14 ms·

A group of open source Android apps without ads or unnecessary permissions

380 points by memorable 4y ago

zevv 4y ago
https://github.com/SimpleMobileTools https://github.com/SimpleMobileTools And of course, you should install these from F-Droid, not Google Play
- INTPenis 4y ago
  Why?
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
  - flanbiscuit 4y ago
    I'm guessing because of what's mentioned here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31491321 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31491321 TLDR: Their Calendar app became "not free" and you needed to pay to get notifications or alerts, but only if you downloaded from the Play Store. It's still completely free on f-droid
- wccrawford 4y ago
  Seems like they cost money on Google. Are they free on F-Droid? Edit: It seems like they are, but without the word "Pro" in the title. I can't figure out what makes any of them "Pro". Edit 2: Nope, some of them say "Pro" on F-Droid, too. I guess it's just in the name. Weird.
  - memorable 4y ago
    AFAIK There's no paid apps on F-Droid, so it's likely that they are free.
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
  - ruph123 4y ago
    Some functionality is missing in the Fdroid versions though. E.g. the calendar app is missing the comprehensive editing tools from the Google Play version. The solution? Installing the binaries right from their Github repo.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
mcherm 4y ago
Can someone familiar with these make the case for why I should be using them (or at least one specific app in the suite)?
- edent 4y ago
  I use the gallery. It is simply a foldered list of my images - sorted by most recent. It doesn't try to upsell me anything. It doesn't have a tonne of features I'll never use. It is much faster than my phone manufacturer's gallery.
  - opan 4y ago
    Adding to this, it lets you zoom in further than most stock gallery apps, and doesn't do that annoying bounce-back thing.
- rickosborne 4y ago
  I've used the audio recorder. Other than the permission to use the microphone, it doesn't use any other permission. It doesn't even ask for general filesystem permissions, and assumes you are savvy enough to know how to use the standard Share functionality to get the files where you want. The app does exactly what it says (records audio) and doesn't phone home, try to integrate with any services, collect any information about you. It just works. If that type of thing is important to you, and you have a need for the functionality provided by one of the tools, there's your use case.
- the_third_wave 4y ago
  I use a few of these - simple file manager, simple gallery - on (my wife's) devices which are encumbered by custom Android shells (Samsung and Sony to give a few examples) which make it harder than necessary to perform certain tasks. They are complementary to whatever is installed on these devices, they're not in the way, they're free (from F-Droid) and I don't really care about that orange theme since I only use them occasionally. If you have an AOSP-derived distribution like LineageOS installed there is not much need for this type of app but for those who are stuck with custom Android shells like Samsung's Touchwiz and Sony's Xperia some of these 'simple' apps can come in handy.
ByThyGrace 4y ago
I still have old Android phones that I'm not using because of outdated kernels/OS versions and their disadvantages in terms of vulnerabilities, but given the hardware is completely fine I would use them as offline general purpose tools if I had an easy way to install old store apps in them. So does anybody know if there is perhaps an archive of old APK app files (old as in Android KitKat and earlier)?
- giantg2 4y ago
  Someone else linked to the Github. If nothing else, you could build APKs for yourself.
- lalopalota 4y ago
  back when Yalp Store was working, it would let you decrement version numbers. if the author hadn't removed them from the play store and you guessed correctly, you could download older versions. i think sites like apkmirror also provide older versions.
  - tssva 4y ago
    APKmirror does allow you to download older versions. APKMirror started in 2014 so they may have versions of some apps which are old enough to work on KitKat, released in 2013, and older.
  - Aachen 4y ago
    The newer Aurora store works the same, but you have to guess the version numbers and I'd assume they don't go back very far. Since Aurora and Yalp both just talk to Google's app repository, Yalp presumably has the same limitations and you wouldn't find something of 8 years old there.
- Aachen 4y ago
  F-Droid has a few versions of history for each app, but that might not be enough for 4.4 compatibility in some cases. Many apps haven't been updated in years though, so those will surely work :). I recently installed a metronome thing whose last release is from April 2013, works as intended on Android 11.
jqpabc123 4y ago
I have used some of these on and off. In general, they are simple and functional and seem to be well made and privacy respecting ... but they are only "free" if you don't mind the nag screen and the orange theme which can only be changed in the purchased version. What I don't like about purchased apps is the fact that you have to pay again for every upgrade. And I have to pay twice since I use 2 phones --- one private and one for work.
- IceWreck 4y ago
  They are completely free and you don't have to pay for every upgrade. They're open source, just get the builds from f-droid instead of the paid play store builds. You can still pay to support the developer.
