2024-12-26

open source android apps i use

Many people, myself included, have switched to custom Android ROMs to improve UX and avoid software bloats. If you are reading this article, chances are you are about to switch to a new custom ROM or already running custom ROM.

operating system: grapheneos

In terms of roms, I have been running GrapheneOS on a Pixel phone for 6+ years. This is the longest OS I have on a phone compared to iOS or Google Android I have used in the past.

GrapheneOS only runs on Pixel phone, it covers a 5 or 7 years support depending on the model. When support period passes, the OS can be easily rebased onto a extended support branch for another few more years.

app list

app store: f-droid, aurora store

F-Droid: an app store for open source apps. It can even support multiple app repositories. This feature comes in handy when downloading apps from some more dedicated app developers such as Orbot, Orfox, etc. F-Droid itself is of course open source too.
Aurora Store: for downloading non open source apps safely. Especially when some apps are required to be installed for work. In that case, simply put Aurora Store and all the proprietary apps onto its dedicated user profile.

communications

K-9 Mail: email client that works.
Conversations: this is an chat app based on XMPP protocol. It's capable to talk to anyone from IRC, XMPP, Signal, Matrix, or even proprietary messengers such as Telegram, Skype, Discord, etc. as long as bridge is provided. It basically does everything, sometimes even emails.
Etar: this is a feature rich calendar app that can schedule events and even share events with people in the contact.

entertainment

Antennapod: podcast client. It just works.
Jeboa: Lemmy client. If you don't know Lemmy, it's basically a federated Reddit alternative. Like many other federated software, its ecosystem allows users to view articles and have discussion globally beyond server borders. Most instance owners even use bots to relay posts from Reddit so that users don't even need to go to Reddit or HackerNews anymore.
LibreTube: Youtube client with proxy. I don't watch YouTube or use this app anymore, but it worked great when I was using it a few years ago. It's a native application written in Kotlin programming language so that's usually more responsive and easier to navigate around its UI/UX than React or other non-native implementations.
Book Reader: well... no explanation needed I guess.

Organic Map: a feature rich OpenStreetMap client with full support for offline mode and turn by turn voice navigation.

sync

KDE Connect: Connect phone with computer. I can use real keyboard to write SMS, send files between phone and computers, etc.

network

orbot: it's a tor server & client. It helps anonymize network traffic when using apps that connects to the internet, such as browser, map, chat app, etc. It can come in handy when some websites uses domain block to VPN ips, with orbot enabled, such issue can easily be bypassed.

misc

Catima: Loyalty card wallet. It's rare for store to offer loyalty cards these days. If they do, it's a great way to keep them in 1 place with this wallet.
Aegis: 2FA authenticator app.

That's pretty much all I have.