What Are Your Favorite FOSS Android Apps?

I use KDE Connect as a media remote and to transfer files between my phone and computers. It has quite a few other functions, like remote mouse control, sms, seems to share clipboards as well.

https://kdeconnect.kde.org/

All of these list are great as we discover new apps each time.

But, I would suggest to write what is the app about.

Not sure about the rest of those, but Obsidian isn't OS either.

Obtainium is great for updating apps hosted outside the playstore, big upside being you don't need to bother with FDroid releases

FOSS app which I use -

• Jerboa: Lemmy Client
• Megalodon: Mastodon Client
• RiMusic: YT Music Client
• Drodify: Material You F-Droid Alternative
• Libretube: YouTube Client
• FluffyChat: Matrix Client
• Monocles Chat: XMPP Client
• KISS Launcher: Fast and Clean App Launcher
• Cherrygram: Telegram Client
• Revolution IRC: IRC Client
• SD Maid SE: System Storage and app cache cleaner.
• SuperFreeze: Help in Force Stoping the app
• Next Player: Material You Video Player
• Diohub: Github Client
• Gitnex: Codeberg(ForjeGo/Gitea) Client
• Native Alpha: Webapp Manager - Help in creatimg Webapp
• APK Kit: APK Exporter + Give detail of Everyapp
• Material Files: File Manager
• Kiwi Browser: A better Chromium browser which Chrome Extension and Inspect Element Features AKA Dev Tools.
• Fossify Gallery: Gallery App
• Atomic: A Periodic Table App
• OpenCalc: Material You Calculator
• Proton Mail: proton.me only support its own client :(
• Psiphon: Open Source VPN(Only Client)
• Arcticons: A Line Icon Pack
• MJ PDF: A PDF viewer.
• Simple Keyboard: Best Minimal Keyboard.
• Mauth: A 2FA app
• DNS quick Tile: Add a system DNS quick to turn on or off from notification bar.
• also de-googled my device

Closed Source app which I use :( -

1.Modded

• Whatsapp Beta Mod - Privacy Features (Use because of School)
• MyInsta: Modded Instagram (Use because of friends)
• Duolingo: Removed Ads and Tracker(Use because that Green Owl have My family)
• Mimo: A code learning app - Removed Tracker and Ads (Use for fun)

2. Non-Modded

• Mobilisim: Where I got my All Mods
• ApkTool M: Android Apk Editor (Installed it when I really need it like changing package name of an app or removing a alarming permission from an app) - Give me suggestion for this app if you know

Suggestion For OP

OP You should use Florisboard beta it's good and also Obsidian is not open source.

Great lists so far. I'll add one that I picked up from a previous thread:

URLCheck

URLCheck acts as an amazingly customizable and powerful intermediary when opening url links, allowing, among other things: to remove trackers, affiliate links, unnecessary elements, check Hosts, facilitating link holding and sharing, protecting against certain phishing techniques and many more...

• Moshidon: letting me communicate with people on Mastodon
• QKSMS: text message (SMS) app
• KISS Launcher: a very neat launcher that took a while before I could love it as I do now
• FairEmail: an email client with tons of options
• Mull: a fork of Firefox
• Privacy Browser: a browser based on WebView
• Simple Calendar Pro: for managing my self-hosted CalDAV (waiting for Fossify's version)
• Fossify Gallery: managing my images and videos
• AntennaPod: listening to podcasts
• Bitwarden: managing my self-hosted vaultwarden
• Download Navi: download files instead of using the browser
• Foxy Droid: making browsing apps on mainly F-Droid and IzzyOnDroid like old-school Google Play Store
• Loop Habits: logging my habits
• Hypatia: protecting my smartphone from malware using ClamAV
• Lemuroid: able to play my childhood favourite games wherever I am
• Miniflutt: read RSS posts through my self-hosted Miniflux server
• Mullvad VPN: protecting my identity wherever I am
• OpenTracks: track my movements
• Seal: download videos from mainly YouTube, but also converting YouTube videos to MP3 files (perfect for downloading music mixes for my bicycle trips)
• Syncthing: syncing important files to and from my desktop
• Voyager: browsing Lemmy
• URL Radio: listening to manually added radio stations
• Tasks: reminding me to do stuff
• Unexpected Keyboard: by far the best keyboard with really good shortcuts
• Planisphere: exploring the sky and letting me plan my astro photography
• LibreTube: exploring YouTube through Piped API
• Simple Voice Recorder: letting me record stuff when I don't have my audio recorder with me (waiting for Fossify's version)

