F-Droid

F-Droid is an installable catalogue of FOSS (Free and Open Source Software) applications for the Android platform.

Website: https://f-droid.org
Code: https://gitlab.com/fdroid
Forum: https://forum.f-droid.org

Public Key

npub1mtrk3vl7546q9c4lf0k62nkaypanv6t95gyh32f5jp63ffalu98s4mtrt0

NIP-05 Address

[email protected]

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsd43mgk0l22aqzu2l5hmd9fmwjq7ekd9j6yztc4y6fqag557l7zncpz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduqs6amnwvaz7tmwdaejumr0dsuws5af

Publishing to

relay.damus.io

nos.lol

Author Public Key

npub1mtrk3vl7546q9c4lf0k62nkaypanv6t95gyh32f5jp63ffalu98s4mtrt0

Show more details

Last Notes

2024-08-30 11:37:48

- reply

yes, our communication about this change was not ideal.
We tried to cover it in https://f-droid.org/2024/07/25/twif.html and https://f-droid.org/2024/04/04/twif.html, but apparently it wasn't read by everybody (surprise, surprise 🙈).
Unfortunately, we didn't find any good technical solution to enable the new Anti-Feature automatically (but only for those, who didn't change their AFs manually).
Moreover, this new AF was designed to clearly differentiate, that apps like OM are NOT NonFreeNet, but only TetheredNet.

2024-06-20 21:36:33

This week in #FDroid was just published!
Through the adding of preferred repos, 1.20 can end up providing no updates for some apps. We're working on a fix.
Other news:
- CineLog is back after its removal
- Delta Chat was updated with security improvements and better onboarding
- Fennec and Mull were updated to 127 with some delay caused by some repo changes
- 5 new and 133 updated apps
https://f-droid.org/2024/06/20/twif.html

2024-06-20 09:50:42

- reply

We covered its removal in week 5 'Spring Cleaning' section: https://f-droid.org/2024/02/01/twif.html

2024-06-17 08:16:33

This week in #FDroid (TWIF) was published some days ago.
The big news is, that 1.20 of our client is now the suggested version.
On the apps side:
- NFCGate, a NFC research toolkit was added
- SD Maid 2/SE - System Cleaner is now on F-Droid after it was removed from Play
- Element X is now available as replacement for Element
- RPN (Reverse Polish Notation Calculator) was updated after 12 years
https://f-droid.org/2024/06/13/twif.html

2024-06-13 08:54:14

- reply

Yes, we have inclusion policies (https://f-droid.org/docs/Inclusion_Policy/). If there are proprietary bits, we don't include it in our "official" repository.
Apps with, for example, a proprietary server backend get an anti-feature, when the app itself is FOSS.

2024-06-12 08:19:52

- reply

Yes, either the developer themselves apply for inclusion (the best option, because then they are totally behind it), or any other person can apply for any app (then the original dev has at least to be notified about it).
Regarding ProtonMail, that's because both the "old" and the "new" Proton Mail apps depend on Google proprietary libs.
Unfortunately, the devs @npub19kd…t56d didn't have time yet to build a completely open source variant of Mail.

2024-06-12 08:14:10

- reply

Just a small nit, there is no Signal fork/app in the main f-droid.org repo, but there are other repositories that host them.
F-Droid pushes for a decentralized ecosystem, and repos are at the core of this.
The new management overhaul makes it easier than ever to enjoy repositories, read more: https://f-droid.org/2024/05/16/repository-overhaul-in-client-1-20.html

2024-06-11 09:01:02

- reply

Yes, of course. We have the following task item before including an app: "The original app author has been notified (and does not oppose the inclusion)."
It does not make sense for us to include an app, when the developer is against it. Often we rely on changes made by them to be able to include an app properly. That would only lead to angry developers and more work for us.

2024-06-10 10:09:59

- reply

F-Droid hosts clean versions of Firefox for years, search for "Fennec" or "Mull".
Signal contains proprietary libraries, and its developers opposed its cleaning and inclusion.