  - jqpabc123 4y ago
    Should have been more clear --- by "upgrade" I meant a hardware change. Phone hardware is designed to be replaced every 2-3 years. And I already pointed out the definition of "free" at work here.
    - NoahKAndrews 4y ago
      Google Play app purchases are tied to your account, not your phone. You don't need to try purchase when you get a new phone.
      - jqpabc123 4y ago
        Can I migrate them to my work phone? In any case, I don't use "Google Play".
        josephcsible 4y ago
        Then where did you get them that you paid for them?
jokoon 4y ago
I use the calendar one. Since it went not free, the free version doesn't generate notifications or alerts anymore. I almost missed appointments or meetings because of this. This is planned obsolescence at best. I seriously despise everything about this.
- cowtools 4y ago
  That's odd. I got the calendar app off of f-droid and it works just fine for me.
- josephcsible 4y ago
  You only have to pay if you want to get it from the Play Store. They make the pro version available for free on F-Droid.
  - SCLeo 4y ago
    ... This is obviously not about the money. Everyone here can easily afford to buy the pro version off the Play Store. The issue is about them pushing people to pay by removing features AFTER they already invested their time, data, and habit into the app.
    - notyourday 4y ago
      - jasonm23 4y ago
        It's obviously not that. The snark isn't appropriate here. Bad faith practices / dark patterns are obnoxious, period. These apps present themselves as free and make a point of putting this message front and center. Then nag you incessantly and quietly remove feature to push people to upgrade. This is dishonest, counterproductive and simply lead to bad reviews and the apps being uninstalled. The marketing is obviously an attempt to leverage the good faith around OSS and then does a full 180. It's a con / scam and an ineffective one.
Zababa 4y ago
Note that some of these apps, the one that have "Pro" at the end, are not free (they cost $0.99). Here is the announcement by the author of the apps: https://tibbi.medium.com/some-simple-mobile-tools-apps-are-becoming-paid-d053268f0fb2 https://tibbi.medium.com/some-simple-mobile-tools-apps-are-b...
- forgotpwd16 4y ago
  Considering they're free (software; GPL), I'm surprised no one went full jerk mode and put them on store for free (ware; 0$).
IshKebab 4y ago
Why do all calendar apps put months next to each other, instead of using a continuous vertically scrollable view with them on top of each other? It's maddening! Actually Google got this right at one point - but then they reverted to the stupid way!!
- sigio 4y ago
  Because down/up swipes are usually used to switch apps, or go to settings/menu's, so right/left swipes are a lot easier to switch months/days/weeks
  - IshKebab 4y ago
    Right/left swipes are used for back. They're a lot more problematic than up/down because screens are narrow and tall, so it's easier to confuse the back gesture. Anyway that's clearly not the reason - Google switched back and forth years before navigation gestures were a thing.
- dotancohen 4y ago
  Business Calendar Pro uses a continuous vertically scrollable view for months. I love it.
  - wander_homer 4y ago
    acalendar, my favorite, does that as well.
Retr0id 4y ago
They do have ads though, advertising their respective "Pro" versions.
fortyseven 4y ago
Big fan of the gallery app.
- retSava 4y ago
  Indeed. Have many years worth of photos on my phone (also backed up elsewhere ofc), well above 10k, and it has no problem browsing them. Many others bog down on this. Love being able to browse so far back without having to go over internet (google photos or dropbox or ...).
- rchaud 4y ago
  Me too. It's a gallery app, but has "file manager" functionality easily available in the UI. I can rename files, move them to different folders, or create a new folder. I can't do any of that on the stock Samsung Gallery app, so I frequently lose track of images and have to look through the entire gallery if I want to find something.
lc0_stein 4y ago
I use the Gallery and File Manager apps. They are also among the very few apps I have ever willingly paid for, primarily to thank the dev for making a well-functioning product with great UI/UX. If the author is reading this comment, thanks for your work.
docflabby 4y ago
I made a free shopping list app its not open source as ive lost the source...I made this about 10 years ago. Play store basically shadow bans completely free apps from small developers without adverts as far as i can tell. This is the app https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.flabbyfish.shoppinglist&hl=en_SG https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.flabbyfish...
- leodriesch 4y ago
  Do you have some evidence of that or is this rather a feeling of yours? (Genuinely interested)
  - hedora 4y ago
    I've noticed this as an end user. If I want to find a working free android app, I check FDroid first. The android store probably has whatever I will find, but it's usually hidden below dozens of completeley broken ad / surveillance supported ones. Can devs pay for placement in the android store or something?
  - ezconnect 4y ago
    Play store search seems to filter result by location and sometimes even if you type the exact name it does not show you the app and if you visit the link from the developer site it does appear just not on search.
josephcsible 4y ago
