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
I wanted to like this one.
Neostore got stuck trying to sync repos or something and drained my battery from 80% to 20% within like an hour.
Uninstalled it immediately. No app should be able to malfunction in such a way to cause such battery drain.
Yes, I much prefer Neostore.
Many years ago I tried to go completely de-googled, and that involved using only F-droid. One of the many problems I faced was the tedious update process. I needed to tap each and every app individually every time there were updates. I wonder if droid-ify could have fixed that. Unfortunately I didn’t come across that app at the time, so I didn’t try it out.
Oh for sure! Droid-ify offers a few different installation methods. The Legacy and Session install options are what you are used to. With those methods, you are prompted to download and install with each update.
With the Root install method, updates can be downloaded and installed in the background using root privileges. Lastly, and I think most intriguing, is using Shizuku. Shizuku is a utility that will give you close to root access using ADB. See link for details. So, with the Shizuku install methods, Droid-ify can keep all your F-Droid apps up to date with little intervention from the user.
Footnote: Because Shizuku leverages ADB, it needs to be started manually after each reboot.
That’s awesome! Looks like there’s been progress while I was not looking.
What do you think, is it now a viable option do daily drive a completely de-googled phone?
It’s a lot more feasible than it used to be. I also use Aurora Store to fill in the gaps.
I use neo store it’s native non root installer (usually) manage to do one click install all updates.
I would avoid adding other repositories because you are risking malware and anti features.
F-droid is slow to get updates but it also verifies each app
There is safety there, but you’re just as safe using the the developer’s own repository for their apps, like NewPipe, Collabora, or the Guardian Project.
Don’t forget Divest, a must have repo. Also Molly for a foss signal client
Can you elaborate on what these different repos are and do? And, referring to a child comment, what is divest?
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.
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.
I have and use F-Droid but hadn’t caught on to repos and their function. Just seen it mentioned. Thanks for elaborating!
I just have the basic f droid app, the layout is awful and confusing. Is there one you suggest?
I’m a big fan of Droid-ify.
I think he did suggest droid-ify with fdroid repo: https://github.com/Droid-ify/client
Looks good, I will try it out. You have it in F-droid :)
Apologies, I didn’t follow what was a storefront and such.
Then check out droid-ify. It has a really clean looking UI that won’t get in your way.
Thanks
I second Izzy, add:
Oh THAT’S what repos are for? I assumed they were all independently structured and incompatible with each other for different reasons lmao.
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.
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any lineage os supported device is enough, i think
LineageOS isnt degoogled by default
It’s a lot better than stock, even though there are still some Google things left over. If you don’t install your own GApps, then the Google stuff in Lineage is minimal.
Doesn’t take long to De-google it up to 95% or so
It’s insane that I can’t make any steps towards ungoogling myself w/o paying 2.5 times the price of a phone. I can’t buy an allready degoogled pixel here, I can’t buy fairphone here, I can only use a package forwarding service from the US, declare it to customs - and watch them add a monstrous fee to it.
I wish I could have the courage to buy a pixel and try to replace the OS myself - but I fear I will just brick it…
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You 99% won’t brick it, I guarantee you. Graphene’s install is really easy. You press a few buttons on a website and never touch a terminal, aside from if you’re on GNOME. As for price, I got a used Pixel 4a 5g for 100 and newer ones won’t be as expensive as the things you might’ve gone for. Try a used Pixel 6a? (Graphene doesn’t extend software support)
The first issue is that you’re in the US.
As for installing Graphene, it’s very unlikely that you will brick your mobile, since with the new WebUSB installer, you don’t have to do anything. Just set it to install and have your favourite beverage whilst the Web installer deals with it
I just did it two days ago, had the same fears, everything went smooth like butter
Bricking is a possibility but for phones that can be unlocked, it should be a matter of following the instructions on Lineageos - unlock the bootloader, flash the recovery partition, flash lineageos + Google apps.