• Acode - code editor
• Auto-Auto-Rotate - remember rotation lock settings by app
• Auxio - there's a million music players, this one scratches my itch just right
• Binary Eye - bar/QR scanner
• BreezyWeather - appears to have sources globally
• Collabora Office - view & edit libre/Microsoft office files
• Missed Notifications Reminder - I need a repeating audio notification so I don't miss important work related messages
• MJpdf - pdf reader
• Mull - privacy enhanced Firefox
• RoMote - roku remote on your phone
• Skymap - what is that thing in the sky?
• Snapdrop - share with other devices via snapdrop.net (crashy) or pairdrop.net (better)

Obsidian isn't FOSS

FeedMe (Not FOSS. Open to suggestions)

The RSS or meal planning app? If it's the former I like Feeder. You can probably export and import all your feeds.

I think some of my favorites are LibreTorrent, Session, and NewPipe.

I am a big fan of open source engine recreations, even if I don't play them a ton, so DevilutionX and OpenMW are worth mentioning. I think Xash3D is also open source if you want to play Half Life on the go.

I think OpenRCT2 has an Android app but I haven't bothered figuring out how to set it up yet.

If you use Organic Maps you may be interested in https://streetcomplete.app to help fill out the map

THANK YOU for antennapod!!! What an incredibly beautiful app, I'm so impressed!!

I only install what i need so i haven't actually installed a lot of apps. The copout answer is Firefox, but if i'm taking the prompt seriously it would be Simple Keyboard or Floris Board, they're highly customizeable keyboards that i really enjoy and i have a hard time deciding which to leave installed.

Just in general though, browsing F-Droid feels so good. I'm in a much simpler mindset where i'll think "oh that's neat i want to try it", which is how i used to feel about tech. Browsing PlayStore makes me think "that's neat, but what's the catch? How are they going to scam me/harvest my data? I'm not installing this"

For keyboard I'm currently using OpenBoard and ThumbKey, the latter obviously not for everyone.

Adding to your list:

• Droidify
• Trail Sense
• NewPipe
• Logseq
• Syncthing
• Coffee
• Element
• Cryptomator
• VLC
• Geometric Weather
• Termux
• Noteless
• StreetComplete
• Translate You

FairEmail

• Editor simple generic text editor
• Gauguin a sudoku like logic game
• LibreSudoku sudoku app for android (has 12 × 12)
• OCR based on Tesseract 5
• OpenCamera camera app

All from F-Droid. I use Vanadium for pretty much everything else. No google at all except for the bootloader splash screen; almost like a real citizen before freedom was lost to neo-digital-feudalism with hardware I can never own.

I know nothing about FOSS apps, where do I get them?

Obsidian is Open Source? I switched to Logseq because it wasnt open source. A friend wasnt even allowed to install it on his Work PC becauze Obsidian wants 50€ per Year when not used at home privately.

Love Aegis and Bitwarden, but here's another one that's a must if you're on stock android:

NetGuard

Blocks network access for apps and processes on your phone, great way to ensure apps aren't calling home all the time.

I use Feeder for RSS. Quite a good, constantly improving app. :)

https://github.com/spacecowboy/Feeder

5. Chip Defense. A little FOSS tower defense game.

6. KDE Connect. Tool to transfer files to another device, or vice versa.

7. Trail Sense. Nice lightweight app that does a variety of things, but I mostly use it for white noise.

8. Organic Maps. I try to use it instead of Google Maps whenever possible.

9. FitoTrack. Amazing app to keep logs of your workouts, or motorcycling trips as I use it. Shows you where you went, how fast you want, and how many calories burned where applicable.

