so you must reinstall the app, deleting all the data.

I started using Obtainium to get updates directly from GitHub. It also has support for F-Droid and many other sources. I use F-Droid website mostly to discover apps.

Tangent5280,

Oh wait so its going to be lesser hassle the sooner I move to Obtainium?

uuhhhhmmmm,

Depends on whether you’re going to install apps from the official F-Droid repository or not. Third party F-droid repos (like IzzyOnDroid) are not affected by this.

Suppose you have some app (a hypothetical Lemmy app) installed from the official F-Droid repo. You logged in an account, changed some settings. Then the developer announces an update: new features, bug and security fixes. It is published on GitHub and Google Play. F-Droid version will come after a few days, when the maintainer builds the app from source and publishes that update.

You may don’t want to wait till update comes to F-droid. But you can’t install it from GitHub or Google Play, because it is signed by a different key. You’ll have to reinstall the app, which will erase your settings and require logging in again.

This is the hassle you probably may encounter in the future. If you want to avoid it, install official packages from the developers (from GitHub or Google Play). Obtainium can check for updates on GitHub, official and third-party F-Droid repos, and more.

Tangent5280,

Thanks for the detailed answer. It seems prudent to install from Obtainium.

LoveSausage, (edited )

For some it’s a trust issue since they F-droid is a middleman however with reproducible builds I don’t have that worry. Feels like a good thing to have the code verified twice. I have obtainium as well but had issues with some beta apps I wanted to use like organic maps. Obtainium only works if it is the way it’s setup. Organic maps did not follow obtainiums way

Also to use obtainium you actually need to know the app exist, I have a lot of stuff from F-droid I would not have found without it

Disonantezko, (edited )

If your new, just install and use Droidify (is a lot faster than F-droid).

Now I use:

  • Obtanium 4 things that aren’t in F-droid or prefer faster update (like Newpipe).
uuhhhhmmmm,

Isn’t FFUpdater redundant when you can just put browsers’ repository links in Obtainium?

Disonantezko, (edited )

Your right, now I did remove FFUpdater, I’ve got Mull updated adding DivestOS Official repo to Droidify (included, but you need to enable), and Cromite from GitHub.

Because Mull from default repo is 1 version and 2 weeks behind.

nameisnotimportant,
@nameisnotimportant@lemmy.ml avatar

I feel very dumb but I just installed it and I don’t get the logic: do I have to enter every app into Obtainium to make it happen or is there some kind of auto discovery / import that I can use?

uuhhhhmmmm,

It supports importing apps from the URL list, but not from installed yet.

nameisnotimportant,
@nameisnotimportant@lemmy.ml avatar

Thanks for your answer that’s what I was afraid of, that’s too much of a chore to hunt for every source and put it in the app, I’ll pass for now and keep getting (more or less) delayed updates as usual

hiramfromthechi,
@hiramfromthechi@lemmy.world avatar

I use Obtanium too, but I can’t figure out how to install apps that are hosted on GitLab.

What do you have to change in Obtanium?

Here’s Mull, for example: gitlab.com/divested-mobile/mull-fenix

mea_rah, (edited )

That specific repository has no releases so it won’t work AFAIK. You need a repository with releases, that have apk attached. (Typically the developer would set up a CI workflow to build and attach apk for every release)

Edit: For example AuroraStore has releases with apks. So you can just enter gitlab repo for AuroraStore into Obtainium and it will install it and keep it updated.

hiramfromthechi,
@hiramfromthechi@lemmy.world avatar

Any benefit over just downloading the APK directly without managing it through Obtanium? I ask cause I’m guessing that for Mull, since there are no releases on its GitLab repo, it’ll just have to be downloaded directly.

mea_rah,

Obtainium will check regularly for new versions and update automatically. So that’s definitely a benefit if you’d like to keep the apps updated.

As for Mull, you could add its f-droid link into Obtainium if you’d like to have all updates via a single app.

d3Xt3r,

have installed F-Droid

You should check out Droid-ify! It’s a much more friendlier alternative to F-Droid, and also has more applications by default (gets some apps directly from Github).

