this post was submitted on 11 Jun 2023
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FOSS for Android
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### About /m/FOSSdroid A community for sharing and promoting free / libre and open source software on the Android platform. This means software you are free to modify and distribute, such as applications licensed under the GNU General Public License, BSD license, MIT license, Apache license, etc. and software that isn't designed to restrict you in any way. Think of free software as free as in freedom of speech, not free beer.
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It's great to find this community here. I am mostly gonna lurk but I thought I'd drop at least one comment. So, my favourite foss apps, and sorry I am not sure about how to link them, are these -
Fennec Fdroid - I know there is Mull, but I just use this with a Custom Add On Id. Ublock Origin and Local CDN are great.
Simple Gallery Pro - I used the paid Play Store version, but you can get it from F-Droid. It's great.
Aves Gallery - I have been using this alongside Simple Gallery for it's looks mostly, and you can also select "favourites" that are marked by changes in metadata (if I am correct, otherwise please let me know), so even if you mistakenly uninstall the app or move the photos, the metadata makes the favourites reappear. You can also "rate" your photos here. A fantastic gallery app in itself, particularly if you want to organise your photo.
Librera Reader - In my experience the most feature rich and complete foss Epub Reader. Supports all other majore file formats too. Great app to read on with no fuss.
Rethink Dns - A VPN based adblocker and tracker blocker. Used to use Blokada before, moved to this one. Fantastic with a lot of customisable blocklist and an option to individually block or allow domains, both system wide or on a per app basis.
Fdroid - I just use the good old fashioned official App, but I have heard great things about Neo Store (I hope I am correct with the name). Gets the job done, and I just stick to it.
Open Camera + Libre Camera : Both fine open source apps for taking Photos and videos. Open Camera is more old and reliable, but I also enjoy Libre Camera. Both are fine for what they do.
VLC Media Player - For songs and videos both. There are better options for music but it gets the job done and I need a single app only.
Collabora Office - I sometimes need to type long stuff, but do not have access to a PC or Laptop. Just an otg and a keyboard with my phone gets the job done again.
Pineapple Lock Screen - If your phone does not have a "double tap to lock" this one is just fantastic to have.
Mulch - A Chromium based web browser for when you really need chrome-like interface. I just use it because it's nice. Fennec is usually enough. Do note that Mulch does not block ads, so it's best to either change the dns or use a system wide adblocker. Also better to use the DivestOs repo to get fast updates.
So, yes, these are the ones I love and regularly use. Special mention, I haven't used it in a while but AntenaPod is great for Podcasts, Infinity for Reddit (sad) for Reddit, K-9 Mail as an Email app, and Markor as a note taking app with Markdown support are all great. If you use YouTube Newpipe is all you need.
Thank you if you read through all of that. I have not written this much in a public forum for a while. Have a wonderful day :)
+1 for Aves. It's the perfect gallery app: does what it's supposed to good.
A question about Libre/Open Camera. What would you say are their strenghts. You say: fine for what they do – well, what do they do?
I will start with Libre Camera, the whole app with data and cache sits at 25mb on my device, a 64gb/4gb one. It's one of the most lightweight things I have used. The greatest feature of Libre Camera, in my opinion, is that you can choose to take photos and videos in it without any exif data -no need for something like Scrambled Exif or any other app. Alongside that you can quickly shift between the "quality" of photos and videos right from the screen, a great feature for when you need to fire up the quality or just need some "potato" quality stuff. And finally, this is perhaps specific to my device, but I had only been able to get "tap to automaticaly adjust iso" (I am not sure what else to call it, but you get the point, right ?) working on it while every other app just returns a dark picture or requires to manualy adjust it all.
With Open Camera, I just like the interface and the fact that you can get reliable pictures and videos quickly. I use it mostly to record videos and it's ability to "lock exposure" has rarely if ever failed me. Also, it offers a truckload of control. I can choose to shoot videos in Webp/Mpeg/HVEC etc, with separate resolutions, and even choose the framerate - again as someone with limited storage that is a blessing.
So, these I think are the greatest quality of these two apps. Finally, these are the only two "good" open source camera app I had seen around in F-Droid. I try to use foss as much as possible, so that's that too.
I hope this was useful in answering your question :)
Very useful! I used one of them (I think it was Open) regularly for a while, but I ran into so many problems, with freezing and crashes, so I switched back to the default camera app again. Trying out Libre now.
Cheers mate. Have a nice day :)