Open Source apps for Android devices

[Member PPC]

During my recent holidays, I almost never used my computer (except for writing), I mostly used my phone… So I got the idea for this post from there.

If you want to use an android device and keep tracking to a minimum, there are lots of tips you can follow (you can Google how to do them! Ah Ah!):
– Disable all google tracking settings and limit, as much as you can the “History” Google keeps of your device:
– If you have a fairly recent android device, enable the “Sensors Off” option- that enables an icon on the “Options” top drawer that is supposed to disable all sensors (camera, gps, mic, rotation sensors, etc)- allowing only low level Mic usage for phone calls

Most important for keeping your phone/tablet light and as functional as possible (most of them, sadly not Collabora office, do work on my Android 4.4.1 tablet, that is still running great):
– Try using alternative Open source Apps. Here are some FOSS suggestions for the most used application categories (as far as I know none of my suggestion tracks users, none shows adds, and all run great even on very old/low resources devices- my tablet is probably about 8 years old and it works great, for most tasks):

– Internet Browser– Mozilla Firefox, Bromite and Monocles Browser (nice option that allows you to browse the Web without using too much mobile data- it can disable Javascript and even web page images- it’s a nice option to browser news sites, blogues, etc, on the move, during commutes). FFupdater – allows you to quickly update your browser (Firefox, Bromite, Chromium, etc) to the latest version, with just a couple of clicks.
– E-mail: k-9 Mail (now being integrated into Mozilla Thunderbird) – it now even works with Gmail (yes, It’s ironic, I still use that email service)
– Messaging services– this one is tricky- most Messaging platforms do track you to some extent- most require you to register with a cell phone number- but “Nekogram X” is the most private Telegram software I found
– “Cloud storage” apps– once again, this is basically using other’s peoples disk space to store your files, but if you really need to use those services- RCX is the way to go- you can even use GDrive without having Google play services running, or logging in through a browser
– Camera – OpenCamera
– GPS– Organic Maps – is a fully off-line software client that downloads (From Openstreetmap) the maps of the countries you need to navigate and stores them on your device- pretty good; My Location – a simple app that provides the GPS coordinates from where you are (nice and fast, if you need to jot down your current coordinates)
– Off-line music player– “Music Player Go”
– Podcasts– AntennaPod
– Calendar– Etar
– Note taking– Joplin
– App stores – F-droid for Open Source Apps (allows you to add repositories for applications, like Bromite) and Aurora Store (allows you to download/update and install free apps from the official Play Store.
– Use Wikipedia and dictionaries off-line– Kiwix (great way to get info without using you mobile data)
– File Browser– “Material Files”- ugly name, great app, allows access to samba shares and usb devices, includes a FTP server)
– Streaming video from youtube, etc– NewPipe (allows you to subscribe to channels, download audio or video)
– Ebook readers (epubs, pdfs, comics)- Librera PRO (also converts any ebook into an audiobook, thanks to android’s TTS engine- you can even set it with a sleep timer.)It’s onlu cons is that can be a bit slow, loading large files from SD cards. On the Pro side, it integrates well with AARD2 off-line dictionaries. AIReader is also a great document reader- lighter and way faster, but lacks somes resources.
–Office– Collabora Office (an LibreOffice implementation for android- it came a long way in the last couple of years); PDF Converter, Editor (a simple text editor). MJ PDF (great little PDF viewer only- does not allow annotations). Text Fairy – great OCR (converts text from images into text files)
– Off line Video Players– VLC or MPV
–Firewall: Netguard- blocks the apps you seleclet from accessing the internet (can block mobile/Wi-fi connections or both)- great way to test drive apps with abusive tracking or excessive adds.
–Assorted apps:PEN &PDF, Sletckes/Pocket Paint- great ways to draw or take notes; Share to Computer (great app to well, share files from your device to your computer), Aard 2- allows you to have off-line dictionaries (ex: from wikionary on your device, can be used with several ebook readers, like Librera PRO- tap a word and it is opened in the dicionary), Sleeptimer (turns off your screen after a predefined time- great if you use your device before going to sleep- can save lots of battery). Handy News Reader (RSS news reader that can download news that you can then read off-line), HeartBeat (measures your heart rate using your camera). MotionMate (tiny Step Counter app, that does not require GPS/network connection)
– Games – that can be played until the end of times- Patience Revisited (has many Patience card games). Puzzles (includes a sudoku clone, minesweeper clone, mastermind clone, Bridges etc), Domination (a Risk clone), CrossWords (a scrabble clone). Mill, Checkers, many Chess games (both off-line and on-line), GOdroid (Go off-line game), Blockinger (great tetris clone), Freeciv Go (Civilization), Gurgle (wordle clone in several languages), Lexica, Bushido Blocks, OpenTTD (Trasnport Tycoon clone). 2048,

• This topic was modified 7 months, 4 weeks ago by PPC.
• This topic was modified 7 months, 4 weeks ago by PPC.
• This topic was modified 7 months, 4 weeks ago by PPC.

[Member ModdIt]

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Hi PPC, also use mostly FDroid on my no google phone,
have always used and recommended NetGuard,
it can be tricky at times getting sites to work as expected but
well worth the learning. I bought the Pro version years ago without
play store giving goog my bank account details. Asked the author for
an IBAN and transferred to him.

