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Fossify – A suite of open-source, ad-free apps
- kej 1y agoTo save the next person a few clicks, these are Android apps forked from the Simple Mobile Tools collection when that was sold to ZipoApps.
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- shellwizard 1y agoThanks mate
- agile-gift0262 1y agoI used to use many apps from Simple Mobile Tools and migrated to Fossify's forks when the whole acquisition thing happened. I just went back to check the Simple Mobile Tools to see the effect form ZipooApps' acquisition [1]. What a calamity. Most of them require way more permissions than they used to before the purchase, have trackers, ads and scam-feeling weekly subscriptions. Also probably in breach of the GPL licence they used to have, unless they have removed all the code contributed by third parties, as their GitHub [2] hasn't been updated, but the apps in the Play Store clearly have. And I seriously doubt they distribute the source code in any other way. 1: https://play.google.com/store/apps/dev?id=8214346176194980263 https://play.google.com/store/apps/dev?id=821434617619498026... 2: https://github.com/SimpleMobileTools https://github.com/SimpleMobileTools
- raaron773 1y agoI switched to Goodwy. Granted they arent the best since they lock a lot of basic features behind paywall it does the job and their themes are actually decent and feel modern considering they use Material.
- squigz 1y agoWEEKLY subscriptions?!
- kej 1y agoI just checked, and according to the reviews on the flashlight app the weekly subscription is $14.99 to remove ads. For a flashlight.
- emaro 1y agoThat's so unhinged it's almost funny again. I mean someone who pays 60$ a month for a flashlight app almost deserves it. Almost.
- agile-gift0262 1y agoI assume they trick people with dark patterns and free trials so that they don't even know they are susbcribing or what's the price
- extraduder_ire 1y agoWas there any setup required after switching to the forked version? There's a lot of settings I've tweaked in the SMT apps over time, and I'm sure I'd miss some if I migrated over.
- em-bee 1y agothey are new apps with a different name, so i don't think they would be able to access to existing settings unless there is an export/import feature. but given that SMT apps are now effectively malware you really should switch anyways.
- extraduder_ire 1y agoI've always used the ones from fdroid, so the only change I noticed was them not getting updates anymore.
- 77pt77 1y agoThanks. Simple Mobile Gallery was removed from Fdroid so I wasn't getting updates. Migrated to this. The recorder app sucks though, which is a shame.
- jimjimwii 1y agoAgreed. I was surprised of how bad it was compared to their other apps (their calendar app). The recordings are faint/muted and it seems to have reliability issues. Luckily there are quality options to choose from on fdroid.
- 77pt77 1y agoAny recommendations? I need opus at low bitrates that works in the background and haven't foud anything that really works for me on fdroid.
- reify 1y agoI use quite a few of the fossify apps. love the calculator. with length, area, volume, mass, temperature and time calculations. the gallery app. I like the renaming and proper deleting. easily remove exif metadata non intrusive calender. I use it to set up my plant watering schedule. messages, clear and easy to use voice recorder, again simple and easy to use All with absolutely minimal permissions.. NO ADS, no tracking, no data collecting
- mcv 1y agoI'm very happy with their galley and messaging app. They're absolutely perfect. I think I also have their launcher, but it regularly seems to lose my widgets. No idea why that's happening, but I clearly need to shop around a bit more. Or debug the issue? I tried their keyboard, which is fine, but not quite what I'm looking for. I'm currently back to GBoard and unhappy with it. I need something that doesn't try to accidentally insert emojis everywhere.
- extraduder_ire 1y agoI switched to their contacts app after learning it could store contacts without exposing them to other apps with the contacts permission. (you can select where to store each contact and set a default)
- em-bee 1y agointeresting. i was not aware of that. there are three options: device, phone storage, and phone storage (not visible to other apps). the last one will show contacts only to other fossify apps.
- account-5 1y agoAnnoyingly brilliant apps, used the old ones before they were sold off, now use these. If only there was other androi apps like this set for other things. Instead the vast majority of the shit (in the truest sense of the word) you get from play store is pretty much akin to malware but definitely spyware.
