5 ms·

I remember there was a publisher in Play Store who had very small apps like single digit kb flashlight, sudoku, calender, etc. I can't find them now. Those apps

I remember there was a publisher in Play Store who had very small apps like single digit kb flashlight, sudoku, calender, etc. I can't find them now. Those apps were really small all within <200kb

butz 2y ago
Google Play probably kicked them off for not using latest Android SDK or something. So many tiny and high quality apps were lost.
- johnisgood 2y ago
  Google is not only killing their own projects, but other people's, too.
  - refulgentis 2y ago
    I'm no fan of Google, but it's slightly more complicated than that, there's a lot of security and privacy stuff that can't be enforced if your app was build 6 years ago and still slopping around.
    - tourmalinetaco 2y ago
      Does that really matter for a local-only 5KB app that only talks with my phone‘s flashlight, or reads sensor data? Now, maybe for the 500MB adware-filled “flashlight” app that connects to 100s of servers and demands access to everything my device can do, but that would be banned on any competent app store anyway.
      - ninetyninenine 2y ago
        No but enforcing policy is manageable. Enforcing reasonable security measures based on nuances and case by case situations is not manageable for an ecosystem of that scale.
      - JoshTriplett 2y ago
        I don't know if this is still the case, but at one point the permission needed to access the flashlight also gave access to the camera. And there aren't restrictions on network connections from apps. (I'd love to have app network access restricted by permissions, but that would be a large change.) And in any case, Android has had built-in flashlight support for a while now, for any phone that has a camera with a flash. Is the "turn the screen bright white" style still useful with modern Android?
        MrLeap 2y ago
        It is if your flashlight's broke.
        freedomben 2y ago
        Kind of a side note, but flashdim is an amazing open-source flashlight app that everybody needs[1][2][3]. [1]: https://github.com/cyb3rko/flashdim https://github.com/cyb3rko/flashdim [2]: https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.cyb3rko.flashdim/ https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.cyb3rko.flashdim/ [3]: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.cyb3rko.flashdim&hl=en_US https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.cyb3rko.fl...
        ainka-ainka 2y ago
        GrapheneOS (https://grapheneos.org/ https://grapheneos.org/) contains network access permission.
    - deleted 2y ago
      [deleted]
- inquirerGeneral 2y ago
  [dead]
- epmaybe 2y ago
  This is something that really bothered me - I had an app that was small and worked fine on the latest Android OS, yet they took the app and account down because we hadn’t uploaded a new version in a year. Appeals didn’t help
  - heyoni 2y ago
    What was their reasoning?
    - jart 2y ago
      To keep you running on the hamster wheel. They'd ban Mozart and Shakespeare from the app store if they could.
      - bee_rider 2y ago
        I don’t think that was their reasoning. Like, Google, all these megacorps, they are bad, but we should at least argue against their actual arguments.
        consteval 2y ago
        Their reasoning is probably security. They're working under the assumption your app takes untrusted input in some way, maybe over the network. Which isn't a bad assumption, I mean almost all apps do. Very few apps are true self-contained applications, like a calculator. So then if there happens to be some vulnerabilities in an older Android SDK then your app is susceptible. They could patch back security but that's expensive after a while. Easier to force app makers to update their apps.
        deleted 2y ago
        [deleted]
      - ryandrake 2y ago
        3P app developers are also complicit. Often they deliberately cut off support for old OS's and old devices, because it's "too hard" to support them or whatever. Everyone seems to be working together to keep us on the hamster wheel.
azthecx 2y ago
I use the minesweeper, sudoku and solitaire apps from dustland design (search pub:Dustland Design) they're very minimalistic and clean. There's also currency / unit converter and calendar by Sam Ruston which are in the same vein very good and clean.
- bongobingo1 2y ago
  https://play.google.com/store/apps/developer?id=Dustland+Design&hl=en-US https://play.google.com/store/apps/developer?id=Dustland+Des... Nice!
bcraven 2y ago
https://simplemobiletools.com/index.html https://simplemobiletools.com/index.html The gallery app is superb.
- lambda 2y ago
  Weird that their GitHub says "without ads", but the apps in the play store say contains ads. It looks like they're doing ads/paid model in the app store, are they ad-free from F-Droid?
  - nine_k 2y ago
    Install from F-droid :shrug:
  - zwirbl 2y ago
    It was sold to an adware vendor that is milking the brand hard. Another one for the 'used to be great' pile
    - pwg 2y ago
      They were forked to the "Fossify" tools from the version just before the adware takeover. All the "Fossify" versions are available on F-Droid: https://search.f-droid.org/?q=fossify&lang=en https://search.f-droid.org/?q=fossify&lang=en
- aorth 2y ago
  The Simple Mobile Tools suite was sold to an adware vendor last year. Plenty of links to stories if you're interested, even here on HN.
  - p4bl0 2y ago
    Yes, the SMT apps are slowly being forked over to the Fossify project: https://www.fossify.org/ https://www.fossify.org/.
  - Viliam1234 2y ago
Sarkie 2y ago
https://play.google.com/store/apps/dev?id=8214346176194980263 https://play.google.com/store/apps/dev?id=821434617619498026...
- sprak 2y ago
  This (Simple Mobile Tools) used to be a good set of apps. But it got bought up a an ad firm. The new, still ad free apps, are known as Fossify: https://play.google.com/store/apps/dev?id=7297838378654322558 https://play.google.com/store/apps/dev?id=729783837865432255...
  - bscphil 2y ago
    I'm surprised to hear this. Fortunately it doesn't look like the source code itself got taken over [1], and of course F-Droid, which is always the best place to get any open source Android application, still has the same version as the latest Github release. [2] These applications are blessedly feature complete, and I haven't noticed any issues being "stuck" on the F-Droid versions. [1] https://github.com/SimpleMobileTools/Simple-File-Manager https://github.com/SimpleMobileTools/Simple-File-Manager [2] https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.simplemobiletools.filemanager.pro/ https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.simplemobiletools.filema...
  - Sarkie 2y ago
    Ah yeah. Forgot about that!
simonmales 2y ago
f-droid is a great way to find bloat free apps
Self-Perfection 2y ago
OpenIntents?

