this post was submitted on 15 Jun 2023
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FOSS for Android

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What are your recommended FOSS Android apps? (social.fossware.space)
submitted 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) by NettoHikari@social.fossware.space to c/fossdroid@social.fossware.space
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Hey, there!

To get things going here and also because I'm interested in what kind of fun stuff you're running on your phones, I'll post a list of apps that I'm using daily or that are part of my Android experience.

To start it all off, I'd like to emphasize that I try to run FOSS apps almost exclusively and I also don't use Google Play Services whatsoever (not even MicroG). I do run some very few closed source applications in a separate profile with Insular, but I plain out refuse to run them if they flat out require Google Play Services.

Feel free to tell me what YOU are running in the comments!

My installed Apps

Apps not available on F-Droid

These are apps that aren't available on F-Droid, due to either containing non-free dependencies or other reasons.

  • Bitwarden^(GPL-3.0)^ | Powerful cloud password manager with auto-fill capabilities*
  • boum^(MPL-2.0)^ | Client for listening to music on Jellyfin*
  • Brave^(MPL-2.0)^ | Web browser based on Chromium with privacy in mind (I use it when Mull breaks something)
  • Record You^(GPL-3.0)^ | Record your voice or your screen

Honorable Mentions

These are apps that I wholeheartedly recommend, but don't use any more, because I replaced them with something else.

*CAN be used as a client for self-hosted services
**Offers additional features if root access is present
***Requires root access to be present
****Part of a Magisk module

Edit: Added some links and changed Infinity's description

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[โ€“] Temezi@sopuli.xyz 3 points 2 years ago

Lots of great recommendations and I got a few ideas from here. I came here to mention AFWall+, which blocks apps' internet connection with iptables for that additional layer of security.

[โ€“] DeltaTangoLima@aussie.zone 3 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)

Great list - picked up a couple new ones for myself. Thanks.

Adding to your list:

  • Paperless Mobile An almost fully-fledged mobile app for my Paperless-ngx server
  • Syncthing Helped me (with Photoprism) replace Google Photos, but also syncs backup files made by other apps (Tasker, Signal, calls & texts, etc) from my phone to my computer overnight
  • Simple Search Completely configurable search widget, lets me search with my private Whoogle servers from my phone's home screen
  • Shelter A lot like Insular, lets you utilise work profile for your own needs - apps, files, etc.
  • Droid-ify Another F-droid alternative
[โ€“] NettoHikari@social.fossware.space 1 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Do you selfhost paperless-ngx? I used to run it for some time, but then took it offline, because I didn't find it as useful as I thought it'd be.

Also, after looking at this comparison table again, I think I might switch from Insular to Shelter, as it supports auto freeze.

[โ€“] DeltaTangoLima@aussie.zone 2 points 1 year ago

Do you selfhost paperless-ngx?

Indeed I do. It's not necessarily something I find myself using every single day, but it's come in handy on so many occasions, I can't imagine NOT having it now. I'm (slowly) scanning all my existing paper archives in and shredding them, only keeping the physical copies of things that make sense (eg. birth certificates). The more data I put into it, the more useful it is.

[โ€“] markkdark@lemmy.one 2 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Thanks, yours recommendation it's like my. It's seems that have "my phone". ๐Ÿ˜‚๐Ÿ˜‚๐Ÿ˜‚

[โ€“] NettoHikari@social.fossware.space 2 points 2 years ago

Glad you like it!

[โ€“] monotrox@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Some stuff that wasn't mentioned yet and should be on either fdroid or izzy:

  • Muzei (wallpaper switcher)

  • Earth view for Muzei

  • Retro Music

  • Simple Time Tracker (used to use it to track my work hours)

  • Energize (most feature-packed food tracker on fdroid)

  • GymRoutines (Workout tracker)

  • Material Files (file manager + seeing network shares)

  • Wireguard (allows me to connect to my local network and see my NAS in material files)

  • MJ Pdf (mostly because its simple but has printing and text copying)

[โ€“] NettoHikari@social.fossware.space 1 points 2 years ago

I did mention wireguard, though. ๐Ÿ˜œ

[โ€“] pratona@feddit.nl 2 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (2 children)

I'd love to share my recommended apps but I can't make a post.

[โ€“] pratona@feddit.nl 2 points 2 years ago

Looks like I can comment just fine.