I've used Simple File Manager from F-Droid ever since https://review.lineageos.org/#/q/topic:nuke_cmfm https://review.lineageos.org/#/q/topic:nuke_cmfm (LineageOS getting rid of their built-in powerful one) happened.
glook 4y ago
I am a heavy user of f-droid and avoid these 'Simple' apps. The high level of nag is not just annoying but borders on begging. Having pro versions where you can change colors defeats the idea of open source. I hate bringing the negative energy, but there is a treasure of apps available with f-droid other than these. I am glad they have their own website and wish they just went and did their own thing there.
- ffpip 4y ago
  > Having pro versions where you can change colors defeats the idea of open source Do you have any other ways the developer can make a living? AFAIK the pro features (excluding the closed source 3rd party SDKs) are all open source. You can build them on your own or download it off F-Droid.
  - metalliqaz 4y ago
    I am an oss dev. I make a living at my day job.
    - mburee 4y ago
      Exactly, if you don't want to develop open source software, just don't do it
      - cinntaile 4y ago
        It doesn't mean you have to do it for free, even if you develop open source software.
      - phalangion 4y ago
        And if you don’t like how someone manages their open source software, don’t use it.
        teknopaul 4y ago
        That's what peeps here are recommending. Save yourself a download if you are used to the normal OS model.
ffpip 4y ago
I use the Gallery app and it was really the best, until the developer had to remove the hide/unhide images due to changes in Android 12 :( .
- zufallsheld 4y ago
  I use the gallery app on android 12 (on a Pixel) and the hiding and unhiding works.
  - ffpip 4y ago
    Do you use the Pro version? The free one hasn't been updated in a few years so is not affected by changes to Android 12.
    - zufallsheld 4y ago
      Yes, I use the v6.22.0 Pro version from the Play Store.
      - ffpip 4y ago
        I'm on v.6.23.6, maybe v.6.23 is when these changes were introduced.
        zufallsheld 4y ago
        I digged a bit deeper and it looks like you're right. In 6.23.0 it was removed: https://github.com/SimpleMobileTools/Simple-Gallery/releases/tag/6.23.0 https://github.com/SimpleMobileTools/Simple-Gallery/releases... But in 6.23.6 it should be there again: https://github.com/SimpleMobileTools/Simple-Gallery/releases/tag/6.23.6 https://github.com/SimpleMobileTools/Simple-Gallery/releases... But it seems it won't happen for the Play-Store version: https://www.reddit.com/r/SimpleMobileTools/comments/uqqqsj/comment/i8tmuwb/?context=3 https://www.reddit.com/r/SimpleMobileTools/comments/uqqqsj/c...
hitovst 4y ago
I think it is a mistake not to link to apps in F-Droid, as the more this appeals to someone, the less likely they are to use Google products.
ibnishak 4y ago
One of the very few apps I actually paid for. The mental peace that comes with not leaking my data to yet another calendar application alone was worth it. I find this business model lot more sensible than demanding that open-source developers should eternally martyr themselves. You can see the effect of this in the feature set of these applications. If you are the semi-paranoid kind, the following stack of opensource apps will enable you to keep a calendar/contacts/tasks in sync between Linux and android without an internet connection. On Android Side 1. Simple Calendar 2. Dec Sync (Fdroid) 3. SyncThing On Linux Side 1. SyncThing 2. Evolution with Decsync plugin What Decsync does is keep your calendar/contacts/tasks data in a single folder in open format. This can be read on GNU+Linux side with any app that has a Decsync plugin. This folder can be backed up using whatever is your backup solution (For those who are curious - I do a encrypted incremental backup with BorgBackup (Vorta GUI) and then upload to cloud using Rclone). Decysnc also supports syncing RSS feeds between applications, although I have not been able to find a working Linux RSS app that has Decsync plugin.
- metalliqaz 4y ago
  It's nice that a flow exists for your use case, but when I see things like this I'm always puzzled by the use case in the first place. The only reason I use a calendar on my phone is to sync my schedule with the wife/family. We put things on a shared calendar. I use it to capture appointments and check if we have commitments on a given date. Otherwise I would never use a calendar on my phone. So syncing between accounts over the Internet is a hard requirement.
  - dotancohen 4y ago
    The calendar app uses the internal Android calendar service, which can be synced via Davx. I sync mine with NextCloud.
    - sureglymop 4y ago
      In that case why don't you sync your calendar with Nextcloud directly using CalDav? I use DavX5 for this and it works great, actually i think DecSync is a fork of DavX5.
alaricus 4y ago
I love these apps, they are great. I donated to the developer and really recommend doing the same.
- LanternLight83 4y ago
  Me too, they've been updating and maintaining this wide array of apps for longer than I've consciously sought open-source. It's a shame they've discontinued Open Camera, but their suite is still very impressive, and they likely work under the same thankless conditions as any developer of free apps. Lead Dev has a Patreon, and if you use a few of their apps, and appreciate their continued existence, it could be worth a regular pay-what-you-can-esque contribution.
  - alaricus 4y ago