Edit: Tried to count down from 5 to 1 as this is my top 5 apps from F-droid, but the auto bullet thing is counting up instead

Newpipe
Aurora store
Organic maps
PDF viewer
Molly
Audile
Jellyfin
Nova Wallet
Openboard (though seems dead and looking for alternative)
Internxt

I played this so much: https://github.com/mjaun/android-anuto

I'm running openboard's fork by helium! It supports glide typing, if you download a library! There are instructions in the app 🙂

I also recently found sayboard (available on fdroid), which has been working WAY better than I expected as a speech-to-text alternative 🙂

I love Thumb Key, it's a very unique and actively developed keyboard app.

Mine are:

• Aniyomi (basically tachiyomi advanced with anime streaming functionality [can also update stuff on your anime tracking accounts such as MAL])
• Bitwarden (password manager)
• Florisboard (keyboard)
• Jerboa (lemmy client)
• Firefox (browser)
• InnerTune (music player that can also use youtube music)
• Aegis (2fa app)
• Signal (secure messenger)
• Element (matrix based decentralized secure messenger)
• Obtainium (apk fetcher?)
• F-Droid (open source marketplace for open source software)
• BetterUntis (a better unofficial webuntis client)
• RethinkDNS (firewall, proxy and dns all in one [I use it with mullvad vpn's wireguard config])
• Shelter (app isolator)
• KurobaEx (imageboard such as 4chan explorer)
• LiberaTorrent (torrent client)
• Termux (cli)
• NextCloud (cloud storage)
• Survival Manual (offline survival manual with helpful information for surviving. [actually helped me once])

I posted my most used F-droid apps here:

https://lemmy.world/post/7963793

and if you want to do a deep dive on the F-droid apps that are worth looking at first, check this amazing list:

https://alternativeto.net/list/28655/the-ultimate-f-droid-setup/

May I suggest Tracker Control, allows per-app network access and even restricts certain tracking requests. Only downside is it takes the VPN slot. Very much worth it though I believe

Can share some of my favourites

• KISS laucher
• Floris Board (keyboard, which I love to use)
• Bitwarden + Aegis (password manager + OTP)
• Eternity (for browsing lemmy)
• Mull (hardened firefox fork)
• Organic maps (maps + directions)
• Track & Graph (for tracking trends/habits)
• WebApps (running sandboxed websites)

Just begun exploring using:

• Immich (selfhosted photos solution)
• ReThink (local dns/firewall tracking blocker)

Btw, I believe Obsidian isn't FOSS.

Since I am curious but lazy enough to search for the description of each one of these apps, I made an experiment. I asked GPT-4 to generate a description for them. I provided the context below:

This is a list of FOSS Android apps. I need you to briefly explain in one line what each one of these does.
You should use the knowledge you already have, but on doubt query the https://f-droid.org/

[I included OP full list here]

I tried twice. In the first one I not included the f-droid context above, and the list he generated have some misleading descriptions. The second try I passed the full prompt above, and the resulting descriptions was better.

Interestingly, GPT-4 alerts when he search the internet, but in this second try he did not accessed it, but the resulting list was better anyway, although not perfect:

• Aegis: A secure and open-source 2FA (two-factor authentication) app for managing OTPs (One Time Passwords).
• App Lounge: An alternative app store for Android, focusing on privacy and security.
• AntennaPod: A podcast manager and player that lets you subscribe, download, and listen to podcasts.
• Bitwarden: An open-source password manager for securely storing and managing passwords.
• Dicio: A dictionary and thesaurus app, useful for word definitions and synonyms (specific functionality may vary).
• Doodle: A scheduling tool for finding the best date and time for a group of people to meet (if referring to the Doodle Android app).
• F-Droid: An app store for free and open-source Android apps.
• FeedMe: (Not FOSS) A feature-rich RSS reader.
• Firefox: A well-known open-source web browser focused on privacy and customization.
• FNG: Likely refers to "Fluid Navigation Gestures," an app for implementing gesture-based navigation.
• InvizBox: Could refer to an app associated with the InvizBox hardware for secure and private internet access (specific app details may vary).
• Jerboa: A Mastodon client with a focus on accessibility and ease of use.
• Mastodon: An open-source social network platform, often used through various client apps.
• Music Player GO: A straightforward, lightweight, and open-source music player.
• Obsidian: A powerful note-taking and knowledge management app (if referring to the mobile version of Obsidian).
• OpenLauncher: An open-source, customizable, and minimalistic Android launcher.
• Organic Maps: An offline maps app focusing on hiking, biking, and general travel, using OpenStreetMap data.
• OsmAnd~: A map and navigation app that uses OpenStreetMap data, offering offline use and various features for travelers.
• Proton Cal/Drive/Mail/VPN: A suite of privacy-focused services including calendar, cloud storage, email, and VPN from Proton.
• RadioDroid: An app for streaming internet radio stations.
• RedReader: An open-source Reddit client for browsing and interacting with Reddit content.
• Signal: A privacy-focused messaging app known for its end-to-end encryption.
• Silence: An SMS/MMS app that encrypts messages for privacy and security.
• Simple Keyboard: A minimalistic keyboard focusing on simplicity and basic functionality.
• Tasks: An open-source task management app, known for its simplicity and integration with Google Tasks.
• Unit Converter Ultimate: A comprehensive tool for converting between various units of measurement.
• Wikipedia: The official app for accessing Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia.

