F-droid

F-droid
F-Droid 1.0.2
Basic data
developer	Ciaran Gultnieks
Publishing year	September 29, 2010
Current  version	1.9.0 ( June 25, 2020 )
Current preliminary version	1.6-alpha2 (March 28, 2019)
operating system	Android
programming language	python
f-droid.org

F-Droid is an alternative app store for the Android mobile operating system . The specialty of F-Droid is that only free software is offered in the official and by default activated repository , usually according to GNU GPL or Apache license . The source code of every app in the F-Droid repository is not only available to the end user for viewing and modification, but it is also guaranteed that the downloaded apk file was generated by the F-Droid server from these sources. Accordingly, this file is also signed by F-Droid and not, as usual, by the original developer. This concept is intended to ensure transparency and security.

No registration is required to use F-Droid, which, in contrast to other app sources such as the Google Play Store, enables apps to be downloaded anonymously. On the other hand, there are no statistics on the prevalence of individual programs or crash statistics. The F-Droid client is a fork of the Aptoide app created by Roberto Jacinto . The F-Droid project was founded by Ciaran Gultnieks, the main developer of his server .

F-Droid is also pre-installed in some custom ROMs including CopperheadOS . Replicant , Fairphone Open and LineageOS for microG .

functionality

Download apps

There are two ways to get applications from the F-Droid repository. First, every app can be downloaded as an apk file from the F-Droid.org website. Second - and more convenient for the user - you can install the official F-Droid app, which does this in the background. There is also a notification as soon as a new version of an already installed app is available.

With both installation variants, older versions of the app can optionally be installed if they are available.

F-Droid Server

The counterpart to the F-Droid app is the Python -based server component, which is also available as free software. With the help of the server software, anyone can set up their own repositories for Android apps, such as the Guardian Project, and put them online. You can use these to install your own apps on your Android system using the F-Droid app. Thus, the F-Droid system can be seen as a counterpart to package management , which is known from other primarily Unixoid operating systems .

Inclusion of new apps in the official repository

In addition to the free purchase of free apps, F-Droid also gives every user the option of suggesting apps for the repository, provided that these are available as free software (including the source code with the appropriate license ). Apps that have certain disadvantages, e.g. B. contain advertising or track the end user ("track"), marked accordingly. Furthermore, security tests are carried out before an app is made available for download.

Include repositories from third-party providers

In addition to the official F-Droid repository, according to whose rules only free software is permitted, the user can also integrate other independent repositories that contain apps that do not meet the criteria for free software. One example of this is the Tagesschau app .

F-Droid Privileged Extension

F-Droid Privileged Extension is an extension with which apps can be installed using root rights without the installation dialog. It can be installed via a Magisk module or manually via an unlocked recovery system.

Selection of available apps

The F-Droid repository contains 1,892 apps (as of May 9, 2019). Some of the most famous of these are:

• AdAway , a filter for advertising. Is not available on Google Play due to the ad blocker ban .
• AntennaPod , a pod catcher
• Conversations , an XMPP client
• FBReader , the Android version of the e-book reader
• Frozen Bubble , a casual game
• K-9 Mail , an email program
• Kontalk , an instant messenger
• Minetest , a Minecraft clone (open source)
• Mozilla Firefox Klar , a web browser from Mozilla that focuses on data protection
• MuPDF , a PDF -Betrachter
• NewPipe , a YouTube and SoundCloud client
• Open Camera , a camera app
• OpenKeychain , a program for OpenPGP encryption
• OsmAnd + , navigation app with free maps
• ownCloud and Nextcloud , apps for synchronizing files, calendar and address book with your own cloud server
• Seafile , app for synchronizing files on your own cloud server
• Syncthing , app for decentralized file synchronization
• Telegram , chat app for encrypted communication
• Tutanota , an open source and end-to-end encrypting email service
• Orbot , a client for the Tor network
• Wikipedia , the official Android app from Wikipedia

See also

• List of free Android apps

Individual evidence

1. ↑ gitlab.com .
2. ↑ About. F-Droid, accessed November 23, 2017 . 
3. ↑ Interview with Ciaran Gultnieks of F-Droid. Free Software Foundation , May 8, 2014, accessed November 23, 2017 . 
4. ↑ Security Model | F-Droid - Free and Open Source Android App Repository. Retrieved September 20, 2018 . 
5. ^ Docs. F-Droid, accessed June 22, 2019 . 
6. ↑ Our new F-Droid App Repository. (No longer available online.) Guardian Project, March 15, 2012, archived from the original on March 23, 2017 ; Retrieved February 3, 2014 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
7. ↑ Inclusion How-To. F-Droid, January 4, 2017, accessed August 3, 2017 . 
8. ↑ Antifeatures. F-Droid, December 29, 2015, accessed August 3, 2017 . 
9. ↑ F-Droid is a safe Play Store alternative. In: sueddeutsche.de . March 7, 2018, accessed April 27, 2018 . 
10. ↑ News on the tagesschau app. Norddeutscher Rundfunk, November 27, 2018, accessed on March 6, 2020 . 
11. ↑ Repository Browser. F-Droid, May 9, 2019, accessed May 9, 2019 .