    I don't like that Patreon takes a cut. So I just sent the developer a bank transfer.
2OEH8eoCRo0 4y ago
I'd love a better Android TV launcher. Google crammed my Nvidia Shield home screen full of ads.
tjpnz 4y ago
Have there been any attempts to package multiple apps together as one? Imagine having a swiss army knife of FOSS apps for simple everyday tasks, with a single set of permissions and consistent UI/UX.
- kupfer 4y ago
  I think Öffi/Offi does that. I install one app and get three icons with different functionalities. I think it's a bit annoying, because I cannot hide them individually.
m3nu 4y ago
I use the gallery app. Probably paid a little in the official app store. No nagging or issues.
dotancohen 4y ago
I bought Simple Contacts Pro, it's great but it has enough papercuts to where I went back to True Phone. Here are my bug reports: Set default phone number for contact: https://github.com/SimpleMobileTools/Simple-Contacts/issues/807 https://github.com/SimpleMobileTools/Simple-Contacts/issues/... Cannot create new group (category) for Nextcloud account/address book: https://github.com/SimpleMobileTools/Simple-Contacts/issues/638 https://github.com/SimpleMobileTools/Simple-Contacts/issues/... Favorites tab showing contacts from all accounts: https://github.com/SimpleMobileTools/Simple-Contacts/issues/808 https://github.com/SimpleMobileTools/Simple-Contacts/issues/...
todorov84 4y ago
I don't trust this developer. For the last two years or so they tried to retire "Simple Gallery" (which already had no ads or extra permissions required) and move people to its paid version by releasing updates with nag screens and fewer and fewer functions (edit: removals). Every single time someone complained in a review, they would reply a canned answer: "Hey, there are many improvements in the Pro app version, it is definitely worth upgrading". I have no issue paying for apps I like, but sorry, I won't reward scummy behaviour.
- teknopaul 4y ago
  Agree. OpenSource but without the free as in beer. You have to pay if you don't want orange. They should try the service model every one else works on. App Stores are slightly responsible for reducing devs monetization options.
  - lupire 4y ago
    You or anyone can fork it, right?
    - e12e 4y ago
      Looks like it's all gpl 3 - so yes? https://github.com/SimpleMobileTools/Simple-Gallery https://github.com/SimpleMobileTools/Simple-Gallery
renewiltord 4y ago
I like this stuff but I'm a big no on nag screens. Would rather pay for app. Free not needed but don't want nags or ad.
Seb-C 4y ago
Having tested dozens of Gallery apps, I have to say that I had a hard time finding one that does not do magic with my files, but rather uses the file system (directories) to organize it. I have thousands of photos carefully sorted, categorized and synchronized with other devices, and Android's way of managing photos just does not work for me. Everything is messed up and ordered or grouped by some magic algorithm instead of showing me directories. It seems that the app I'm using is somehow featured here now, but the previous version disappeared from the store? I'm confused and afraid of attempting any update because I don't want this feature to disappear.
blendergeek 4y ago
I see a number of comments here complaining that these apps cost money on the Play Store. To all of you, I say, the developer of these apps owes you nothing. You are entitled. These apps are a product built over a period of years largely buy a single developer. This developer has chosen to embrace Free Software and releases the entire source code to the pro-versions of these apps in order to allow you both audit them and build them yourself or fork them if you choose. I only use F-Droid (which has the full versions gratis) so I donated to the developer's Patreon (until I switched to a Pinephone). If these apps were proprietary, would you be entitled to them gratis (free of charge)? How does the developer granting you access to the source code change this? If you use and enjoy these apps, please consider donating to the develop's Patreon in order to support them more fully.
- xtracto 4y ago
  Right on. The entitlement of some of the comments here is amazing. Dude makes some android apps, decide to release them on Android for free, even sharing the code. Then he DARES to charge end users for downloading pro versions of the apps from the official Google Play store... while still making Available the functionality in the source code and in f-droid. And people are complaining?? IMHO This is the best scenario a developer could provide with his software.
smm11 4y ago
And I'd have to get it on Google Play.
Pxtl 4y ago
Anyone know if the Simple File Manager is good at SMB shares? My previous preferred file manager for accessing my NAS was Asus File Manager, and that's gotten bitrotted since then (darn Android for moving APIs so fast).
woevdbz 4y ago
The pitch sounds great, the app reviews do not
betwixthewires 4y ago
I have been using a couple of these apps for years and have never been nagged to upgrade or pay. I'm an f-droid user, so that's probably why. A lot of FOSS apps are taking this approach: offer the full version in f-droid, charge for it in the play store, both to encourage f-droid use and pay some bills. There's nothing wrong with it. The only problem I've ever had with it was I used the contacts app when it was new and it didn't actually fill in phone numbers on vcard export. This was terrible, thankfully I had an older backup and only lost a couple of contacts, but still. Beyond that, these tools work extremely well.