Weather Warbler for weather. It's currently in beta and missing a bunch of stuff, but good so far.

Newpipe, for watching youtube videos without ads or tracking

Openboard keyboard for the one feature I can never be without again: moving the cursor by swiping left or right on the spacebar, it's a godsend for selecting stuff with my wide fingers

I honestly don't use that much foss on my Android phone, but DVD has to be my favourite. I like sharing memes as videos instead of links in chat apps and it lets me download videos from just about any app or site by just sharing the link to the DVD app. It uses yt-dl in the background, so any site supported by that should work.

There's a lot of good recommendations here but I haven't seen anyone recommend Trail Sense yet. I use it to keep track of my steps without worrying about my levels of activity being monitored by anyone else. It also notifies me an hour before sunset since I actually go hiking.

My favourites so far.

• PlainApp
• Rethink
• Audile (Shazam FOSS)
• Notally
• OpenBoard (keyboard)
• Material Files
• QKSMS
• OsMand~
• Forecastie
• Obtainium
• Newpipe
• Cromite (Bromite fork)
• Monocles translator

Not open-source but the only gallery I found without trackers:

• Gallery made by Greensoft infotech

We have similar lists, so some considerations:

• Helium314 fork of OpenBoard for keyboard
• Simple Gallery for your gallery (just purchased but there is an emerging fork I'm blanking on the name of)
• Matrix with a Signal bridge so you can use tablets and other devices with Element, which has a wider range of devices
• NeoLauncher is like OL, but with more configuration
• Thunder for Lemmy. Great client, and only one with 2 column tablet support

Catima - for saving arbitrary barcodes and stuff that are hard to integrate into other wallets. I keep my local library card in there, and it works wonderfully

Nonocross - fun little game that has zero frills and distractions. Also very responsive on their github to suggestions and improvements

Termux - when I need to get into things from afar, this is how I do it

Box, Box! - Formula 1 news, schedules, standings, etc

Coffee - Sometimes I want to keep the display awake, so this comes in handy

Material Files - the best files app I've ever used! Clean, material design and has everything I need. It can even run an FTP server

F-Droid, Voyager, Eternity, Libretube

https://text.tchncs.de/czars-blogs/apps-i-use The blog itself is foss software writefreely

Here are some not mentioned in this thread yet.

• App Manager - App manager on steroids
• Calculator++ - Have used this calculator forever
• DiskUsage - Storage analyzer
• J2ME Loader - Emulates old JAVA games
• Jellyfin - Client for Jelyfin media server
• PCAPdroid - Network sniffer
• UnicodePad - UTF char explorer

Nextcloud News I like for RSS since it fetches the full text article. Obtainium lkke others mentioned is a must have for me.

I'd recommend Mull instead of Firefox or Fennec (the deblobbed version) since it's hardened.