The biggest pain in the ass for me was trying to get the adb & fastboot tools to talk to the device in the first place. For example OnePlus requires drivers for its devices but Windows doesn’t install them automatically so you have to go find them. Except the adb driver works but the fastboot one didn’t. Then after a bunch of searching it turns out OnePlus forgot to sign the fastboot driver so Windows refused to install it and I had to boot Windows in a convoluted way to disable signature verification to get the driver installed.
After all that, the rest was relatively straightforward but it still took several hours of effort. IMO Lineageos is a pretty ugly dist but if you install Google Apps it’s not missing anything and it extends the phone’s life beyond what the manufacturer could be bothered to support.
I just run lineage os
I’ve used so called entry level phones my entire life; I can’t motivate myself to spend the amount a Fair Phone costs, although the concept is appealing and regardless the geek in me going nuts with the idea of tinkering with my phone as I do with my computer. I also prefer rugged phones, which is something most brands don’t cater to.
My current phone is an Oukitel and has already passed the three year mark, still more than enough for my needs, in great part thanks to my option to run FOSS whenever possible.
I just run Lineage os. Sure its not as secure but it supports many phones and is clean and light.
Combine it with F-droid and your golden
I doubt I can get that to run on my phone. Being a minor brand, it is as if it doesn’t exist.
What device is it? There probably is an unofficial build.
Also 3 years is not that old. My phone is from 2019 and runs Android 13 just fine (Motorola-ocean)
Oukitel WP8 Pro
It has an MT6762D CPU, with 4GB RAM.
And now I’m doubting for how long I’ve had it, has the last update for the Android 10 it runs is from 2020 and I can remember updating it, for sure.
Ok, your right there is very little support for that device. Sorry I couldn’t be more help
Droid-ify is the best way to use f-droid imo
What are the perks of using this vs. the standard F-Droid app?
More built-in repositories and a nicer UI.
Nice. I just decided to try it, and this seems really nice so far. The built-in repositories feature is really nice, especially for people who are just getting acquainted with F-Droid
Neo store is my favourite. Yes there is another upside. F-droid targets old apk , android 5 , which is a issue , albeit small.
Does it have an update all button? That’s what prevented me to keep using it some months ago.
It does now yes.
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Running outdated versions of software, whether on your phone or the desktop, will generally expose you to more vulnerabilities and is not best practice from a security perspective.
Huh, most of the time. I mean, people like you don’t have to use it at all, but I prefer to just press “Update all” once if I have >2 updates in a row.
Droidify has an ignore all new versions button. And you can of course downgrade whenever you want.
People that don’t have a solid grasp on computing tend to think any and all updates are inherently good.
People that don’t have a solid grasp on computing tend to think any and all updates are inherently good.
What kinda good stuff is on F Droid they the average User might want?
Endless Sky and Mindustry are some good, fun, deep games.
The UX for Mindustry sucks compared to something like Factorio, because it’s really tough to do those controls on touch screen, but it’s good enough. I’ve enjoyed it for the little I tried.
oh and shattered pixel dungeon also…
Osmand (offline GPS maps)
Same version as the android store but free.
NewPipe lets you listen to youtube videos without the screen on (and also download them or just the audio).
Probably the main thing I use
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
Agreed. LibreTube is really good.
Just got it. Amazing! Thanks!
It’s a fantastic app. Remember to set your default YouTube links to open with it also, you can do that with android in app settings.
I use LibreSudoku. It’s a very nice Sudoku app.
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)
A lot of the utility is it having apps with similar capabilities but without the same kind of privacy invasions, and with better description of what anti-features an app has. So as far as ‘the average user’, I’d just say alternative apps (or even the same ones, if you’re already using FOSS apps) to the same ones they’d use on Play Store, and a few of the games.
redreader, newpipe, session messenger(needs repo thing from website), aurora store, simple gallery pro
Öffi, a non sucking public transportation app.
Thanks to US infrastructure I don’t need yet another map just for public transport! Thanks US government for looking out for us little people! (I really don’t think this is needed, but /s just in case.)