380 points by memorable 4y ago

zevv 4y ago

https://github.com/SimpleMobileTools https://github.com/SimpleMobileTools And of course, you should install these from F-Droid, not Google Play

INTPenis 4y ago
Why?
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- flanbiscuit 4y ago
  I'm guessing because of what's mentioned here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31491321 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31491321 TLDR: Their Calendar app became "not free" and you needed to pay to get notifications or alerts, but only if you downloaded from the Play Store. It's still completely free on f-droid
wccrawford 4y ago
Seems like they cost money on Google. Are they free on F-Droid? Edit: It seems like they are, but without the word "Pro" in the title. I can't figure out what makes any of them "Pro". Edit 2: Nope, some of them say "Pro" on F-Droid, too. I guess it's just in the name. Weird.
- memorable 4y ago
  AFAIK There's no paid apps on F-Droid, so it's likely that they are free.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- ruph123 4y ago
  Some functionality is missing in the Fdroid versions though. E.g. the calendar app is missing the comprehensive editing tools from the Google Play version. The solution? Installing the binaries right from their Github repo.

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

mcherm 4y ago

Can someone familiar with these make the case for why I should be using them (or at least one specific app in the suite)?

edent 4y ago
I use the gallery. It is simply a foldered list of my images - sorted by most recent. It doesn't try to upsell me anything. It doesn't have a tonne of features I'll never use. It is much faster than my phone manufacturer's gallery.
- opan 4y ago
  Adding to this, it lets you zoom in further than most stock gallery apps, and doesn't do that annoying bounce-back thing.
rickosborne 4y ago
I've used the audio recorder. Other than the permission to use the microphone, it doesn't use any other permission. It doesn't even ask for general filesystem permissions, and assumes you are savvy enough to know how to use the standard Share functionality to get the files where you want. The app does exactly what it says (records audio) and doesn't phone home, try to integrate with any services, collect any information about you. It just works. If that type of thing is important to you, and you have a need for the functionality provided by one of the tools, there's your use case.
the_third_wave 4y ago
I use a few of these - simple file manager, simple gallery - on (my wife's) devices which are encumbered by custom Android shells (Samsung and Sony to give a few examples) which make it harder than necessary to perform certain tasks. They are complementary to whatever is installed on these devices, they're not in the way, they're free (from F-Droid) and I don't really care about that orange theme since I only use them occasionally. If you have an AOSP-derived distribution like LineageOS installed there is not much need for this type of app but for those who are stuck with custom Android shells like Samsung's Touchwiz and Sony's Xperia some of these 'simple' apps can come in handy.

ByThyGrace 4y ago

I still have old Android phones that I'm not using because of outdated kernels/OS versions and their disadvantages in terms of vulnerabilities, but given the hardware is completely fine I would use them as offline general purpose tools if I had an easy way to install old store apps in them. So does anybody know if there is perhaps an archive of old APK app files (old as in Android KitKat and earlier)?

giantg2 4y ago
Someone else linked to the Github. If nothing else, you could build APKs for yourself.
lalopalota 4y ago
back when Yalp Store was working, it would let you decrement version numbers. if the author hadn't removed them from the play store and you guessed correctly, you could download older versions. i think sites like apkmirror also provide older versions.
- tssva 4y ago
  APKmirror does allow you to download older versions. APKMirror started in 2014 so they may have versions of some apps which are old enough to work on KitKat, released in 2013, and older.
- Aachen 4y ago
  The newer Aurora store works the same, but you have to guess the version numbers and I'd assume they don't go back very far. Since Aurora and Yalp both just talk to Google's app repository, Yalp presumably has the same limitations and you wouldn't find something of 8 years old there.
Aachen 4y ago
F-Droid has a few versions of history for each app, but that might not be enough for 4.4 compatibility in some cases. Many apps haven't been updated in years though, so those will surely work :). I recently installed a metronome thing whose last release is from April 2013, works as intended on Android 11.

jqpabc123 4y ago

I have used some of these on and off. In general, they are simple and functional and seem to be well made and privacy respecting ... but they are only "free" if you don't mind the nag screen and the orange theme which can only be changed in the purchased version. What I don't like about purchased apps is the fact that you have to pay again for every upgrade. And I have to pay twice since I use 2 phones --- one private and one for work.

