Privacy has become a very important issue in modern society, with companies and governments constantly abusing their power, more and more people are waking up to the importance of digital privacy.
In this community everyone is welcome to post links and discuss topics related to privacy.
[Matrix/Element]Dead
much thanks to @gary_host_laptop for the logo design :)
Something worth noting is that F-Droid is both an app to download other apps but they also maintains a repository of apps. You can use alternative store apps (like Droid-ify) with the F-Droid repository OR you could use the F-Droid app with a different repository (like IzzyOnDroid). You can mix and match to meet your needs.
I use the Droid-ify app with the F-Droid, IzzyOnDroid, microG, NewPipe, and Collabora repositories.
Once you start down this rabbit hole, give Obtanium a look.
Neostore is also a good alternative to the normal f-droid client
Yep. Their permission and tracker built in viewer is a super qol feature
Can you elaborate on what these different repos are and do? And, referring to a child comment, what is divest?
On Android, we're used the "Play Store" being both the app that facilitates downloads as well as the collection of apps available. With F-Droid, you can add additional collections of apps to make available for download.
You might add an additional repository to gain access to apps not in the main F-Droid repository. You might add a developer's repository to gain access to updates to their apps before those updates hit the main F-Droid repository.
Divest is the developer repository for app maintained by Divest OS, a fork of Lineage OS.
Some software developers prefer to host their own repos and have more control over the release process and/or don't want to fill all the criteria for being included on f-droid, so they create their own repos. Some of these apps can still be found on vanilla fdroid, but often aren't updated so frequently.
Izzyondroid, on the other hand, is a different project, aimed at hosting different apps that are usually from smaller devs and can't be included on fdroid yet, for different reasons.
The greatest thing about fdroid is that it allows anyone to create their own repos and you aren't forced to depend on anyone.
Been using Fdroid to the point where my first boot into a new phone is:
Open chrome > download fdroid > open settings > uninstall/disable every single application I can > open fdroid > install all the relevant apps I require for making my phone useful
I'm just waiting for a small life upgrade in order to be able to support some app developers; it will be money better spent than using the standard google apps.
Love F-Droid but be aware of the risks and always try to use a developer repo when possible..
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Doesn't affect the end user...... beyond diminished security. Are you implying I should trust Fdroid devs as much as I would trust Google devs?
I actually would go for the main repo as all the software in the main repo is reviewed by the main Dev team
Fdroid basic allows automatic updates!
The guadian project repos are also preset, albeit not enabled by default.
Are they planning on modernizing the app for Material You? It feels out of place in my phone in 2023.
edit: all the people who suggested Droid-ify know what's up. Thanks, guys!
I have a lot of complaints about this too, but namely lack of seamless updates is baffling to me.
Luckily I found Droid-ify and solves both those problems. Also has the common repos frequently added, like IzzyOnDroid, easily pre-available to enabled in the settings.
This definitely replaced the archaeic fdroid client for me, they desperately need an overhaul as it's a terrible first impression.
You can get Droidify and it provides a more pleasant visual experience.
What kinda good stuff is on F Droid they the average User might want?
Most of the apps of tibor kaputa. I really like the simple gallery. The simple dialer and simple contacts are also really good. Just clean default apps that do what they should.(adfree)
Newpipe in particular is super important. It's a better YouTube app with more features and no ads.
Sorry for not supporting Google, I know they need more money... /s
I prefer LibreTube because it doesn't look outdated and it uses Piped, so you never actually connect to the YouTube servers and you can synchronize your subscriptions and playlists
Osmand (offline GPS maps)
Same version as the android store but free.
redreader, newpipe, session messenger(needs repo thing from website), aurora store, simple gallery pro
I use LibreSudoku. It's a very nice Sudoku app.
I know this thread is already a little old, but here is the list of my favorite apps from F-Droid/Izzy. I use a lot of these almost daily and just thought I would share these in case someone might find a new app they find useful
I've always had a niggling worry that downloading apps from 3rd party app stores came with a higher risk of getting apps with viruses and spyware.
any truth to this?
Not really.
Fdroid is a secure repositorie and the applications are reviewed before being made available for end users.
The repository is also highly focused on privacy and security and will warn if applications have security flaws or depend on non free services.
As an example, I use NewPipe instead of the standard YT app and it has a warning it depends on non-free services.
One other example I can give is Librera. It's a very feature rich ebook/pdf/etc reader. At some point, a security flaw was discovered and the app was instantly flagged has having such problems and users were advised to not install it.
The benefit of open source apps is anyone can view the code to see if there is malware or other installed.
It's also a buggy piece of crap...
Update notification? Sweet! Gotta click it, right? Oh, some obscure error message that doesn't let me update the apps. I guess I start the app itself then, right? Oh, it immediately crashed with an even more obscure error message. And what's this? It shows me updates for apps that I have already removed. I wonder why? Maybe I should clean the cache and update the repositories. Huh? Oh, the update is stuck somewhere and doesn't move forward anymore and now I can't even search for anything.
I never had any issues with it
Neostore may be a better client for you.
I use iOS now though had f-droid installed on my old android phones :)
If you sell your IPhone now it may not be too late for you! :-)
I have never found anything useful in it. And god I have tried. I end up uninstalling it every time.
Neo store is a nice layout for f-Droid if you want a more modern look
I can't use F-Droid without the Play Store but I tend to check there first to see if there is something available there before installing something from the Play Store.