6 ms·

I think there are more and more apps on f-droid. On my end the experience was more pleasant on f-droid than on Google. On f-droid I had to manually push some t

I think there are more and more apps on f-droid. On my end the experience was more pleasant on f-droid than on Google. On f-droid I had to manually push some things, in repositories. That I solved in a week or so. On Google end I had to verify my account. Which was not easy feat. - had to provide my ID several times, because it got rejected multiple times - I uploaded driving license - the verification process was stuck - only after help ticket google employee pushed it forward - I had to provide many more details, also had to use banking to pay substantial amount of money - I currently trying to create app, but it requires 14 testers, and it can still be rejected, if their involvement was too poor I am wondering what more things Google will invent to make my life worse. By the way my app: https://github.com/rumca-js/OfflineWebSearch https://github.com/rumca-js/OfflineWebSearch

Ajedi32 1mo ago
From a user perspective I think F-Droid is really good too, mainly because it only allows FOSS apps by default, which cuts out a lot of the BS you see in Play Store apps. You can go download a random, no-name app from F-Droid and be very confident it does what it says on the tin and won't be riddled with ads or spam you with notifications.
- 2Gkashmiri 1mo ago
  Thats the only reason for at least me to use f droid and I have for the last decade I think. It "just works". As opposed to play store apps requiring "play store services" meaning having to sign into play store. It refuses to do so on a FOSS principle so I am literally cut off from a lot of apps. Aurora store helps but apps that "require play store services" don't work.
  - notpushkin 1mo ago
    > "play store services" meaning having to sign into play store Not necessarily. Most apps that require Play Services should work fine even if you’re not logged into Google. You do, however, have to have the “gapps” installed. (Some apps would also actually check whether you’ve installed them from the Google Play store and not, say, Aurora, but from my experience most don’t bother.) Also, perhaps look into microG? It reimplements the Play Services APIs, but is FOSS and only connects to Google servers when it’s necessary for some functionality (e.g. if you enable push notifications): https://microg.org/ https://microg.org/
    - 2Gkashmiri 1mo ago
      I have microg installed but it doesn't do anything? It also needs to be logged in? Gapps is what exactly. I have stock android on oneplus, just don't have play store signed in. Many apps refuse to work.
      - notpushkin 1mo ago
        I’m using microG without signing in. Could you tell me a bit about what apps you’re using that you’re having trouble with? A good way to sidestep all those issues is getting your “everyday” apps from F-Droid :-) I’m only using Aurora Store for things like banking, taxi, or food delivery apps, and those are usually working great. Some banks are more trigger happy (shame on you, Revolut) while others seem to be okay. I really only miss Google Wallet. microG folks are working on Play Integrity, but it’s an ongoing battle: https://github.com/microg/GmsCore/issues/2967 https://github.com/microg/GmsCore/issues/2967
        2Gkashmiri 1mo ago
        https://ibb.co/SDR5h19f https://ibb.co/SDR5h19f
- neves 1mo ago
  F-Droid was a blow of fresh air. Nice apps that help me do something, instead of exploding ads in my face. It's my first stop of new apps.
  - deleted 1mo ago
    [deleted]
- paimapi 1mo ago
