I’m trying it. This was the kick in the ass I needed to finally go ahead and get F Droid. Anything else I should be getting from there? I’ve heard of some good apps through it but idk what a sorta “standard” user might be interested in.
Firstly, check if certain apps you use from Google Play are on there too. Some, like Bitwarden, Wikipedia, or Jellyfin, are on fdroid too without Google’s bullshit. Some even have functionality on fdroid that they’re not allowed to have on the Play store.
After that, the Fossify suite of simple apps are very basic, no bullshit, non-Google system apps. Gallery in particular is popular.
If you like Sid Meiers Civilization, search for Unciv.
NewPipe for ad-free YouTube.
TrackerControl will let you block ads system wide. It’s kinda touchy and takes some finagling, though.
TrackerControl will let you block ads system wide. It’s kinda touchy and takes some finagling, though.
What sort of finagling are we talking? Also, I’ve been using AdAway for the past few weeks with mixed results. Could these tools be used in tandem or is that just silly?
Since they both need the VPN slot, you can’t use both at the same time. Personally, I’m a fan of NextDNS which uses Android’s Private DNS feature to block requests to ad- and tracking servers.
Some are, like Bitwarden or Wikipedia or Jellyfin, are on fdroid too without Google’s bullshit. Some even have functionality they’re not allowed to have in the Play store.
To be fair, there are also some features that also rely on Google’s builds. For example, Bitwarden’s “Log in with Device” only works on the Google Play version.
There’s tons to choose from, some that are also found in the Play Store (often with Google proprietary libraries or tracking removed). I would recommend:
Aegis authenticator: for 2FA.
Antenna Pod: for all your podcasts needs
Aves Libre: beautiful gallery app which I personally prefer over the Fossify app that others recommended here (try both and decide for yourself).
Binary Eye: QR code scanner.
Gauguin: a Sudoku-like game, very entertaining.
Heliboard: a great keyboard with support for multilingual typing and glide typing. Completely offline and private.
KDE Connect: to wirelessly connect your phone with your computer, transfer files, share the clipboard, control your computer from your phone…
KeePassDX (or Bitwarden): password manager. I personally prefer KeePassDX and dealing myself with syncing the database (via synching or KDE Connect), but some people prefer Bitwarden which offers online syncing.
KISS (or Kvaesitso): simple search-based launchers. Kvaesitso has more options but also feels a bit heavier.
Metro: music player for local files
Moshidon: Mastodon client.
Mull: web browser based on Firefox with hardened privacy (+uBlock Origin extension)
NewPipe: to watch YouTube videos without ads.
Organic Maps (or OsmAnd~): offline Maps based on OpenStreetMap. Break free from Google.
Syncthing: to synchronise files between devices (Android, computer).
Maybe I’m stupid, but I can’t get glide typing to work. I don’t see it in the settings for heliboard.
Also, is there any reason to switch to newpipe if ReVanced is serving me well?
Edit: Nevermind, I got glide typing to work! That took some digging. If anybody else has trouble, download this and go to heliboard settings, advanced, and go to the bottom where you can load in a gesture library, which is what I linked to.
Also, is there any reason to switch to newpipe if ReVanced is serving me well?
I guess for most people not, but there can be some:
privacy: NewPipe doesn’t require you to log on to a Google account (but it so connects to Google servers if you watch YouTube videos). You can, however still follow channels (only locally, obviously)
ability to download videos or just audio. An extra is that on ReVanced you can have the download function through a 3rd party app, you can choose from several and NewPipe is one of them.
NewPipe can also play content from other sources, like Bandcamp or SoundCloud.
A reason to not switch would be… the interface is not very ptetty
ReVanced lets Google collect a lot of data about you, since it’s based on the proprietary YouTube app. NewPipe and Tubular on the other hand are complete FOSS reimplementations that use an unofficial API to fetch content from YouTube. They are way better for privacy, as they don’t collect any additional information. LibreTube is even better, because it doesn’t connect to Google at all, it uses a proxy called Piped.
I also want to add LibreTube, it’s a privacy-focused YouTube client that uses the Piped API. In my opinion, it also looks better than NewPipe/Tubular and it uses Material You.