I remember there was a publisher in Play Store who had very small apps like single digit kb flashlight, sudoku, calender, etc. I can't find them now. Those apps were really small all within <200kb

butz 2y ago

Google Play probably kicked them off for not using latest Android SDK or something. So many tiny and high quality apps were lost.

johnisgood 2y ago
Google is not only killing their own projects, but other people's, too.
- refulgentis 2y ago
  I'm no fan of Google, but it's slightly more complicated than that, there's a lot of security and privacy stuff that can't be enforced if your app was build 6 years ago and still slopping around.
  - tourmalinetaco 2y ago
    Does that really matter for a local-only 5KB app that only talks with my phone‘s flashlight, or reads sensor data? Now, maybe for the 500MB adware-filled “flashlight” app that connects to 100s of servers and demands access to everything my device can do, but that would be banned on any competent app store anyway.
    - ninetyninenine 2y ago
      No but enforcing policy is manageable. Enforcing reasonable security measures based on nuances and case by case situations is not manageable for an ecosystem of that scale.
    - JoshTriplett 2y ago
      I don't know if this is still the case, but at one point the permission needed to access the flashlight also gave access to the camera. And there aren't restrictions on network connections from apps. (I'd love to have app network access restricted by permissions, but that would be a large change.) And in any case, Android has had built-in flashlight support for a while now, for any phone that has a camera with a flash. Is the "turn the screen bright white" style still useful with modern Android?
      - MrLeap 2y ago
        It is if your flashlight's broke.
      - freedomben 2y ago
        Kind of a side note, but flashdim is an amazing open-source flashlight app that everybody needs[1][2][3]. [1]: https://github.com/cyb3rko/flashdim https://github.com/cyb3rko/flashdim [2]: https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.cyb3rko.flashdim/ https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.cyb3rko.flashdim/ [3]: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.cyb3rko.flashdim&hl=en_US https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.cyb3rko.fl...
      - ainka-ainka 2y ago
        GrapheneOS (https://grapheneos.org/ https://grapheneos.org/) contains network access permission.
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
inquirerGeneral 2y ago
[dead]
epmaybe 2y ago
This is something that really bothered me - I had an app that was small and worked fine on the latest Android OS, yet they took the app and account down because we hadn’t uploaded a new version in a year. Appeals didn’t help
- heyoni 2y ago
  What was their reasoning?
  - jart 2y ago
    To keep you running on the hamster wheel. They'd ban Mozart and Shakespeare from the app store if they could.
    - bee_rider 2y ago
      I don’t think that was their reasoning. Like, Google, all these megacorps, they are bad, but we should at least argue against their actual arguments.
      - consteval 2y ago
        Their reasoning is probably security. They're working under the assumption your app takes untrusted input in some way, maybe over the network. Which isn't a bad assumption, I mean almost all apps do. Very few apps are true self-contained applications, like a calculator. So then if there happens to be some vulnerabilities in an older Android SDK then your app is susceptible. They could patch back security but that's expensive after a while. Easier to force app makers to update their apps.
      - deleted 2y ago
        [deleted]
    - ryandrake 2y ago
      3P app developers are also complicit. Often they deliberately cut off support for old OS's and old devices, because it's "too hard" to support them or whatever. Everyone seems to be working together to keep us on the hamster wheel.