It's basically a Librewolff analogue for mobile

Keyboard:

• AnySoftKeyboard good all around keyboard, good language support, decent though messy customizability
• Unexpected keyboard more specialized, provides easy access to app (printable) ASCII characters and some others, allrght customizability
• 8Vim Cool factor, great customizability, decent language support but you need to learn it

Games:

• Pirate Solitare nothing much but I've been playing it a lot lately
• Simon Tathman's Puzzle Collection a cross platform puzzle collection, has a lot of different puzzles in a uniform style
• Antimine minesweeper with nice ui

System:

• RethinkDNS: DoH provider and firewall Easy to use, especially nice for those non FOSS apps you need to have to maintain a social life, not that powerful though
• Obtainium: FOSS app downloader Downloads apps from releases or equivalent, therefore can have faster updates than fdroid, but no discovery, aside from search on some platforms
• ffupdater: FOSS browser downloader Like obtainium, but for browsers (mostly) and has list of browsers
• Droid-ify: fdroid client better ui than the default app, comes with a list of repos
• Shizuku: ADB shell api not useful if you have root (see SUI, which is the root implementation for the same api, though shizuku will also work I think), but can give a bit more access if you don't supports wireless debugging on A12+
• Neolauncher: launcher nice ui but nothing special
• SD Maid SE: storage cleaner okish ui, doesn't stop me from having 302 (not including system) apps on my device. Yes I have a problem
• Package manager: app manager Shizuku support, powerful, though limited if you don't have root
• Inure: app manager [freemium (8$), but GPL licensed?] pretty must like Package manager but with amazing ui

Media:

• LibreTube: Piped (youtube) client Nice ui, no ads, sponsor block support, kinda unstable
• Innertube: YouTube music client doesn't use piped/invidious, no ads, nice ui
• Tusky: mastodon client nice ui, quite stable, multiuser support
• Jerboa: lemmy client ok ui, up to date with lemmy updates
• Liftoff: lemmy client nicer ui then Jerboa but doesn't work since .15 (?) and had issues with rendering markdown properly
• LibreTorrent bitTorrent client for downloading all those isos and public domain works, nice ui

Misc:

• Mull: ff based browser not much to say, "security oriented and deblobbed", upstreams some features from Tor
• Calculator++: A scientific calculator A lot of functionality while remaining easy to use
• RPNcalc: A Reverse Polish Notation calculator best RPN calculator I've found on fdroid, less powerful than Calculator++, but RPN based calculators are more efficient^[citation needed]^
• Simple Apps: suit of apps providing basic functionality great ui and customizability, I don't use simple keyboard, simple launcher/drawer however
• OpenCamera: a camera app advanced features

Just the apps I thought of, as I, as mentioned in the SD Maid entry, have a lot of apps installed :P

Anyone uses InnerTune?

Obsidian isn't FOSS. I highly recommend Logseq but keep in mind they require CLA signing for contributions

I am lazy, so let me just put the link to my non-root smartphone guide with a section for FOSS Android apps.

https://lemmy.ml/comment/101358

Seriously guys, no one saying Nextcloud?

• The main app for photo backup.
• Nextcloud Notes for well, notes you can also use from the desktop.
• NC Passwords for well, passwords
• Phonetrack to record your phone to Nextcloud Maps.
• Deck for the Kanban.

2FAS, Bitwarden, Firefox are my most used FOSS on Android for me.

Obtainium is pretty good

Organic Maps, Syncthing and Feeder.

Here's a few I enjoy using that I haven't seen mentioned yet:

• Phonograph Plus: elegant music player using Material UI design
• Etar +ICS² : Etar is a nice-looking calendar app that uses Material UI design, and ICS² enables me to sync the Holiday Calendars provided on Thunderbird.net.
• Etar+ DAVx² + NextCloud : enables syncing my local Etar calendar(s) with any NextCloud instance (using CalDAV). DAVx² also allows for syncing my Android contacts to NextCloud (using CardDAV)
• AnySoft Keyboard: extremely customizable, varied keyboard layouts, for those who want all punctuation marks and quote signs built-in.
• Irregular Expressions: alternative keyboard for goofing around with unicode textstyles (🅒🅘🅡🅒🅛🅔🅢, 𝕺𝖑𝖉 𝕰𝖓𝖌𝖑𝖎𝖘𝖍 𝕭𝖔𝖑𝖉, Ｅｘｔｒａ ｗｉｄｅ, etc.)
• Simple Notes : minimalist "note to self" memos.