Some of my favorite apps:

  • mpv (Lightweight media player, better than VLC)
  • NewPipe (ad-free YouTube / Peertube client)
  • Open Camera (Camera app)
  • SD Maid SE (Junk file/cache cleaner)
  • Unexpected Keyboard
  • WiFiAnalyzer (WiFi scanner, troubleshooter)
fine_sandy_bottom,

I much prefer obtainium

denshirenji,
@denshirenji@lemmy.world avatar

What I have installed:

From Obtanium:

  • Most Fossify Apps
  • Nextcloud
  • Material Files
  • Immich
  • DAVx & ICSx (nextcloud contacts and calendar sync)
  • DNS66
  • Jellyfin
  • Spotube

From FDroid (really droidify from various repositories)

  • FUTO Voice Input
  • Breezy Weather
  • K-9
  • Libera Reader
  • FFUpdater
  • Joplin

The list is massive and I’m on mobile and hate tiny keyboards. I can finish the list later if you/y’all are interested. The only thing that I actively use that is not FOSS on my phone is Google Messages, which I guess is a bit hypocritical, but its too good. Just the ability to react to messages makes it worth it for me.

I also highly recommend Grayjay. It is the best (IMHO) YouTube replacement. It is cross service, like I have odysee, nebula, youtube, and various peertube instances added as sources.

As far as what apps to watch out for, someone mentioned Simple Mobile Tools. Otherwise, I would stay away from apps that are not being updated anymore or are otherwise way too old.

Tangent5280,

How well would you say Libera Reader works? Do you have experience using it?

denshirenji,
@denshirenji@lemmy.world avatar

It works perfectly well. I find the ui bit clunky personally, but functionally it works very well. I don’t have much time to read anymore though, so I rarely use it to be honest.

Adda,
@Adda@lemmy.ml avatar

Librera Reader is the best reader I have had the honour to try. I have been using Librera Reader for several years now, and I think it is safe to say I love the app. It is actively maintained, and new features are added continuously. There are plenty of settings to allow you to modify the user experience exactly to your liking. If you are considering reading any e-books or PDFs on your Android devices, give Librera Reader a try. It is a fantastic app.

Tangent5280,

I read a lot, and currently I read with calibre on my pc since I can highlight and export them directly so I can include them in my notes. I’d like it if I could run the calibre server and be able to higlight on my phone, and sync it over to my pc automatically.

Lemongrab, (edited )
@Lemongrab@lemmy.one avatar

I have some things to add.

Most of the released fossify apps are on fdroid.

From f-droid I recommended:

Binary eye (QR and bar codes)

Fennec or Mull (Firefox without telemetry, Mull for privacy/security)

K-9 mail (email client, Thunderbird mobile)

Aurora store (google appstore without need for play services)

Innertune (better YT music)

OpenNoteScanner (scan paper docs to digitize)

Droidify (fdroid but more feature rich and user friendly)

Tangent5280,

How does OpenNoteScanner compare to the Microsoft Lens app?

Lemongrab,
@Lemongrab@lemmy.one avatar

Much less features. Does the job with simple orientation correction and post process filters for clearer text. Serviceable but incomparably.

mea_rah,

I feel so sorry for recommending a closed source app in this community, but Genius Scan from Grizzly Labs is the only non-oss app I still use. I think I paid around €30 for the enterprise version so it doesn’t bother me with cloud nonsense.

It’s all local only (if you want) and the scanning quality is the best I’ve found. (I used OpenNoteScanner for a few months, sadly it’s not even close both in terms of quality and convenience)

I figured I’ll mention it as an alternative to MS Lens app that likely sucks in every bit of information it can get its hands on.

denshirenji,
@denshirenji@lemmy.world avatar

Thank you for recommending Innertune. Checking it out now.