- mcv 1y agoIt's nearly impossible to find good, honest apps on the play store anymore. Everything is loaded with ads, in-app purchases, spyware, and wants way more permissions than it needs. Google is making it more and more attractive to completely sever the ties to the play store. Although there are a few things I still want from there.
- genpfault 1y ago> Although there are a few things I still want from there. https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.aurora.store/ https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.aurora.store/ https://gitlab.com/AuroraOSS/AuroraStore https://gitlab.com/AuroraOSS/AuroraStore
- Tijdreiziger 1y ago> Can not download or update paid apps.
- sudahtigabulan 1y agoI wish they somehow find a way to offer incremental updates, like Play Store.
- n_plus_1_acc 1y agoI use aurora store to filter for ads and trackers
- jcynix 1y agoTry the app Netguard which implements a nice firewall. I use it to disallow most apps network access with it. Some apps may be allowed to access the net when I'm on Wifi, but not when roaming. Netguard allows you to distinguish between Wifi and Roaming. And you can enable a protocol to check which connections are attempted if you want to to specifically disable certain targets. Disclaimer: just a satisfied and paying customer.
- edvardas 1y agoI was tired of constant popups in stock apps for features I don't want. Fossify apps get the job down surprisingly well, no more no less. I use their apps for messaging, gallery, file manager, paint, contacts
- dingdingdang 1y agoI love these projects, a simple way to collectively cleanly payroll a-person/persons to work on these projects would be superb. Structuring of the Zig org is a light-in-the-dark for this sort of thing!
- encom 1y agoWas recommended the calendar app by a colleague recently, after I complained about how crap the FastMail app is. So far I like it a lot. Does exactly what I need, and nothing more. Together with FairEmail, I can finally purge FastMail from my phone. (I like FastMail as a mail host, just not their app)
- globular-toast 1y agoAnother calendar app, developed in 2025, that uses the ridiculous and antiquated "month" view.
- encom 1y agoI like the month view. This is for my personal calendar, and I'm not so busy that I need a narrower view. Month view is nice for seeing what's coming up in the near future. However, you can set the calendar to whatever view you want.
- globular-toast 1y agoYou can't see what's coming up in the future if it's the last week of the month. But, hey, you can see three weeks into the past! So useful.
- em-bee 1y agoyou should have led with that. do you know any FOSS calendar app for android that shows 4 weeks into the future?
- globular-toast 1y agoNot for Android. Thunderbird is the only one I know of with its "multiweek" view.
- tigrezno 1y agoI also use the monthly view
- heybrendan 1y agoHow some of the developer community responded (in late 2023) when SMT was bought by ZipoApps--Fossify was a fork that emerged: - https://github.com/SimpleMobileTools/General-Discussion/issues/241 https://github.com/SimpleMobileTools/General-Discussion/issu...
- barbs 1y agoSucks that they were bought out, but I couldn't help but laugh at the original developer's website: "award losing android developer". https://kaputa.sk/ https://kaputa.sk/
- aquir 1y agoDo we / can we have something like these in the Apple Ecosystem?
- Saris 1y agoDoes iOS even allow using a different SMS app? They're pretty locked down usually..
- Unboxed1078 1y agoNot yet, but it will allow changing the Phone and Messages app in the EU soon with iOS 26. https://www.heise.de/en/news/Phone-and-text-messages-Apple-opens-up-core-iPhone-functions-in-the-EU-10440745.html https://www.heise.de/en/news/Phone-and-text-messages-Apple-o...
- kissgyorgy 1y agoThe apps are so simple, so clear, no fuss, no ads, no nothing. Just the functionality you need from every app. Excellent work! This is the only project I immediately "donated" with the Thank You app.
- tigrezno 1y agoMe too, but I hate having the useless Thank You app installed
- WillAdams 1y agoMy phone came w/ a folder for apps from my service provider and I've been adding to it any apps which I don't interact with regularly (since I've been able to keep my apps down to a single screen so I don't have to scroll).
- porridgeraisin 1y agoYep, I had a crap folder for apps too. Until I switched to using T-UI as my launcher. Now I can only ever launch the apps I remember in my head since I need to type it out.