IceWreck 4y ago
They are completely free and you don't have to pay for every upgrade. They're open source, just get the builds from f-droid instead of the paid play store builds. You can still pay to support the developer.
- jqpabc123 4y ago
  Should have been more clear --- by "upgrade" I meant a hardware change. Phone hardware is designed to be replaced every 2-3 years. And I already pointed out the definition of "free" at work here.
  - NoahKAndrews 4y ago
    Google Play app purchases are tied to your account, not your phone. You don't need to try purchase when you get a new phone.
    - jqpabc123 4y ago
      Can I migrate them to my work phone? In any case, I don't use "Google Play".
      - josephcsible 4y ago
        Then where did you get them that you paid for them?

jokoon 4y ago

I use the calendar one. Since it went not free, the free version doesn't generate notifications or alerts anymore. I almost missed appointments or meetings because of this. This is planned obsolescence at best. I seriously despise everything about this.

cowtools 4y ago
That's odd. I got the calendar app off of f-droid and it works just fine for me.
josephcsible 4y ago
You only have to pay if you want to get it from the Play Store. They make the pro version available for free on F-Droid.
- SCLeo 4y ago
  ... This is obviously not about the money. Everyone here can easily afford to buy the pro version off the Play Store. The issue is about them pushing people to pay by removing features AFTER they already invested their time, data, and habit into the app.
  - notyourday 4y ago
    - jasonm23 4y ago
      It's obviously not that. The snark isn't appropriate here. Bad faith practices / dark patterns are obnoxious, period. These apps present themselves as free and make a point of putting this message front and center. Then nag you incessantly and quietly remove feature to push people to upgrade. This is dishonest, counterproductive and simply lead to bad reviews and the apps being uninstalled. The marketing is obviously an attempt to leverage the good faith around OSS and then does a full 180. It's a con / scam and an ineffective one.

Zababa 4y ago

Note that some of these apps, the one that have "Pro" at the end, are not free (they cost $0.99). Here is the announcement by the author of the apps: https://tibbi.medium.com/some-simple-mobile-tools-apps-are-becoming-paid-d053268f0fb2 https://tibbi.medium.com/some-simple-mobile-tools-apps-are-b...

forgotpwd16 4y ago
Considering they're free (software; GPL), I'm surprised no one went full jerk mode and put them on store for free (ware; 0$).

IshKebab 4y ago

Why do all calendar apps put months next to each other, instead of using a continuous vertically scrollable view with them on top of each other? It's maddening! Actually Google got this right at one point - but then they reverted to the stupid way!!

sigio 4y ago
Because down/up swipes are usually used to switch apps, or go to settings/menu's, so right/left swipes are a lot easier to switch months/days/weeks
- IshKebab 4y ago
  Right/left swipes are used for back. They're a lot more problematic than up/down because screens are narrow and tall, so it's easier to confuse the back gesture. Anyway that's clearly not the reason - Google switched back and forth years before navigation gestures were a thing.
dotancohen 4y ago
Business Calendar Pro uses a continuous vertically scrollable view for months. I love it.
- wander_homer 4y ago
  acalendar, my favorite, does that as well.

Retr0id 4y ago

They do have ads though, advertising their respective "Pro" versions.

fortyseven 4y ago

Big fan of the gallery app.

retSava 4y ago
Indeed. Have many years worth of photos on my phone (also backed up elsewhere ofc), well above 10k, and it has no problem browsing them. Many others bog down on this. Love being able to browse so far back without having to go over internet (google photos or dropbox or ...).
rchaud 4y ago
Me too. It's a gallery app, but has "file manager" functionality easily available in the UI. I can rename files, move them to different folders, or create a new folder. I can't do any of that on the stock Samsung Gallery app, so I frequently lose track of images and have to look through the entire gallery if I want to find something.

lc0_stein 4y ago

I use the Gallery and File Manager apps. They are also among the very few apps I have ever willingly paid for, primarily to thank the dev for making a well-functioning product with great UI/UX. If the author is reading this comment, thanks for your work.

docflabby 4y ago

I made a free shopping list app its not open source as ive lost the source...I made this about 10 years ago. Play store basically shadow bans completely free apps from small developers without adverts as far as i can tell. This is the app https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.flabbyfish.shoppinglist&hl=en_SG https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.flabbyfish...

leodriesch 4y ago
Do you have some evidence of that or is this rather a feeling of yours? (Genuinely interested)
- hedora 4y ago
  I've noticed this as an end user. If I want to find a working free android app, I check FDroid first. The android store probably has whatever I will find, but it's usually hidden below dozens of completeley broken ad / surveillance supported ones. Can devs pay for placement in the android store or something?
- ezconnect 4y ago
  Play store search seems to filter result by location and sometimes even if you type the exact name it does not show you the app and if you visit the link from the developer site it does appear just not on search.

josephcsible 4y ago

I've used Simple File Manager from F-Droid ever since https://review.lineageos.org/#/q/topic:nuke_cmfm https://review.lineageos.org/#/q/topic:nuke_cmfm (LineageOS getting rid of their built-in powerful one) happened.