KpntAutismus, (edited )

i use:

  • aves (gallery app)
  • organic maps
  • jellyfin
  • openboard
  • symphony (music player)
  • syncthing
  • nclientV2 (te best way to read 6-digit codes)
  • fair email (easily the best e-mail app i’ve ever used)

also youtube revanced (not entirely open source or available on f-droid, but the best way to watch youtube without ads for my use case)

SnokenKeekaGuard,
@SnokenKeekaGuard@lemmy.dbzer0.com avatar

Yeah i’ve tried libretube and newpipe, also newpipe sponsorblock but returned to revanced

JoyfulCodingGuy, (edited )
@JoyfulCodingGuy@lemmy.ml avatar

My problem with Symphony and other music apps like Auxio is that they don’t work with audiobooks and file types like m4b. Simple Music Player worked for me when playing all my audio files but now I am waiting for the Fossify version to be published.

merde,

now install Droid-ify from Fdroid and you can uninstall Fdroid 😁

once you’re on Droid-ify enable repos from Izzy, divestOs, newpipe, cromite, &c

ruplicant,
@ruplicant@sh.itjust.works avatar

isn’t Izzy’s full of closed source stuff?

sag,

Nope, They only add apps for which source code is available and don’t have any trackers

merde,

is it?

any sources?

Chewy7324,

Droidify auto updates were hit and miss for me, compared to flawless F-Droid Basic unattended background updates.

halm,
@halm@leminal.space avatar

Yeah, you can enable those repos in plain f-droid, too.

What is the draw of droidify other than (I think) using material design?

lemmyvore, (edited )

You mean Foxy Droid.

Gooey0210,

They meant neo store

floofloof,

Alright boys

Do we still do that reddit thing here where we assume everyone is male?

sag,

I think girls don’t really care or they do? Because I use ‘bro’ talking or texting to a girl.

merde,

for the downVoters

why defend defaultism or sexism? It may sound harmless to you, you may be used to it, but “alright boys” is exclusive and not, like some need to claim, a default greeting.

older women don’t care, they’re used to men being dickheads, but not being recognized hurts girls

alright girls, (that by default means you boys🤯) you can downVote this comment to hell now

Gooey0210,

Since when “boys” means only males 🫤

Montagge,
@Montagge@kbin.earth avatar

Since English became a language and started using the word boys

merde, (edited )

if boy already meant what it still does in proto-Germanic, the response would be: since at least 2500 years ago

but you’re write, watt r words butt gubblede gook. your all ways rite

Duamerthrax,
  1. That’s not a reddit thing.
  2. Just except that many idioms and job descriptions that use to be gendered will become gender neutral.
Tangent5280,

No assumption of gender, I was just going for the “Fuck it, we ball” rhetoric. I’m sorry if I made you feel excluded.

uuhhhhmmmm,

Your comment is a Twitter thing

mke, (edited )

What apps you install depends on your needs and preferences. It might help others if you include those in any future requests for suggestions.

I suggest not worrying too much about “removing your dependence on closed ecosystems” immediately. Just do as you did before, changing apps as you find better alternatives—only, this time, considering the advantages of FOSS. Simply by giving F-droid apps a chance before opening (I assume) the Play Store, you’re already doing better than the vast majority of people.

Regarding discoverability and security, I believe participation in the community helps:

  • The Venn diagram of “FOSS app users” and “software enthusiasts” is closer to a circle. People like talking about useful, good software they like. Word of mouth recommendations is how I got into this stuff.
  • You’ll be more likely to hear urgent actionable news (e.g. X app developer sold to bad company, here’s the fork that will carry the torch onwards).

And so that this comment isn’t completely useless… Mozilla are currently working on a mobile version of Thunderbird for Android, built on top of K9 mail. Been using the beta and liking it so far. If you want a FOSS e-mail app, keep an eye on that one.

P.S. I much prefer the dark side, and don’t forget the cookies!

halm,
@halm@leminal.space avatar

Mozilla are currently working on a mobile version of Thunderbird for Android, built on top of K9 mail.