- entropie 1y agoYou can uninstall them via adb. For Example there are different "unbloat your samsung device" github pages which give you a list of apps you can safely remove.
- Tijdreiziger 1y agoInstead of needing ADB, you can also go into Settings > Apps, turn on ‘show system apps’, and disable the ones you don’t want from there.
- prmoustache 1y agoYou can donate, remove the thank you app and use the f-droid versions.
- Imustaskforhelp 1y agoI use fossify. its genuinely good.
- degif 1y agoGenuine question – do Android people get ads in their OS default camera, calculator, calendar, phone, file-manager or SMS messaging applications? Or do have these Fossify application some extra privacy features that do not come with the default ones?
- mcv 1y agoEverything Android seems to be increasingly enshittified these days. I switched to Fossify gallery because I don't want my photos synced with google Photos anymore. When my default Messenger suddenly demanded access to my Google account, I looked for a replacement and all alternatives I could find on Google Play had ads, so again Fossify saved me. Love it so far.
- johnisgood 1y agoI just use apps (Dialer, Contacts, Gallery, Camera, etc.) from https://simplemobiletools.com https://simplemobiletools.com. Source code: https://github.com/SimpleMobileTools https://github.com/SimpleMobileTools. Its Gallery looks similar to Fossify's. Its "About" seems almost identical, so I dunno.
- phoronixrly 1y agoUs Android people like to use open-source software. A stark contrast to Apple people.
- degif 1y agoMore power to it! I do agree on the other selling points (privacy focused and open-source) for the Fossify, just was wondering about the ads.
- rmbyrro 1y agoI think many Apple users, especially people in the software industry, would prefer Apple software to be open source. It's not that they don't care, it's just that Apple quality is superior in multiple ways (hardware and software). And it's not a coincidence that their software is closed. They can command ridiculously high margins and continue to invest in high quality products.
- mcv 1y agoI've recently started using several Fossify apps from F-Droid, mostly because it's become impossible to find good non-enshittified apps on Google Play anymore. I don't know if Fossify is the best, but it seems to be a pretty good baseline. Although their launcher and keyboard are lacking. Still looking for something better there.
- wpollock 1y agoHave you tried Unexpected Keyboard?
- b0a04gl 1y ago[dead]
- floppyd 1y agoWhat's strangely missing from the list of FOSS android apps is a simple "pixel-like" launcher. I have some old devices that I use for small tasks, and I'd love to install the very basic launcher on them, basically the only thing I need is a paginated grid on the desktop, a scrollable list of apps in the main app menu, and a swipe up gesture to bring this menu. I checked a lot of launchers some time ago, and all of them either go hard into "minimalism/functionalism" and don't even show icons, or go deep into customization and fail to be lightweight.
- polyaniline 1y agoCheck out Lawnchair.
- glenstein 1y agoThere is a Fossify Launcher beta on F-Droid.
- mcv 1y agoI didn't know it was in beta, but I'm using their launcher. It's mostly great, except for widgets, which it frequently loses. But I can have way more icons on my homescreen than I used to have.
- floppyd 1y agoOh it looks absolutely perfect, thank you so much! Must've not been out yet when I was checking out different launchers
- laci37 1y agoThis really tells a story about the sad state of android devices, that you have to use third party apps for basic stuff like the file manager to avoid spyware/adware.
- rmbyrro 1y agoI use hundreds, if not thousands, of third party software in my Linux OS and I don't think the OS is in a sad state.
- __rito__ 1y agoAfter my smartphone vendor's SMS app, and Google Messages both started serving me non-stop loans ads and gambling ads (never gambled ever in my life), I switched to Fossify Messages, and it has been going great for me. Never looked back.
- sp0rk 1y agoWhere are ads displayed in your Google Messages? I have never seen any ads and I struggle to even imagine where they would place an ad within its interface.
- __rito__ 1y agoMessages. The ads come as messages. Like in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YGZwlZqrpU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YGZwlZqrpU They sometimes look like this, too [JPG]: https://static1.anpoimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/16/Google-Messages-SMS-ad-spam-India-hero-1-scaled.jpg https://static1.anpoimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/...