glook 4y ago

I am a heavy user of f-droid and avoid these 'Simple' apps. The high level of nag is not just annoying but borders on begging. Having pro versions where you can change colors defeats the idea of open source. I hate bringing the negative energy, but there is a treasure of apps available with f-droid other than these. I am glad they have their own website and wish they just went and did their own thing there.

ffpip 4y ago
> Having pro versions where you can change colors defeats the idea of open source Do you have any other ways the developer can make a living? AFAIK the pro features (excluding the closed source 3rd party SDKs) are all open source. You can build them on your own or download it off F-Droid.
- metalliqaz 4y ago
  I am an oss dev. I make a living at my day job.
  - mburee 4y ago
    Exactly, if you don't want to develop open source software, just don't do it
    - cinntaile 4y ago
      It doesn't mean you have to do it for free, even if you develop open source software.
    - phalangion 4y ago
      And if you don’t like how someone manages their open source software, don’t use it.
      - teknopaul 4y ago
        That's what peeps here are recommending. Save yourself a download if you are used to the normal OS model.

ffpip 4y ago

I use the Gallery app and it was really the best, until the developer had to remove the hide/unhide images due to changes in Android 12 :( .

zufallsheld 4y ago
I use the gallery app on android 12 (on a Pixel) and the hiding and unhiding works.
- ffpip 4y ago
  Do you use the Pro version? The free one hasn't been updated in a few years so is not affected by changes to Android 12.
  - zufallsheld 4y ago
    Yes, I use the v6.22.0 Pro version from the Play Store.
    - ffpip 4y ago
      I'm on v.6.23.6, maybe v.6.23 is when these changes were introduced.
      - zufallsheld 4y ago
        I digged a bit deeper and it looks like you're right. In 6.23.0 it was removed: https://github.com/SimpleMobileTools/Simple-Gallery/releases/tag/6.23.0 https://github.com/SimpleMobileTools/Simple-Gallery/releases... But in 6.23.6 it should be there again: https://github.com/SimpleMobileTools/Simple-Gallery/releases/tag/6.23.6 https://github.com/SimpleMobileTools/Simple-Gallery/releases... But it seems it won't happen for the Play-Store version: https://www.reddit.com/r/SimpleMobileTools/comments/uqqqsj/comment/i8tmuwb/?context=3 https://www.reddit.com/r/SimpleMobileTools/comments/uqqqsj/c...

hitovst 4y ago

I think it is a mistake not to link to apps in F-Droid, as the more this appeals to someone, the less likely they are to use Google products.

ibnishak 4y ago

One of the very few apps I actually paid for. The mental peace that comes with not leaking my data to yet another calendar application alone was worth it. I find this business model lot more sensible than demanding that open-source developers should eternally martyr themselves. You can see the effect of this in the feature set of these applications. If you are the semi-paranoid kind, the following stack of opensource apps will enable you to keep a calendar/contacts/tasks in sync between Linux and android without an internet connection. On Android Side 1. Simple Calendar 2. Dec Sync (Fdroid) 3. SyncThing On Linux Side 1. SyncThing 2. Evolution with Decsync plugin What Decsync does is keep your calendar/contacts/tasks data in a single folder in open format. This can be read on GNU+Linux side with any app that has a Decsync plugin. This folder can be backed up using whatever is your backup solution (For those who are curious - I do a encrypted incremental backup with BorgBackup (Vorta GUI) and then upload to cloud using Rclone). Decysnc also supports syncing RSS feeds between applications, although I have not been able to find a working Linux RSS app that has Decsync plugin.

metalliqaz 4y ago
It's nice that a flow exists for your use case, but when I see things like this I'm always puzzled by the use case in the first place. The only reason I use a calendar on my phone is to sync my schedule with the wife/family. We put things on a shared calendar. I use it to capture appointments and check if we have commitments on a given date. Otherwise I would never use a calendar on my phone. So syncing between accounts over the Internet is a hard requirement.
- dotancohen 4y ago
  The calendar app uses the internal Android calendar service, which can be synced via Davx. I sync mine with NextCloud.
  - sureglymop 4y ago
    In that case why don't you sync your calendar with Nextcloud directly using CalDav? I use DavX5 for this and it works great, actually i think DecSync is a fork of DavX5.

alaricus 4y ago

I love these apps, they are great. I donated to the developer and really recommend doing the same.

LanternLight83 4y ago
Me too, they've been updating and maintaining this wide array of apps for longer than I've consciously sought open-source. It's a shame they've discontinued Open Camera, but their suite is still very impressive, and they likely work under the same thankless conditions as any developer of free apps. Lead Dev has a Patreon, and if you use a few of their apps, and appreciate their continued existence, it could be worth a regular pay-what-you-can-esque contribution.
- alaricus 4y ago
  I don't like that Patreon takes a cut. So I just sent the developer a bank transfer.