Pretty much all the basics are covered, here are some examples:
- Newpipe for videos and music
- FairEmail for email
- Organic Maps for maps and routes
- Aves Libre for gallery
- lots of privacy-oriented instant messaging apps (I use DeltaChat)
- Jerboa for lemmy
- plethora of calendars, todo apps, calculators, keyboards…
- some games
And then of course all you power-ish user stuff (alternate launchers, clients for self-hosted clouds and stuff, terminal emulators…)
Worth noting while checking out Aves libre it seems the developer has renamed it to just Aves and continued updating.
New to f-droid so if I have this wrong let me know
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Newpipe - A YouTube client without ads.
Literally can’t say enough good stuff about Newpipe.
Everything YouTube SHOULD be, this is. LISTEN TO A VIDEO IN THE BACKGROUND!!!11. Playback speed infinitely adjustable- good for lectures, interviews, etc. No ads. No bullshit.
Everything
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.
You should check out aurora store on f-droid if you haven’t already, its basically an alternative front end for the play store, which means you can remove your google account from your phone (if you want to)
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
- Eternity (Infinity for Lemmy)
- Buckwheat (Budgeting)
- Aegis (Authentication)
- Lawnchair (Pixel-like launcher)
- Quillnotes (Markdown notes app)
- Forkyz (Crosswords)
- Geometric Weather
- Imagepipe (Removes exif data and reduces pics)
- AntennaPod (Podcast app)
- Olauncher (Beautiful and minimal text based launcher)
Geometric Weather has a more active fork called Breezy Weather.
Quillnote has a more active fork called QuillpadBreezy however is not and (according to author of that fork) will not be in F-Droid repo. You can download it form IzzyOnDroid or wait for their own F-Droid repository.
Thank you
Sexy weather app. Thanks for the follow up comment. No more ads when I want to check the weather.
I have never found anything useful in it. And god I have tried. I end up uninstalling it every time.
I found some good stuff there :)
- Aegis
- Altcoin Prices
- Amethyst
- AndStatus
- AntennaPod
- Audio Recorder
- Aurora Store
- Barinsta
- Bitcoin Wallet
- Book Reader
- Breezy Weather
- Briar
- BTC Map
- Call Recorder
- Camera
- CameraFileCopy
- Coinbase
- Compass
- Croc
- Currency
- DAVx⁵
- Draw
- DroidCam
- DuckDuckGo
- Easy xkcd
- Element
- Etar
- Eternity
- Exodus
- Feudal Tactics
- FluffyChat
- ForgetMeNot
- Freja
- FTP Server (Free)
- Gallery
- Gloomy Dungeons II
- Hypatia
- Imagepipe
- K-9 Mail
- KeePassDX
- KISS launcher
- LibreOffice Viewer
- LibreSpeed
- LibreTranslator
- List My Apps
- Location Share
- MyMonero for Android
- Neo Store
- NewPipe
- Nextcloud
- Ning
- Notes
- ObscuraCam
- Orbot
- OsmAnd~
- PCAPdroid
- PixelDroid
- Plexus
- Pocket Paint
- Private Location
- ProofMode
- Proton Calendar
- Proton Mail
- Proton VPN
- Ripple
- SBW
- Scrambled Exif
- SD Maid SE
- SecScanQR
- Share my number
- Share to Clipboard
- Shattered Pixel Dungeon
- SimplyTranslate Mobile
- Spider
- Spotube
- SuperTuxKart
- Survival Manual
- Syncthing
- TagInfo
- Talk
- Telegram FOSS
- Termux
- Thorium
- Torrent Client
- Tower Collector
- TPB Proxy
- Trail Sense
- Tusky
- twitlatte
- Unit Converter Ultimate
- VLC
- Voice Recorder
- WhatsApp Web To Go
- Wire
- WireGuard
- XDA Developers
- You Have Mail
List made using List My Apps Plus signal FOSS , several VPN apps etc…
And the stuff you do want to use is often best installed from the Dev’s repo because fdroid takes forever to update theirs.