- molszanski 1y agothis is some dystopian bs. I've never realized goodle/android is in a such weird place
- whatevertrevor 1y agoI'd need to see proof that android has anything to do with it. It's just a vendor sending you a RCS version of marketing messages. If they have your phone number they send you the message, google or not.
- barbs 1y agoWow that's messed up. Arguably even worse than WhatsApp's recent move to show ads.
- 1y ago
- guerrilla 1y agoIs this the suite that was originally made by Germans or is that a different one?
- solstice 1y agoI use them and like them. One thing to be aware of with the dialer (that might not be unique to Fossify): when dialing the number of an emergency service (like 112 in Germany), there is no indication in the app's UI that something is happening and it looks as if the call failed and you will be back looking at the dial pad, even though the call will eventually be connected. The reason is that these types of calls get handled by something deeper in the Android system and will show up neither in the "calling" UI of the dialer nor in the list of calls.
- komali2 1y agoMy phone crashing when I dialed 911 after a car accident was the reason I stopped messing around with android roots and custom roms and whatnot. When it comes to my phone being a phone, I need it to Just Work(tm)!
- justinrubek 1y agoMy personal motivation for doing these things is precisely because the device doesn't just work™ out of the box. If it was sufficient at its job, such hacks would not be required. It's because it isn't that they are reached for. Yes, the current trade-off seems to be that stuff like that can break. That isn't the desired state, but it is what was prescribed by the manufacturer who seemingly has an interest in making the device less functional than it could be.
- ryanmcbride 1y agoyour phone can't dial 911 out of the box? I find that kind of hard to believe.
- senkora 1y agoIt was a thing with Google Pixels a few years ago: https://www.vice.com/en/article/google-pixel-bug-prevented-users-from-calling-911/ https://www.vice.com/en/article/google-pixel-bug-prevented-u...
- devnull3 1y agoIs there any list of games with same focus on being ad-free? Does not have to be free.
- tisdadd 1y agoYou can use f-droid game category. It will say anti-features if it has ada, but don't think many did when I loaded an older tablet for the kiddos.
- Paradigm2020 1y agoPolytopia, Alto's Odyssey and alto's adventure, monument valley, mindustry
- cfiggers 1y agoPathos is a NetHack-inspired but mobile-interface-first roguelike dungeon crawler packed with features and with no ads or micro transactions.
- neiesc 1y agoAwesome thx!
- jgarzik 1y agoLove this! I had the same idea, and was pondering funding apps like this. Was going to call it "SimpleFree" and focus on privacy, offline, mobile, games.
- crtasm 1y agoI was still using an old version of Simple Tools Gallery - thanks for the reminder to try these. I will donate too.
- meonkeys 1y ago/e/ OS installed DIY or pre-installed by Murena (especially on a Fairphone) solves many of the issues mentioned in other threads. It's an AOSP fork with a simple decent launcher and near-zero bloatware (I only chose to disable weather and magic earth maps). Built-in access to many simpler and more user-respecting apps in F-Droid. Tracker protection and other privacy features. Works well with Nextcloud if you use that. Doesn't fit everyone's use case. No iMessage, no RCS, no visual voicemail, no spatial audio. Personally I don't need or want any of that, I just want a smartphone I can mostly control.
- _rdvw 1y ago/e/OS ranks poorly and is consistently months behind security updates: https://eylenburg.github.io/android_comparison.htm https://eylenburg.github.io/android_comparison.htm Also visual voicemail should actually work just fine on select carriers.
- tweetle_beetle 1y agoI'd suggest that while /e/ can work at a basic level, the list of cons is larger than you make out when I looked at it. The Murena team seems small and unable to keep up. As an example, look at the hoops users were jumping through for over a year just to attempt to use the camera at the advertised pixel count without the stock OS: https://forum.fairphone.com/t/for-a-better-camera-on-degoogled-operating-systems/101941/44 https://forum.fairphone.com/t/for-a-better-camera-on-degoogl...
- mrbluecoat 1y agoKeyboard doesn't support swipe, unfortunately: https://github.com/FossifyOrg/Keyboard/issues/94 https://github.com/FossifyOrg/Keyboard/issues/94