Is that what it is, or is K-9 becoming Thunderbird for Android? My understanding from official announcements was the latter.

mke,

My bad, I forgot you need to be careful using such metaphors when talking about software. It’s as the other commenter said: a rebrand, but they might keep the old identity around for people who like it.

halm,
@halm@leminal.space avatar

No worries, I was genuinely uncertain what the current status is. Appreciate the answers!

Adda,
@Adda@lemmy.ml avatar

K-9 is rebranding as Thunderbird for Android, indeed. But since many users of K-9 expressed their desire to keep the logo and name of K-9, Thunderbird agreed to publish both versions: one rebranded as Thunderbird for Android, and the other keeping its original branding as K-9. We will see whether that will complicate things for Thunderbird team too much yet.

halm,
@halm@leminal.space avatar

I see! I missed that nuance since the announcement that K-9 would become TB Android. Thanks for the update.

I’m partial to the old K-9 logo too, but I love that the two email projects I use are working together for interoperability 🙂

Adda, (edited )
@Adda@lemmy.ml avatar

The Venn diagram of “FOSS app users” and “software enthusiasts” is closer to a circle.

Now this is the quote of the week for me 😂 It is mostly accurate, unfortunately, but I cannot stop giggling about it.

library_napper,
@library_napper@monyet.cc avatar

Remove gapps

Tangent5280,

Yeah, that’s the endgame. I hope to replace everything I use eventually.

kratoz29, (edited )
@kratoz29@lemm.ee avatar

There are no in between library_napper probably.

Sensitivezombie,

Begin to de-google yourself. Research on FOSS alternatives to Google apps and services. Depending on your reliance, this may be a slow process. It’s OK. Build an understanding that there will be lots of sacrificing, especially convenience around the brand ecosystem that Google and Apple are known for.

Tangent5280,

It’s a bit unnerving, to understand how massive an influence that one company has on our lives.

GrappleHat, (edited )
@GrappleHat@lemmy.ml avatar

These are my main core apps. Not fully divested from closed ecosystems (YouTube & Google Maps are in there with alternative private frontends). But close enough for me.

  • Mull - Private Firefox
  • OrganicMaps & GMaps WV - Maps
  • Eternity - Lemmy
  • Meglodon - Mastadon
  • ProtonVPN - VPN
  • AntennaPod - Podcasts
  • Bitwarden - Passwords
  • Joplin - Notes
  • NewPipe Sponsorblock - YouTube w/o ads or in-video promotions
  • VLC - Music & video
  • Yet Another Call Blocker - Spam calls
  • Geometric Weather - Weather
xlash123,
@xlash123@sh.itjust.works avatar

Development for NewPipe Sponsorblock has ended. They recommend using Tubular instead.

JoyfulCodingGuy,
@JoyfulCodingGuy@lemmy.ml avatar

Thank you! I had no idea development had stopped but I see that now in their GitHub repository.

FQQD, (edited )
@FQQD@lemmy.ohaa.xyz avatar

I can recommend f-droid.org/…/wangdaye.com.geometricweather/ for weather. Otherwise, I dont really use stuff from fdroid.

I’ve heard good stuff about the “fenneck” (?) browser, it’s like android firefox but good.

afk_strats,

Another recommendation for this app weather app with great widgets. I’ve been using it for years.

SnokenKeekaGuard,
@SnokenKeekaGuard@lemmy.dbzer0.com avatar

I have and like it but it hasnt been updated for over a year. So the breezy weather recommendation is good.

T0RB1T,
@T0RB1T@lemmy.ca avatar

Fennec, it’s a type of fox in the real world, and it’s a perfectly fine fork of Firefox.

And Firefox for android is great, leaps and bounds better than the Chromes and Chromiums that many people use. Firefox for android allows you to install browser extensions!

I never have to leave home without my µBlock Origin again.

AVengefulAxolotl,

Here is a great list: github.com/nyas1/Material-You-app-list

Then you could search it up on Droidify or use Obtainium.

ikidd,
@ikidd@lemmy.world avatar

DavX5 and start keeping your contacts/calendar private with something like Nextcloud.

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