  I am a little wary how many of the newer apps on F-Droid seem fully vibe-coded. there's only so many 'brain training' games and 'fully offline notes' that one really needs I wish there was a 'ranking' feature that periodically (maybe daily?) pulled down star/contributor numbers so you could at least look at projects that are more likely to receive continuing support and have basic hygiene like Dependabot alerts that said, migrating off so many of the Google-native or phone manufacturer apps has been such a liberatory feeling. I do some community organizing in my free-time and am a huge FOSS evangelist in those spaces. there's so many similar values, namely anti-surveillance, and but for resistance to change and preference for hyperpalatable UX, it's such a natural fit
- smashed 1mo ago
  This. I was looking for a quick Dart board score tracker app to keep scores for family games. The play store results were ATROCIOUS and user hostile, forcing account creation, full screen video ads and other BS. I remembered I had f-droid and I found a perfect, no bullshit app that does exactly what I needed and no ads.
Fabricio20 1mo ago
On the user side my experience with F-Droid is auto updates dont work and I constantly get a "repository not reachable" f-droid error every now and then popping up on my phone (that little small middle-of-screen toast) when im doing something else completely unrelated. Might be a regional thing.
- nisiddharth 1mo ago
  I use the Droid-ify client and rarely get issues: https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.looker.droidify/ https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.looker.droidify/
- yjftsjthsd-h 1mo ago
  You might consider one of the alternative front ends. Won't fix the repos being unavailable, but will fix notifications about it.
- ryukoposting 1mo ago
  I get the F-Droid toasts once every few weeks or so. To me, it's worth it. Finding a tolerable weather app on the Play Store is impossible nowadays. Finding one on F-Droid is easy.
- tcfhgj 1mo ago
  I have never seen this error, and auto updates do work for me. They are a blessing when auto updates were finally possible with the official F-Droid app.
- goobatrooba 1mo ago
  Same problem here, but only for a few apps (e.g. signal)
echelon 1mo ago
F-Droid is a nerd solution and will be used by 0.00001% of the total market. There are more people that will use Linux on desktop than will use F-Droid. We need governments to mandate both Apple and Google to allow web installs of apps. No requirement for Apple/Google pay, Apple/Google login, or Apple/Google services. Total freedom for users, for developers, and for competitors. This duopoly has fucked over America and the EU by training us to think only these two companies have the right to decide what gets to be on your phone that you pay for. They've created a moat so strong that it's impossible to compete with Android/iPhone, so the market cannot even have healthy competition. F-Droid is not the answer. Regulation is. And I'll have none of this fangirl/fanboy "but my grandma will fall for scams" nonsense. Google and Amazon and all the platforms have scammy ads on their platforms. Nobody's doing anything about that. Technology can be sandboxed, permissioned, signed, fingerprinted, attested, scanned, and blacklisted. It's easy to make this safe in the year of our lord 2026. Don't pretend we don't have a million ways to make this safe for your meemaw. She's more likely to fall down the stairs or get a scam call. Regulate Google. Regulate Apple. Make our phones free.
- Ajedi32 1mo ago
  Google already allows web installs on Android, no regulation required. But yes, iOS allowing that would be excellent.
  - echelon 1mo ago
    Behind eight menu settings, a scare wall, and unfriendly UX with additional constant scares. Oh, and also they're rolling it back by adding additional hurdles. Directionally, they're starting to remove it.
- voakbasda 1mo ago
  The government is not going to regulate them, any more than they are going to fix the countless other cartels that operate with impunity.
  - echelon 1mo ago
majorchord 1mo ago
There are downsides to F-Droid too: https://www.privacyguides.org/en/android/obtaining-apps/?h=f+droid#f-droid https://www.privacyguides.org/en/android/obtaining-apps/?h=f...

