Hey, there!
To get things going here and also because I’m interested in what kind of fun stuff you’re running on your phones, I’ll post a list of apps that I’m using daily or that are part of my Android experience.
To start it all off, I’d like to emphasize that I try to run FOSS apps almost exclusively and I also don’t use Google Play Services whatsoever (not even MicroG). I do run some very few closed source applications in a separate profile with Insular, but I plain out refuse to run them if they flat out require Google Play Services.
Feel free to tell me what YOU are running in the comments!
My installed Apps
- AdAway | Blocks ads by utilizing root access or by acting as a local VPN**
- Aegis | Provides 2-factor authentication codes, includes a repository of icons for your services
- Aurora Services | Required for background installations with Aurora Store****
- Aurora Store | Alternative client for the Google Play Store**
- AVNC | Remote desktop client
- CIFS Documents Provider | Access shares (SMB Windows Shares, for example) through file manager
- ConnectBot | Access SSH servers
- DAVx⁵ | CalDAV / CardDAV client (synchronizes calenders, contacts and tasks)*
- flutterhole | Adjust Pi-Hole settings quickly and inspect stats
- Fox’s Magisk Module Manager | Can install Magisk modules from several repos and let’s you manage them***
- Geometric Weather | Weather app (with widgets)
- Infinity for Reddit | Feature-rich Reddit client (future uncertain due to Reddit’s API-pocalypse, however, you can compile Infinity with your own API, as described here)
- Insular | Creates a separate (work) profile where you can install “big brother” apps**
- Jerboa for Lemmy | Lemmy client*
- Joplin | Note-taking application with sharing capabilities*
- K-9 Mail | Modern e-mail client with multiple inboxes, etc.*
- KDE Connect | Control your computer from your smartphone and vice-versa (also share files, notifications, clipboard, etc.)
- Kore | Remote for the Kodi media center
- KurobaEx | 4chan client
- LibreSpeed | Tests connection speed*
- LibreTube | Client for Piped, a private YouTube frontend with SponsorBlock support*
- Magisk | Systemless root solution***
- mLauncher | Text-based launcher that looks good and keeps things simple
- MuPDF mini | Opens PDFs quickly and renders them perfectly, nothing else
- Mull | Firefox-based browser, deblobbed and hardened for privacy
- Nekogram X | Client for Telegram with more features
- Neo Backup | Powerful backup and restore solution**
- Neo Store | Alternative client for F-Droid**
- Noice | Create and play back profiles of overlapping noises to drown out environmental noises (use version 1.3.3, version 2.x requires internet access and an optional subscription)
- ProtonVPN | Client for the popular ProtonVPN service
- Raiden Tweaks | Configuration tool for the Raiden Tweaks Magisk module****
- Simple Gallery Pro | Nice gallery app for viewing pictures and videos
- SlimSocial for Facebook | Wrapper for Facebook’s website, so you can interact with people that refuse to use any kind of messenger, but are still present on Facebook
- SuperFreezZ | Freeze applications that you’re not using***
- Tasks | To-do app with recurring tasks support*
- Translate You | Translates texts between languages*
- Tusky | Client for Mastodon / Pleroma and forks*
- VLC | Powerful media player
- Wallme-Wallpaper | Provides a set of nice-looking wallpapers
- WateryDroid | Reminds you to drink water
- WireGuard | Client for the popular and powerful VPN solution WireGuard*
- Yet another Call Blocker | Uses a community blockist to block fraudalent callers
- Öffi (Offi on F-Droid) | Powerful app for checking public transportation schedules and more (Mostly Europe and some other places)
Apps not available on F-Droid
These are apps that aren’t available on F-Droid, due to either containing non-free dependencies or other reasons.
- Bitwarden(GPL-3.0) | Powerful cloud password manager with auto-fill capabilities*
- boum(MPL-2.0) | Client for listening to music on Jellyfin*
- Brave(MPL-2.0) | Web browser based on Chromium with privacy in mind (I use it when Mull breaks something)
- Record You(GPL-3.0) | Record your voice or your screen
Honorable Mentions
These are apps that I wholeheartedly recommend, but don’t use any more, because I replaced them with something else.
- NewPipe for SponsorBlock(GPL-3.0) | Private YouTube client with SponsorBlock support
- Open Camera | Feature rich camera with Camera API v2 support, usually the best FOSS camera on 3rd party ROMs
*CAN be used as a client for self-hosted services
**Offers additional features if root access is present
***Requires root access to be present
****Part of a Magisk module
Edit: Added some links and changed Infinity’s description
I use Syncthing and KDE Connect both. They’re fantastic at what they do- wireless sync specific folders between devices, send/receive files, share a clipboard between devices, remotely operate a device, share notifications etc. Basically you can create your own seamless ecosystem of devices that belong to any platform! If you’re like me and use a lot of offline-only apps, these two will let you sync your data between 2 or more devices. I use it for my offline music library (fully legal of course, no question about it haha lol), logseq notes, books (again, definitely completely legal).
I also use BitWarden, but I might switch to Keypass because it is fully offline.
Does syncing a password vault or app settings work flawlessly like that or do hiccups occur? I usually try to use things that are FOSS and offer a selfhosted backend, but I’m not opposed to the usage of fully offline applications, as well.