2OEH8eoCRo0 4y ago

I'd love a better Android TV launcher. Google crammed my Nvidia Shield home screen full of ads.

tjpnz 4y ago

Have there been any attempts to package multiple apps together as one? Imagine having a swiss army knife of FOSS apps for simple everyday tasks, with a single set of permissions and consistent UI/UX.

kupfer 4y ago
I think Öffi/Offi does that. I install one app and get three icons with different functionalities. I think it's a bit annoying, because I cannot hide them individually.

m3nu 4y ago

I use the gallery app. Probably paid a little in the official app store. No nagging or issues.

dotancohen 4y ago

I bought Simple Contacts Pro, it's great but it has enough papercuts to where I went back to True Phone. Here are my bug reports: Set default phone number for contact: https://github.com/SimpleMobileTools/Simple-Contacts/issues/807 https://github.com/SimpleMobileTools/Simple-Contacts/issues/... Cannot create new group (category) for Nextcloud account/address book: https://github.com/SimpleMobileTools/Simple-Contacts/issues/638 https://github.com/SimpleMobileTools/Simple-Contacts/issues/... Favorites tab showing contacts from all accounts: https://github.com/SimpleMobileTools/Simple-Contacts/issues/808 https://github.com/SimpleMobileTools/Simple-Contacts/issues/...

todorov84 4y ago

I don't trust this developer. For the last two years or so they tried to retire "Simple Gallery" (which already had no ads or extra permissions required) and move people to its paid version by releasing updates with nag screens and fewer and fewer functions (edit: removals). Every single time someone complained in a review, they would reply a canned answer: "Hey, there are many improvements in the Pro app version, it is definitely worth upgrading". I have no issue paying for apps I like, but sorry, I won't reward scummy behaviour.

teknopaul 4y ago
Agree. OpenSource but without the free as in beer. You have to pay if you don't want orange. They should try the service model every one else works on. App Stores are slightly responsible for reducing devs monetization options.
- lupire 4y ago
  You or anyone can fork it, right?
  - e12e 4y ago
    Looks like it's all gpl 3 - so yes? https://github.com/SimpleMobileTools/Simple-Gallery https://github.com/SimpleMobileTools/Simple-Gallery

renewiltord 4y ago

I like this stuff but I'm a big no on nag screens. Would rather pay for app. Free not needed but don't want nags or ad.

Seb-C 4y ago

Having tested dozens of Gallery apps, I have to say that I had a hard time finding one that does not do magic with my files, but rather uses the file system (directories) to organize it. I have thousands of photos carefully sorted, categorized and synchronized with other devices, and Android's way of managing photos just does not work for me. Everything is messed up and ordered or grouped by some magic algorithm instead of showing me directories. It seems that the app I'm using is somehow featured here now, but the previous version disappeared from the store? I'm confused and afraid of attempting any update because I don't want this feature to disappear.

blendergeek 4y ago

I see a number of comments here complaining that these apps cost money on the Play Store. To all of you, I say, the developer of these apps owes you nothing. You are entitled. These apps are a product built over a period of years largely buy a single developer. This developer has chosen to embrace Free Software and releases the entire source code to the pro-versions of these apps in order to allow you both audit them and build them yourself or fork them if you choose. I only use F-Droid (which has the full versions gratis) so I donated to the developer's Patreon (until I switched to a Pinephone). If these apps were proprietary, would you be entitled to them gratis (free of charge)? How does the developer granting you access to the source code change this? If you use and enjoy these apps, please consider donating to the develop's Patreon in order to support them more fully.

xtracto 4y ago
Right on. The entitlement of some of the comments here is amazing. Dude makes some android apps, decide to release them on Android for free, even sharing the code. Then he DARES to charge end users for downloading pro versions of the apps from the official Google Play store... while still making Available the functionality in the source code and in f-droid. And people are complaining?? IMHO This is the best scenario a developer could provide with his software.

smm11 4y ago

And I'd have to get it on Google Play.

Pxtl 4y ago

Anyone know if the Simple File Manager is good at SMB shares? My previous preferred file manager for accessing my NAS was Asus File Manager, and that's gotten bitrotted since then (darn Android for moving APIs so fast).

woevdbz 4y ago

The pitch sounds great, the app reviews do not

betwixthewires 4y ago

I have been using a couple of these apps for years and have never been nagged to upgrade or pay. I'm an f-droid user, so that's probably why. A lot of FOSS apps are taking this approach: offer the full version in f-droid, charge for it in the play store, both to encourage f-droid use and pay some bills. There's nothing wrong with it. The only problem I've ever had with it was I used the contacts app when it was new and it didn't actually fill in phone numbers on vcard export. This was terrible, thankfully I had an older backup and only lost a couple of contacts, but still. Beyond that, these tools work extremely well.