I also really like FairEmail from same dev.

For Navigation I use OSM And. That uses a local map database on phone
and is very reliable, even as far away as Ho Chi Minh or in provincial
areas of Vietnam it got me home without trouble.

Phypox Angulo Classic and Phypox are also really interesting applications
available from FDroid. They use phone sensors in creative and useful ways.

Planisphere is also well worth having, its a star map.

And very useful, ISO to USB. Can easily write a bootable USB stick, done for
antiX several times.

Air guard is also a good addition. It seeks Tracker tags.

CameraV can also be useful, it is an evidence/witness camera application.

Only thing I miss is a way to connect phone to screen using USB to HDMI.
It is as powerful as many computers.

Will take another look at Collabora, it was awful a couple of years ago.

For video communication with my friend in Vietnam I have the FDroid
version of wire. I do not trust the claims swiss law protects my privacy.
Nor the fact that wire HQ moved to USA. Problem is like many applications
wire wants to involve play store for notifications. Privacy as usual ade.
Ringing on calls is hit and miss.

[Member iznit]

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Phypox… is actually phyphox

“Sletckes” is this a non-English title or maybe a typo? I could not find that app.

Surprised the long PPC list of apps did not mention the FOSS app named “syncthing” [[[ sync files between phone and PC ]]]

Now I mention a degoogled custom ROM named DivestOS and ask for you impressions, your opinion. I have some strong points of “opinion”, but to date I have not installed DivestOS nor any other custom ROM. My phone is running a degoogled OxygenOS 11 operating system. Well-behaved, telemetry is nil. I have removed or disabled all stock non-AOSP components. All installed apps except the OnePlus camera app [[[ because OpenCamera can only access the main camera sensor ]]] are installed FOSS [[[ F-Droid, not Aurora store ]]]

https://divestos.org/
https://forum.f-droid.org/t/divestos-long-term-device-support-with-enhanced-privacy-and-security/10105
https://old.reddit.com/r/DivestOS
also search for device-specific threads at forum.xda-developers.com

DivestOS is forked from LineageOS. Its sole developer has, for years, applied kernel hardening patches and submitted them upstream to LineageOS. He also maintains a mozilla-based browser fork named “Mull”. https://f-droid.org/en/packages/us.spotco.fennec_dos/ but I am inclined to choose Bromite or Iceraven over Mull.

[Member iznit]

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My full post was rejected.
Too many embedded links smelled spammy?

Will try again, posting URLs not clickable links

<em>h</em>ttps

• This reply was modified 7 months, 3 weeks ago by iznit.

[Member iznit]

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Listing some of my installed apps which aren’t already mentioned in the PPC list.

newpipe
https://f-droid.org/en/packages/org.schabi.newpipe
watch youtube videos, download videos or rip+download audio tracks
[[[ one of my most used apps, but it has been acting unreliable lateley ]]]
also
Oyysee video player
https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.odysee.floss

Material Flashlight (read to learn about its unique features)
https://f-droid.org/en/packages/co.garmax.materialflashlight

Trail Sense compass and a suite of other navigation utilities
https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.kylecorry.trail_sense

termux terminal emulator
https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.termux

radiodroid streaming radio player
https://f-droid.org/en/packages/net.programmierecke.radiodroid2

Simple Gallery Pro simpletools gallery app
https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.simplemobiletools.gallery.pro

JustPlayer music player
https://f-droid.org/en/packages/jp.co.kayo.android.localplayer
along with 5 or 6 other players. NONE have all the features I desire.
SicMu Player
https://f-droid.org/en/packages/souch.smp/
Music Player GO
https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.iven.musicplayergo
mpv
https://f-droid.org/en/packages/is.xyz.mpv
Pretty Good Music Player
https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.smithdtyler.prettygoodmusicplayer

Timidity AE midi player
https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.xperia64.timidityae

Rocks ‘n’ Diamonds arcade game similar to Supaplex/Brainman
https://f-droid.org/en/packages/org.artsoft.rocksndiamonds

carnet notetaking app (installed but I seldom use it)
https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.spisoft.quicknote
also NeutriNote
https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.appmindlab.nano
and Notable Plus
https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.icechen1.notable.pro
and Snotz
https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.sunilpaulmathew.snotz

FlorisBoard is installed but I haven’t taken the time to learn/customize it.
https://f-droid.org/en/packages/dev.patrickgold.florisboard
Just have been using Simple Keyboard [[[not the “SimpleTools” app]]]
https://f-droid.org/en/packages/rkr.simplekeyboard.inputmethod

[Member JordanLess]

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Privacy is an important aspect of our lives, and it’s essential to safeguard our personal information, even on our phones. There are many ways to increase privacy using the phone, from installing privacy-focused apps to adjusting your phone’s settings. When it comes to financial privacy, using secure and legitimate cash games like the ones recommended by https://joywallet.com/article/legit-cash-games/ can help protect your personal and financial information. These games use encryption technology to keep your data safe, and reputable platforms ensure fair play and timely payouts.

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