And last time I checked they still hadn’t implemented the now years old APIs that would let them to silently update apps, so unless the phone is rooted you need to click for every update…
Try f-droid basic, it lets you update automatically
Here’s mine:
- AnkiDroid - mobile version of popular desktop flashcards software Anki
- Bitwarden (don’t remember if this needed a repo) - favourite password manager
- Catima - holds loyalty cards
- Fennec F-Droid - Build of Firefox without ads and that supports more extensions
- DiskUsage - see what’s taking up your disk
- GadgetBridge - FOSS app for smart watches, Mi bands etc.
- Lawnchair - Home screen replacement that’s visually identical to the default one but allows me to double tap to lock
- Material Files - file manager
- Loop - Habit tracker
- p!n - Pin reminders to notifications
- muPDF Reader - fast PDF reader that doesn’t crap out when I zoom in and out unlike Google Drive
- Simple Gallery - lightweight gallery app
- NextCloud and NextCloud Notes - Access NextCloud
- Scrambled EXIF - Share pictures without giving away EXIF data
- Tusky - nice Mastodon client
- Shattered Pixel Dungeon - a game way too addictive to be safe to install
- NewPipe - FOSS frontend with AdBlock and downloader for YouTube, SoundCloud, Bandcamp and others
- Librera - read EPUBs
- Lemoroid - Nice libretro client to play video games
- Infinity - Reddit client that still works. I believe they did something hacky with the API key to get around the block.
- Migraine Log - Nice app for migraine sufferers to log their attacks
- Scarlet - Beautiful notes app
Thanks for the mentioning GadgetBridge. Just revived an Amazefit Smartwatch that I wasn’t using because of the default app!
Mull browser, termux, nextcloud, Jerboa, Infinity reddit, organic maps, and espeak just to name a few
Ok, yeah, I use termux on my android tablet, and it’s awesome. But other than that, I don’t find any other app interesting. Who knows, maybe with time.
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Love F droid ! It’s great
I use Nebulo for DNS over HTTPS, it works well. F-Droid repo for Nebulo: https://fdroid.frostnerd.com/
The Nebulo version on the Play store is years behind the F-Droid version.
You also can use androids built in encrypted DNS. I think its DNS over TLS though
F-droid app seems to be not that great though. Using Droid-ify instead.
Droid-ify just a client for f-droid, no?
Yeah it doesn’t seem like there are that many differences besides the UI and I think it may list repositories making it a little easier to add them.
https://github.com/Droid-ify/client
It’s also available through F-Droid
There is . The F-droid app has issues since it’s targeting android 5 . Neo store and droidify are better that way, security wise
Is this the article you are referencing?
https://privsec.dev/posts/android/f-droid-security-issues/
I do see some of the concerns you mentioned but it doesn’t seem to me like a night and day difference
No ,it’s just that the client app is old , targeting android 5. Good if you are using an old phone. But not so good if you are using a new. Higher SDK have tighter checks and limits. But a minor issue, I still recommend using one of the newer ones. Droidify or neostore. Also I think I read somewhere there is work going on to update the F-droid one as well. Edit read up on the article and yea it makes a good point on the SDK level. But yea a minor thing imo. Edit2 apparently it’s android 7
I personally like it but that’s just me
I think OP meant the app store, not the client itself
I use Neo store , used droidify before. Works great
F droid is EXCELLENT
Fdroid basic allows automatic updates!
The guadian project repos are also preset, albeit not enabled by default.
So does Neostore and Droid-ify. Those are worth looking into.
Don’t forget to add the New pipe repo!
NewPipe Sponsorblock repo from Izzy:
https://apt.izzysoft.de/fdroid/index/apk/org.polymorphicshade.newpipe
Why is the Newpipe repo necessary when NewPipe is also in the F-Droid repo?
Faster release, sometimes it takes a while for the F-Droid to build the new version and Google has a tendency to break it.
thanks
I recommend the NewPipe-Sponserblock instead of default Newpipe
Can also recommend the SimpleX chat, Bitwarden, Cryptomator and Briar repos. There’s also IzzyOnDroid, though I think they have less strict guidelines.
Default app store for my Volla phone. I’m the ultimate hipster and I’m proud of it!
Try Neostore too…
^^^ This!