azthecx 2y ago

I use the minesweeper, sudoku and solitaire apps from dustland design (search pub:Dustland Design) they're very minimalistic and clean. There's also currency / unit converter and calendar by Sam Ruston which are in the same vein very good and clean.

bongobingo1 2y ago
https://play.google.com/store/apps/developer?id=Dustland+Design&hl=en-US https://play.google.com/store/apps/developer?id=Dustland+Des... Nice!

bcraven 2y ago

https://simplemobiletools.com/index.html https://simplemobiletools.com/index.html The gallery app is superb.

lambda 2y ago
Weird that their GitHub says "without ads", but the apps in the play store say contains ads. It looks like they're doing ads/paid model in the app store, are they ad-free from F-Droid?
- nine_k 2y ago
  Install from F-droid :shrug:
- zwirbl 2y ago
  It was sold to an adware vendor that is milking the brand hard. Another one for the 'used to be great' pile
  - pwg 2y ago
    They were forked to the "Fossify" tools from the version just before the adware takeover. All the "Fossify" versions are available on F-Droid: https://search.f-droid.org/?q=fossify&lang=en https://search.f-droid.org/?q=fossify&lang=en
aorth 2y ago
The Simple Mobile Tools suite was sold to an adware vendor last year. Plenty of links to stories if you're interested, even here on HN.
- p4bl0 2y ago
  Yes, the SMT apps are slowly being forked over to the Fossify project: https://www.fossify.org/ https://www.fossify.org/.
- Viliam1234 2y ago

Sarkie 2y ago

https://play.google.com/store/apps/dev?id=8214346176194980263 https://play.google.com/store/apps/dev?id=821434617619498026...

sprak 2y ago
This (Simple Mobile Tools) used to be a good set of apps. But it got bought up a an ad firm. The new, still ad free apps, are known as Fossify: https://play.google.com/store/apps/dev?id=7297838378654322558 https://play.google.com/store/apps/dev?id=729783837865432255...
- bscphil 2y ago
  I'm surprised to hear this. Fortunately it doesn't look like the source code itself got taken over [1], and of course F-Droid, which is always the best place to get any open source Android application, still has the same version as the latest Github release. [2] These applications are blessedly feature complete, and I haven't noticed any issues being "stuck" on the F-Droid versions. [1] https://github.com/SimpleMobileTools/Simple-File-Manager https://github.com/SimpleMobileTools/Simple-File-Manager [2] https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.simplemobiletools.filemanager.pro/ https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.simplemobiletools.filema...
- Sarkie 2y ago
  Ah yeah. Forgot about that!

simonmales 2y ago

f-droid is a great way to find bloat free apps

Self-Perfection 2y ago

OpenIntents?