The answer is here, you don’t need to enable multilingual typing, you just need to add Heliboard as spell checker on your system Settings. Then, of course, choose the right language in Heliboard and have a dictionary for that language too

That’s why it’s better to download as many apps as possible from F-Droid. All apps are Free Open Source and checked for anti-features (like ads, tracking, etc.). Lots of basic (and not so basic) apps which are ad free, tracker-free and free to advertise that way.

They both do. I have never used that function, so I cannot say how good the Android Auto integration is.

Organic Maps and OsmAnd are not adding ads during navigation either. Nor “promoted pins”. Nor ads when browsing the map. Nor tracking your every move.

Seriously, give them a try. And remember that, if the maps are lacking information, you are free (and encouraged) to improve them on OpenStreetMap.

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

Thanks for the tip! There was also NewPipe with SponsorBlock but I can’t find it anymore. Do you know if they’re related?

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).
• Tasks.org: to-do’s.
• Transistor: listen to the radio. Many stations built-in, and you can add more if you have the streaming URL.
• Voyager: client for Lemmy.

I think so too. You need a non-free library for glide typing, but with it it works like charm.

It’s a pity it doesn’t work for you right now, but I’d recommend to keep an eye on it since it’s under active development and you might see Japanese input added soon. You could also check open issues on GitHub or open a new one and give feedback about this need.

It should be available in the main F-Droid repo. It has been only on IzzyOnDroid for a while, but I can already see version 1.2 on the official F-Droid repo too.

…or maybe the people who turn off Bluetooth also tend to disable/block telemetry.

That’s not what people want, that’s why this post exists and it has 69 comments so far.

Yes we do. I have Bluetooth off 95% of the time, unless I’m using headphones

I’ve read that the FairPhone comes with a standard, vanilla Android OS on it, no bloatware. I cannot say if it’s true, but you could have a look at the FairPhone forums and see what people think of the OS.

I know you don’t want to tinkle with the bootloader et al., but if you’re willing to try a different OS without the hassle: it is posible to buy a FairPhone with /e/OS or iodéOS preinstalled.

+1 for iodéOS. It’s a good OS, based on LineageOS and with a built-in ad/tracker blocker.

Additionally, if you get a FairPhone or a Pixel you have a bunch of other ROMs to choose from, like basic LineageOS, CakyxOS, DivestOS, and only on Pixel GrapheneOS.

It had problems with the rate limited accounts for the last months, but I think they’re fixed now. I haven’t had any problem in the last weeks. If you keep getting these messages I’d recommend clearing app data and starting a new anonymous login session.

makes me want to increase the F-Droid alternatives that I use

Just go this way, and if you’re fed up with the Play Store switch to Aurora Store: same apps, no ads.

As far as I know, this OS is no longer available in the newer models FairPhone 4 and FairPhone 5. However there are other degoogled options for these models, off the top of my head: LineageOS, CalyxOS, iodéOS and /e/OS.

You can also but a FairPhone with iodéOS already installed in it, not from the FairPhone store, though, but from the iodé one.

The FairPhone comes with stock Android, but you can easily unlock the bootloader and install a different ROM. Some that I know are available for the FairPhone 4 are LineageOS, CalyxOS, iodéOS and /e/OS. With all of these you can achieve a certain level of degoogling and privacy.

Many people will recommend you GrapheneOS, which is unfortunately only available on Google Pixel devices.

It looks like it’s time to ditch whatever podcast app you’re using.

Look for a FOSS alternative, I’d recommend AntennaPod (https://antennapod.org/), but there are other alternatives out there: not bloated, no ads, no tracking, just what you choose to subscribe to.

Good idea. Take your time to look into them and decide what suits you better. Each of them has a different range of compatible devices. I might have also missed some other ROMs, so it’s worth reading more (although I deliberately skipped LineageOS because it is not fully degoogled).

I am personally running iodéOS for more than a year now and I’m quite happy with it.

Not really, there’s degoogled ROMs that run on different smartphones: CalyxOS, DivestOS, iodéOS, /e/… But it is generally recognised that the best one for privacy AND security is GrapheneOS, which indeed only runs on Pixel phones.

You dropped this:

/s

Also important to check for mobile network compatibility. I know there can be problems with that too.

It should work as default “Caller ID and spam app”. Check the FAQ in their website, as the behaviour can change depending on your phone manufacturer

Do you know if it is still under active development? It’s been one year since the last update

Check iodéOS, an Android-based OS that has a built-in ad/tracker blocker as part of the OS.

I use Yet Another Call Blocker too, and although the app hasn’t been updated in a while, the database is updated daily.

I am not sure about what security risks there could be with this app not being updated in 1.5 years, since it only connects to the internet to download database updates. I am happy to be educated about the security risks that using this “old” app could have.