2024-06-07 15:53:13

This week in #FDroid (TWIF):
- Kiwix was archived, as the last version without proprietary components is unusable at the moment. But the developers are working on a fix.
- The Stork IM developers have announced that they are working on a completely new app to replace the old version
- Apps come in dozens, we have 12 new and 12^2 updated apps this week
https://f-droid.org/2024/06/06/twif.html

2024-06-06 09:17:55

At its core, the #FreeSoftware movement is all about establishing basic user rights to use, study, share and improve software for any purpose. This is a fundamental core value of #FDroid.
While we think our work is very important, it's no substitute for vigilantly demanding basic #HumanRights. That's why we want to support the #lgbtqiaPlus community by participating in #PrideMonth. Stay strong. Stay proud. :heart_pride:

2024-06-05 13:46:05

- reply

the top 5 apps from https://divestos.org/pages/fdroid_stats (that's the best metric we have) are not or no longer affected

2024-06-04 08:24:22

- reply

We did the due-diligence to announce both the devs and the users. 'Known' is a strong word, and we did not do any vulnerability proving for those ~130 apps.
Not all apps that have a dependency with a known vulnerability are vulnerable themselves.
The power of FOSS is the community around the open code, our 'many eyes' are needed in the packaging department, hope you and others are doing your part too.

2024-06-04 08:19:59

- reply

Users deem apps as 'important' in a subjective manner 😋 We encourage you to at least take a cursory look at the apps listed in the 3 issues. It might even help you gain a new angle on them and their role in your daily routine.

2024-06-04 08:18:49

- reply

While we would like that people from all walks of life read our posts and toots, we know they are not. Sometimes we talk about stuff that target fans of packaging FOSS apps on Android, hence not that accessible. Our Forum (https://forum.f-droid.org) is always open for a good follow-up and discussions.

2024-06-03 08:24:43

- reply

People have been asking for F-Droid links for the last 2 years. Then again, the site is proprietary: https://github.com/mastodon/joinmastodon/issues/323 so we don't expect much traction.

2024-06-03 08:23:43

- reply

F-Droid hosts the apps as they are, if they're vulnerable they are everywhere. There's a question of trust too, developers expect us to ship their app build from the source code, not modified it without their consent, even if for a 'good' reason. F-Droid packages the apps, does not maintain them. No store does this, yet we tracked the issues, warned the devs and tried to work with them as much as we could.

2024-06-02 14:51:25

This week in #FDroid (TWIF):
Some of the apps in our repo were affected by vulnerabilities back in October. Most have been updated, but some not. We have a list, where you can check if your apps are still affected.
Also:
- Celestia, a 3D interactive planetarium was added
- Hypatia got a new scanning feature
- wallabag was updated again
https://f-droid.org/2024/05/30/twif.html

2024-05-28 14:57:22

We have a new blog post about the Mobifree project and our role in it.
In short, it's a human-centered, ethical alternative, that champions privacy over profit and believes in collaboration, sustainability and inclusiveness.
https://f-droid.org/2024/05/24/mobifree.html
#FDroid #mobifree

2024-05-27 10:57:33

Friendly reminder if you're an open source developer in the mobile ecosystem:
You still have time until 1st of June to apply for a #mobifree grant.
https://nlnet.nl/mobifree/

2024-05-21 09:03:00

Last week on #FDroid we've had some exciting news.
Our F-Droid client was updated to 1.20.0. This version improves the handling of repositories, and @npub1a50…evl6 wrote a dedicated blog post about that: https://f-droid.org/2024/05/16/repository-overhaul-in-client-1-20.html
TWIF:
- Thore gave a talk about F-Droid in Zürich, which also included some metrics about the most downloaded apps.
- news about some trading apps
- wallabag was downgraded
- we did a rebuild of Freedoom for arm64
- idTech4A++ and OsmAnd~ were updated
https://f-droid.org/2024/05/16/twif.html

2024-05-10 09:40:57

This week in #FDroid (TWIF) just landed.
We've had interesting behavior with phones that did not tell the truth about their capabilities, and fun debugging armv7 / arm64 builds of SimpleX.
Also, we have 4 new apps:
- Kitsune - for your Kitsu.io library
- Open Biking - Bluetooth application for generating training on an indoor bike
- Self Attendance Tracker - Attendance Tracker for students
- mensen - App for Dresden’s canteens
https://f-droid.org/2024/05/09/twif.html