Ajedi32 1mo ago

From a user perspective I think F-Droid is really good too, mainly because it only allows FOSS apps by default, which cuts out a lot of the BS you see in Play Store apps. You can go download a random, no-name app from F-Droid and be very confident it does what it says on the tin and won't be riddled with ads or spam you with notifications.

2Gkashmiri 1mo ago
Thats the only reason for at least me to use f droid and I have for the last decade I think. It "just works". As opposed to play store apps requiring "play store services" meaning having to sign into play store. It refuses to do so on a FOSS principle so I am literally cut off from a lot of apps. Aurora store helps but apps that "require play store services" don't work.
- notpushkin 1mo ago
  > "play store services" meaning having to sign into play store Not necessarily. Most apps that require Play Services should work fine even if you’re not logged into Google. You do, however, have to have the “gapps” installed. (Some apps would also actually check whether you’ve installed them from the Google Play store and not, say, Aurora, but from my experience most don’t bother.) Also, perhaps look into microG? It reimplements the Play Services APIs, but is FOSS and only connects to Google servers when it’s necessary for some functionality (e.g. if you enable push notifications): https://microg.org/ https://microg.org/
  - 2Gkashmiri 1mo ago
    I have microg installed but it doesn't do anything? It also needs to be logged in? Gapps is what exactly. I have stock android on oneplus, just don't have play store signed in. Many apps refuse to work.
    - notpushkin 1mo ago
      I’m using microG without signing in. Could you tell me a bit about what apps you’re using that you’re having trouble with? A good way to sidestep all those issues is getting your “everyday” apps from F-Droid :-) I’m only using Aurora Store for things like banking, taxi, or food delivery apps, and those are usually working great. Some banks are more trigger happy (shame on you, Revolut) while others seem to be okay. I really only miss Google Wallet. microG folks are working on Play Integrity, but it’s an ongoing battle: https://github.com/microg/GmsCore/issues/2967 https://github.com/microg/GmsCore/issues/2967
      - 2Gkashmiri 1mo ago
        https://ibb.co/SDR5h19f https://ibb.co/SDR5h19f
neves 1mo ago
F-Droid was a blow of fresh air. Nice apps that help me do something, instead of exploding ads in my face. It's my first stop of new apps.
- deleted 1mo ago
  [deleted]
paimapi 1mo ago
I am a little wary how many of the newer apps on F-Droid seem fully vibe-coded. there's only so many 'brain training' games and 'fully offline notes' that one really needs I wish there was a 'ranking' feature that periodically (maybe daily?) pulled down star/contributor numbers so you could at least look at projects that are more likely to receive continuing support and have basic hygiene like Dependabot alerts that said, migrating off so many of the Google-native or phone manufacturer apps has been such a liberatory feeling. I do some community organizing in my free-time and am a huge FOSS evangelist in those spaces. there's so many similar values, namely anti-surveillance, and but for resistance to change and preference for hyperpalatable UX, it's such a natural fit
smashed 1mo ago
This. I was looking for a quick Dart board score tracker app to keep scores for family games. The play store results were ATROCIOUS and user hostile, forcing account creation, full screen video ads and other BS. I remembered I had f-droid and I found a perfect, no bullshit app that does exactly what I needed and no ads.

Fabricio20 1mo ago

On the user side my experience with F-Droid is auto updates dont work and I constantly get a "repository not reachable" f-droid error every now and then popping up on my phone (that little small middle-of-screen toast) when im doing something else completely unrelated. Might be a regional thing.

nisiddharth 1mo ago
I use the Droid-ify client and rarely get issues: https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.looker.droidify/ https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.looker.droidify/
yjftsjthsd-h 1mo ago
You might consider one of the alternative front ends. Won't fix the repos being unavailable, but will fix notifications about it.
ryukoposting 1mo ago
I get the F-Droid toasts once every few weeks or so. To me, it's worth it. Finding a tolerable weather app on the Play Store is impossible nowadays. Finding one on F-Droid is easy.
tcfhgj 1mo ago
I have never seen this error, and auto updates do work for me. They are a blessing when auto updates were finally possible with the official F-Droid app.
goobatrooba 1mo ago
Same problem here, but only for a few apps (e.g. signal)

echelon 1mo ago

F-Droid is a nerd solution and will be used by 0.00001% of the total market. There are more people that will use Linux on desktop than will use F-Droid. We need governments to mandate both Apple and Google to allow web installs of apps. No requirement for Apple/Google pay, Apple/Google login, or Apple/Google services. Total freedom for users, for developers, and for competitors. This duopoly has fucked over America and the EU by training us to think only these two companies have the right to decide what gets to be on your phone that you pay for. They've created a moat so strong that it's impossible to compete with Android/iPhone, so the market cannot even have healthy competition. F-Droid is not the answer. Regulation is. And I'll have none of this fangirl/fanboy "but my grandma will fall for scams" nonsense. Google and Amazon and all the platforms have scammy ads on their platforms. Nobody's doing anything about that. Technology can be sandboxed, permissioned, signed, fingerprinted, attested, scanned, and blacklisted. It's easy to make this safe in the year of our lord 2026. Don't pretend we don't have a million ways to make this safe for your meemaw. She's more likely to fall down the stairs or get a scam call. Regulate Google. Regulate Apple. Make our phones free.

Ajedi32 1mo ago
Google already allows web installs on Android, no regulation required. But yes, iOS allowing that would be excellent.
- echelon 1mo ago
  Behind eight menu settings, a scare wall, and unfriendly UX with additional constant scares. Oh, and also they're rolling it back by adding additional hurdles. Directionally, they're starting to remove it.
voakbasda 1mo ago
The government is not going to regulate them, any more than they are going to fix the countless other cartels that operate with impunity.
- echelon 1mo ago

majorchord 1mo ago

There are downsides to F-Droid too: https://www.privacyguides.org/en/android/obtaining-apps/?h=f+droid#f-droid https://www.privacyguides.org/en/android/obtaining-apps/?h=f...