[โ€“] NettoHikari@social.fossware.space 1 points 2 years ago

Hey, I just sent you a private message to see what's going on.

[โ€“] florge@lemmy.world 2 points 2 years ago

I'd like to mention ImgurViewer, can handle quite a lot of image/video links. Particularly useful at the moment with all these new lemmy apps not having the best handle over links.

[โ€“] zeemyst@social.fossware.space 2 points 1 year ago
  • Tachiyomi for reading manga
  • Glider, a Hacker News client
  • Megalodon, a Mastodon client with Material You design
  • Seal, an Android frontend for yt-dlp, used for downloading YouTube videos
  • FairEmail, a privacy friendly email client
[โ€“] may_pretender@feddit.ro 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It's very interesting that OP doesn't use microG. How do you deal with no notifications? Do you use apps with custom (non-google) notification support? What are the disadvantages?

Here's a list of apps I use that are not on OP's list:

Compared to OP, I do use MicroG with LineageOS. I also use quite a few closed source apps (banking apps, uber-like, car/bike sharing, some local apps for public transport, chatting apps, navigation, etc) but I do try my best to avoid them if I can. From time to time I log into Facebook / Instagram or use Google Maps in the browser, but don't have the apps installed.

[โ€“] NettoHikari@social.fossware.space 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Hey, thanks for your list! Very interesting. I used to use ACCA, too. But due to me not using that many apps (especially only very few closed source apps) and therefore not having many background processes, my batteries are always very healthy. My phones usually last around 4 years and never once has a battery failed on me, despite me regularly charging and discharging my phones almost completely every 1 1/2-2 days. ACCA is a good piece of software, but I feel that I don't need it. Funny enough, my old phone (Xiaomi Mi MIX 2) still works the whole day when charging it during the night, but what made me ultimately get a new phone is that the screen had burn in issues and the volume and power buttons acted up from me using it so much.

I also used to use GadgetBride for my Mi Band, but after some weeks, I usually take my band off and then it collects dust for months. Don't know why that is, though.

I wish I could use OpenBoard or any other keyboard. I need Japanese input and I want to have it in one single application. Right now, only Microsoft SwiftKey is able to do that for me in a convenient way, which means, I have it installed and completely cut off from the internet, due to it being closed source. Another thing is that I use Insular for closed source apps in a work profile and a second installation of SwiftKey there has native support for syncing settings and dictionaries with the one on mainland.

I personally don't care for Signal at all. I know, Telegram isn't private, but I'm making a compromise here. I really like the UI / UX of Telegram. Something where Signal lacks. It's all a matter of taste, but I just don't like it. Also, all my friends and family are either on Telegram or on WhatsApp.

Regarding me using no Google Services Framework or MicroG at all: I don't need them. No truly FOSS app will utilize that. They all handle notifications on their own. The few closed source apps I use (including banking, etc.) are on my Insular space and they don't need GSF also. If I try to use a closed source app that straight out requires it or crashes when no GSF is present, I uninstall it immediately. Simple as that.

[โ€“] may_pretender@feddit.ro 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

very interesting. I honestly never considered going without microG. I wonder if it's viable for my usecase.

[โ€“] NettoHikari@social.fossware.space 3 points 1 year ago

I went from GApps to MicroG a couple years ago. Noticed that I don't really need it. Went from MicroG to nothing and here I am.

[โ€“] AlmostDachshund@rammy.site 1 points 2 years ago

Amazing list. I would also recommend Obtainium for keeping up the updates directly from sources like Github.

[โ€“] Shakuni@karab.in 1 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I use Syncthing and KDE Connect both. They're fantastic at what they do- wireless sync specific folders between devices, send/receive files, share a clipboard between devices, remotely operate a device, share notifications etc. Basically you can create your own seamless ecosystem of devices that belong to any platform! If you're like me and use a lot of offline-only apps, these two will let you sync your data between 2 or more devices. I use it for my offline music library (fully legal of course, no question about it haha lol), logseq notes, books (again, definitely completely legal).

I also use BitWarden, but I might switch to Keypass because it is fully offline.

[โ€“] NettoHikari@social.fossware.space 1 points 2 years ago

Does syncing a password vault or app settings work flawlessly like that or do hiccups occur? I usually try to use things that are FOSS and offer a selfhosted backend, but I'm not opposed to the usage of fully offline applications, as well.

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