Ente Auth is nice for OTPs, it looks nice and I like that it shows the next code in case it's about to switch.

Neo Store for browsing fdroid

Moshidon for Mastodon

megladon for mastodon

OpenBoard + predictive text binary

What's FNG? Fluid navigation gestures? Is that FOSS? Can you share a link to the codebase? Can't find it

Permanently Deleted

termux - Terminal and shell, with Linux package environment so you can install and use packages like openssh.

I use a few apps from the SimpleMobileTools suite. They aren't full FOSS, they have basic and pro versions where the basic version is GPL3 and the proprietary extended features cost a few bucks. The basic FOSS tools are still decent, if barebones.

The suite includes:

• a calculator
• a phone dialer
• a music player
• a calendar
• a photo gallery (with basic editor)
• an audio recorder
• a flashlight
• a clock
• an app launcher
• an SMS messenger
• a camera
• a keyboard
• a note taker
• a file manager
• a contact book
• a simple painting canvas

I use the gallery and file manager the most. Though admittedly I threw a couple bucks their way for the proprietary extensions. It's not FOSS, but if it was going to be proprietary, I think it's one of the fairest deals in software these days. Better than another bloody subscription model, or holding the ad-free experience hostage behind a paywall.

Authenticator Pro. It's like Aegis but supports WearOS devices, so I can get my TOTP codes on my watch instead of having to get my phone out.

FairEmail. One of the best email clients I've used, across any platform. Highly customizable.

Syncthing for syncing photos to my home server.

Readrops for RSS - connects to my FreshRSS server.

Firefox, of course.

Fennec, Bitwarden, Droid-ify, and Tutanota are my essentials I need for life.

I'd suggest Feeder for RSS. I haven't found a perfect feed reader, but Feeder is at least no-nonsense.

My MVP FLOSS apps are

• Kiss launcher
• K-9 (email)
• Fennec (slight improvement over Firefox)
• VLC (media player)
• Antennapod (podcasts)
• Voice (audio books)
• Newpipe (YouTube without the Google snooping)
• Markor (notes)
• Authenticator (two factor authentication)
• DAVx5 (calendar and contacts sync)
  • ICSx5 (adds ICS events to calendar)
• Syncthing (serverless file sync)
• Tusky (Mastodon)

All of those are from F-droid; I'm slowly moving to Obtainium from Aurora store to keep a couple of non-FLOSS apps updated.

https://github.com/deniscerri/ytdlnis

is there a foss alternative to niagara launcher?

• FluffyChat
• Seeker
• Pano Scrobbler
• Mull
• Orbot
• FairEmail
• Librera
• Kanji Dojo
• KeePass2Android
• PipePipe
• LibreTube
• Aegis
• OpenLauncher
• Translate You
• DITMM?
• Wormhole William
• Breezy Weather
• Retro Music
• OsmAnd
• monerujo
• NeoStore
• Prepaid Balance
• QKSMS, though it's pretty low maintenance
• EasyNoise
• Simple Gallery
• SCEE, which is way more fun that any proprietary AR spyware IMO!

Tey heliboard. I known you posted a long time ago

Have redreader integrate with lemmy yet?

• Thunder: Lemmy App
• Scrambled Exif: Removes metadata when sharing images
• Feeder: Rss Reader
• KISS Launcher: Home Launcher
• NewPipe: PeerTube and YouTube app.
• Omni Notes: Notetaking
• StreetComplete: Easy, fun, and addicting way to make OpenStreetMap updates on the go
• OsmAnd~: Maps and navigation. Works phenomenally when in the backcountry and uses cell towers to locate you when gps alone can't.
• Tower Collector: Contribute BTS towers for the above.
• VLC: Video player
• WiFi Analyzer: Useful for improving and setting up WiFi networks.
• UntrackMe: Transforms links into their OSS alternatives.

FlorisBoard with a custom theme named floristyle to make it look a lot like Gboard (Material You)! There's no auto-suggestions or glide typing (yet), but I somehow already got used to that haha

No love for librera yet. That scroll mode for PDFs saves my life for technical documentation.