Fossify apps are great open-source replacements for things like your gallery, contacts, dialer, SMS app, file manager, clock, etc.
Kaiteki is a client for Fediverse platforms like Mastodon, Firefish, Misskey, Akkoma and others.
FlorisBoard, another great keyboard with many features and customization options. You can use Floristyle to add a Material You theme and make it look like Gboard.
LinkSheet to restore the pre-Android 12 app chooser for opening links.
You are not logged in. However you can subscribe from another Fediverse account, for example Lemmy or Mastodon. To do this, paste the following into the search field of your instance: !android@lemmy.world
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I’m trying it. This was the kick in the ass I needed to finally go ahead and get F Droid. Anything else I should be getting from there? I’ve heard of some good apps through it but idk what a sorta “standard” user might be interested in.
Firstly, check if certain apps you use from Google Play are on there too. Some, like Bitwarden, Wikipedia, or Jellyfin, are on fdroid too without Google’s bullshit. Some even have functionality on fdroid that they’re not allowed to have on the Play store.
After that, the Fossify suite of simple apps are very basic, no bullshit, non-Google system apps. Gallery in particular is popular.
If you like Sid Meiers Civilization, search for Unciv.
NewPipe for ad-free YouTube.
TrackerControl will let you block ads system wide. It’s kinda touchy and takes some finagling, though.
What sort of finagling are we talking? Also, I’ve been using AdAway for the past few weeks with mixed results. Could these tools be used in tandem or is that just silly?
Since they both need the VPN slot, you can’t use both at the same time. Personally, I’m a fan of NextDNS which uses Android’s Private DNS feature to block requests to ad- and tracking servers.
Seconding Fossify Gallery, IIRC it’s a fork of the superb Simple Gallery, prior to it being sold to some dodgy data gathering company. It’s great.
To be fair, there are also some features that also rely on Google’s builds. For example, Bitwarden’s “Log in with Device” only works on the Google Play version.
Not seeing bitwarden on fdroid
It’s not in the official F-droid repo
https://mobileapp.bitwarden.com/fdroid/
There’s tons to choose from, some that are also found in the Play Store (often with Google proprietary libraries or tracking removed). I would recommend:
Maybe I’m stupid, but I can’t get glide typing to work. I don’t see it in the settings for heliboard.
Also, is there any reason to switch to newpipe if ReVanced is serving me well?
Edit: Nevermind, I got glide typing to work! That took some digging. If anybody else has trouble, download this and go to heliboard settings, advanced, and go to the bottom where you can load in a gesture library, which is what I linked to.
I guess for most people not, but there can be some:
A reason to not switch would be… the interface is not very ptetty
ReVanced lets Google collect a lot of data about you, since it’s based on the proprietary YouTube app. NewPipe and Tubular on the other hand are complete FOSS reimplementations that use an unofficial API to fetch content from YouTube. They are way better for privacy, as they don’t collect any additional information. LibreTube is even better, because it doesn’t connect to Google at all, it uses a proxy called Piped.
F-Droid also has amazing Emulators like Dolphin, RetroArch and Lemuroid.
The IzzyOnDroid repository also has amazing apps, for example:
Tubular is a Newpipe fork with Sponsorblock.
Thanks for the tip! There was also NewPipe with SponsorBlock but I can’t find it anymore. Do you know if they’re related?
The dev discontinued Newpipe x sponsorblock and started a new project called Tubular.
Get droidify, I made the switch about 2years ago.
Heliboard (keyboard) just released on F-Droid. (Its the continuation of Openboard which is no longer maintained.)
Netgaurd - blocks apps from acessing WiFi or cell. Great for crippling spyware and getting misc apps with background updates to be WiFi only.
I use K-9 Mail for email. Eventually its going to be taken over by Thunderbird to become their long over due mobile client.
I’ve been checking F-droid first for miscilanous utilities I need, such as a .txt editor or PDF viewer.
I’d recommend just taking an hour or so to scroll through all of the recently updated apps, I found a ton of super cool small “utility apps” that way.