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I try to avoid the play store at this point. I even switched Tasker from the Play store version to the standalone non-google APK from João himself (Patreon-exclusive; or you can email him for a license, it's like $4).
Any time I implement an open-source project that offers an Android app, I immediately search their github/gitlab or F-Droid. I don't even try to look on the play store anymore. Too much tracking bullshit.
If you haven't, take a look at "Obtanium". It searches F-droid, github, gitlab, and a few other sources for android releases of open source projects.
Oh yeah, I have at least 10 apps on that haha. Fantastic piece of software. I use it for apps that aren't hosted on any sort of marketplace.
Great example: If you shop at Harbor Freight (American bargain tool store), then you're probably aware that they always have coupons for various tools. Someone created a database that catalogs all of their current coupons, HFQPDB, and they also provide an app (android only). The app isn't found anywhere else except that site.
F-droid is better as it is an actual app store with actual rules. You can still add external repos but ideally you should use main.
Obtanium is not meant as a replacement for f-droid. While it can be used as an f-droid frontend, I primarily use it to install from git repos such that I can track their releases page for updates automatically when using apps like freetube which generally only work reliably if you're on the nightly release.
The F-droid app is complete garbage, also they don't make it easy to install apps that are open source but don't follow GPL. Obtainium is perfect, just point to git repository. Now all we need is a P2P source control service.
This is not my experience at all with F-droid. F-droid only allows foss but that's not limited to the GPL
It's not fdroid that doesn't make it easy to insyall apps that are open source but not FOSS, it's the licence of the non gpl open source softwarebthat usualy bans modifying, building and redistributing the code. It's not foss, it's just viewable source.
It searches? I have to give it a link to the repo on github.
When you tap "Add app" the second text box is a search bar.
I just did it, actually amazed. That is all on me I think I wasnt using it right initially...everything I searched so far has not had a repository when I went to install.
Order of installation:
Fdroid
Aurora
Playstore... and if I get to this point, probably about 80% of the time I just don't bother. If it needs Google Play Services, 100% no-install.
The layout of the playstore sucks now, and the ads in apps have got worse.
Fdroid looks bad and has terrible sarch though to be fair.
I'm less concerned with F-Droid's UI, I've been using it for well over a decade now and am fairly used to it, but I absolutely get the frustration. The recent UI update is an improvement, though.
Play Store's UI is absolutely atrocious. The ad-ridden garbage is why I just stay away from it as much as possible.
Agreed.
I use droidify which is nicer but the search is still poor. Happy to get some stripped back functional apps, tbh I use pay more overall but it goes to devs and im not infuriated by poor service.
Ok so I have a question: I have a few apps that I have the apk but when I run them, or even if I install from Aurora Shop, when I run them they say I need to install it from Play. Then they exit.
How do I work around this? I have been told it can be circumvented but I haven’t got a handle on how.
Thanks if you can advise.
That's a really good question for which I do not have an answer.
Well I know there’s this app called Plexus or Plexor something and that supposedly helps you get an app past that requirement. I used it once to success long time ago by choosing a setting for the app and then it suddenly did not demand to get from the Play Store, so I know it works - in theory. But since that one success a few months ago, I haven’t gotten it to work again. I suspect maybe that phone at the time was completely de-googled or was a ROM such as CyanogenMod, and maybe the app can bypass if it doesn’t see the Google services at all.
Anyway, I will further investigate. I have some ROMed phones I can try on. If you want, I’ll post update in case you’re interested.
Thanks again for reply. Even if you didn’t have info for it I appreciate the courtesy.
While a fully functional version is available on F-Droid, the Play Store edition is subject to Google's imposed limitations.
I think that's the cause and solution rolled into one sentence right there. Use F-droid instead of Play Store.
Unfortunately I think this is going to be an inevitable problem with any software repository. F-Droid just expects users to go to the repository and inspect the code if they have concerns, or to trust the developer. Google can verify their own code isn't malicious. They can't audit the code of potentially millions of apps submitted to the Play Store that will inevitably ask for access to your entire filesystem, if given the option. Because let's face it, the majority of mobile apps these days are just spyware whose primary purpose is hoovering up as much data as humanly possible to sell to data brokers.
Nextcloud is in the main repo
Huh?
What's confusing?
Nextcloud is in the F-droid main repo
Its confusing that you didn't say F-droid
I'm confused because I don't understand why you're telling me this.
Because in the main repo of fdroid, the apps code is quickly eyed then packaged by the fdroid team from source (plus a quick virus scan. Google only does reputation check and use virus total (their android anti-virus and anti malware software), yes, the same virus total you can access as an app or webpage.
I agree, at least partially. I do think that in most cases, this will actually protect not-so-tech-savvy users from installing spyware.
What i do not like is the "babysitting" approach which is now really bad on ios and android. They act like all users are babies who can't be trusted with making their own decisions. If I trust the app developer and I am aware that it has access to all files and what that means, I should be able to decide to use my smartphone that way, not the billion dollar corporation behind the app store. However Google can and should protect me by making this decision process easier and more informed, for example by showing what permissions are requested and maybe even a flag which indicates permissions that are not needed for any core functionality. I think that most users should be able to tell malicious permissions apart from actually needed ones.
My messaging app wants access to all my files? I don't think so. My popular open source file synchronization app requests the same? Sure, go ahead.
They act like all users are babies who can't be trusted with making their own decisions
Because most of them can't.
Lol ok
That explains why some files don't sync on my device ... just more reasons to fully switch to Lineage/Linux
Though, I've never seen any warning from Nextcloud that there might be an issue due to using the gplay version
a fully functional version is available on F-Droid
Jup, I just assumed that I had the F-Droid version. I just downloaded dev from there
The thing is, this change isn't new, it's been coming for a while (as in years, it started with at least Android 13).
Though it's weird, some apps still get full access, such as Resilio Sync, though other similar apps such as Nextcloud and Syncthing don't.
I recently setup a phone and when installing Resilio it asked for permissions to the entire SD card, so clearly there's still a mechanism, but only some apps are permitted to ask for it.
Something fishy going on.
I was wondering why my custom sync folders weren't syncing anymore.
If you have a Google Pixel I reccomend GraphineOS
That's my major critique point of Graphene - it's nice and all, but directly or indirectly supporting Google is pretty contrary to my goal. And, ofc, I'd much rather have a fairphone. I'd wish they'd support Google's special security features too.
Special security features? Fairphone either doesn't or improperly supports basic security features. They're late on security patches, their implementation of verified boot is broken, and generally their security is worse than any other major phone brand.
How much of that is relevant with a custom ROM?
All of it, custom roms dont help at all. For example custom roms dont solve their broken implementation of verified boot or how they used public keys for verified boot. In addition custom roms rarely go out of their way to add security patches that the OEM hasnt added themselves. For example, GraphineOS relies on Google to publish security patches in a timely manner for them to keep GraphineOS secure. GraphineOS can trust Google because they have a proven track record of publishing open source security peatches in a timely manner while Fairphone has proven to be the exact opposite.
Seems google is trying to keep file sync on android for only themselves.
Syncthing no longer developing for Android.
No resolution from back and forth with Google, play store policies and lack of developers.