Foreword
There are many stories of Big Tech having a malevolent undertone of what they can vel have done with one's behavioural tracking information. In the best cases one gets ads which align with
the current life experience or one gets a better user experience while using their product(s). This post will not go deeper into these hypotheses and urges the reader to do their own due
diligence in such stories and the upcoming suggested products.
Getting started
The main app store for the guide is F-Droid which has the mission to
Provide a trusted way to share FOSS' apps for Android.
Further "stores" are Aurora which is a mirror of the Google Play Store and Obtainium which allows to install apps directly from the git repositories.
- Navigate to F-Droid and download the APK.
- Install the APK using the guide.
- Permit in F-Droid to install apps through it.
- The process can be repeated for Aurora and Obtainium.
Apps
A list of apps that are either currently being used or have been used in the past.
Primary criteria for the chosen apps are
- the app needs to be functional in offline mode, except for browsers, VPNs, and messaging apps,
- the app needs to have an option to migrate the data vel settings and ideally have local backups option.
(The list will be regularly updated. The order of apps within each category is sorted based off personal preference.)
Authenticator
| Name |
Description / Reason |
Install |
| Aegis |
No internet connection required. |
F-Droid |
Browsers
| Name |
Description / Reason |
Install |
| UrlChecker |
Vet if an URL is malecious before being redirected to it. |
F-Droid |
| DuckDuckGo Browser |
Has in-built anti-tracking protections and other security/privacy benefits. |
F-Droid |
| Brave Browser |
Blocks ads. |
Aurora |
Camera
| Name |
Description / Reason |
Install |
| Open Camera |
Features: multiple settings to play with. |
F-Droid |
eBook and PDF reader
| Name |
Description / Reason |
Install |
| Librera |
Features: text to speech, can read multiple formats (preferred EPUB). |
F-Droid |
Fediverse
| Name |
Description / Reason |
Install |
| Fedilab |
Features: multiple services in one app. |
F-Droid |
File manager
| Name |
Description / Reason |
Install |
| Fossify File Manager |
Features: more features than the default file manager. |
F-Droid |
Fitness tracker
| Name |
Description / Reason |
Install |
| FitoTrack |
Features: create own exercises, export GPX data, detailed breakdown of workout. |
F-Droid |
Gallery Apps
| Name |
Description / Reason |
Install |
| Fossify Gallery |
Features: completely offline compared to Google Photos. |
F-Droid |
| Aves Libre |
Features: add custom tags and see images based off of EXIF data. |
F-Droid |
| Valv |
Features: create password protected local vault to hold images. |
F-Droid |
Image editing
| Name |
Description / Reason |
Install |
| Image Box |
When the editing capacities of Fossify Gallery don't suffice. |
F-Droid |
Keyboard
| Name |
Description / Reason |
Install |
| 8vim |
Security through obscurity and one-finger swiping. |
F-Droid |
| FUTO Keyboard |
Features: swiping and emojis. |
Obtainium |
Maps and Navigation
| Name |
Description / Reason |
Install |
| OsmAnd |
Multiple plugins permiited and can be used to contribute to OpenStreetMap. |
F-Droid |
| CoMaps |
Features: easier to use compated to OsmAnd. |
F-Droid |
Messaging
| Name |
Description / Reason |
Install |
| Molly |
Signal fork (Preferred). |
Obtainium |
| Threema |
Open source license exists. |
Obtainium |
| Element |
Matrix client. |
F-Droid |
| Session |
Feature: message goes over the Tor network. |
F-Droid |
| SimpleX |
Feature: no knownledge communication with option of having multiple contact profiles. |
F-Droid |
| Forkgram |
Telegram fork. |
F-Droid |
| Briar |
Feature: can be used via Bluetooth. |
F-Droid |
| Langis |
Signal fork. |
Obtainium |
Music player
| Name |
Description / Reason |
Install |
| Phocid |
Dedicated app over using VLC. |
F-Droid |
Note taking
| Name |
Description / Reason |
Install |
| Markor |
Mardown editor. |
F-Droid |
| MyBrain |
Multiple categorized areas like notes, diaries, bookmarks, etc. |
F-Droid |
OpenStreetMap contribution
| Name |
Description / Reason |
Install |
| SCEE |
Advanced version of StreetComplete for OpenStreetMap power users. |
F-Droid |
| Vespucci |
Advanced editor with multiple features like being able to add and edit nodes, ways, and areas. |
F-Droid |
| StreetComplete |
Gamification of solving ground level quests. |
F-Droid |
| EveryDoor |
Quick POI editor and simplified version of Vespucci. |
F-Droid |
Password manager
| Name |
Description / Reason |
Install |
| Bitwarden |
Multiple access points to passwords. |
Obtainium |
| KeePassX |
Offline local password manager. |
F-Droid |
Podcast player
| Name |
Description / Reason |
Install |
| AntennaPod |
Features: download podcasts and listen to them offline. |
F-Droid |
Usage statistics
Video player
| Name |
Description / Reason |
Install |
| VLC |
|
F-Droid |
VPNs
| Name |
Description / Reason |
Install |
| Proton VPN |
Free connections. |
F-Droid |
| Mullvad VPN |
|
F-Droid |
Weather
| Name |
Description / Reason |
Install |
| Cirrus |
Features: multiple details of weather on an hourly basis. |
F-Droid |
YouTube
| Name |
Description / Reason |
Install |
| NewPipe |
Features: watch ad free, able to download videos, able to listen while app in the background. |
F-Droid |
Further apps to look into is the suite of Fossify apps and regularly explore the F-Droid main page for potential utilities.
References