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F-Droid gets its biggest update in a decade with new UI and smoother app installs (arstechnica.com)

submitted 1 month ago by return2ozma@lemmy.world to c/technology@lemmy.world

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[–] NarrativeBear@lemmy.world 220 points 1 month ago (13 children)

https://keepandroidopen.org/

Google says "power users" can "still install" unverified apps. Here's what that actually looks like:

Delve into System Settings, find About Phone

Tap the build number seven times to enable Developer Mode

Dismiss scare screens about coercion

Enter your PIN

Restart the device

Wait 24 hours

Come back, dismiss more scare screens

Pick "allow temporarily" (7 days) or "allow indefinitely"

Confirm, again, that you understand "the risks"

Nine steps. A mandatory 24-hour cooling-off period. For installing software on a device you own.

Worse: this flow runs entirely through Google Play Services, not the Android OS. Google can change it, tighten it, or kill it at any time, with no OS update required and no consent needed.

[–] pHr34kY@lemmy.world 42 points 1 month ago (4 children)

It won't be a problem on a de-googled phone. Get it running LineageOS or GrapheneOS. Then install F-Droid (and probably Aurora store too). Some Google junk won't work, but you'll soon be more limited by having Google services on your phone than not having it.

[–] CatLikeLemming@lemmy.blahaj.zone 10 points 1 month ago

Hardly the point though. For us this is a bother at most, but we can cope because we're already doing our own thing and know what we want. Imagine trying to get your non tech-savvy friends to "sideload" (install) an app from outside the Play Store. Right now it's not a big deal, so if they're interested in the app, they'll likely install it. But this amount of friction and scary warnings is way more likely to stop them.

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[–] 8uurg@lemmy.world 24 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Worse - that 24 hour timer? You only have a short window of time once it finishes to continue, otherwise you have to wait another 24 hours.

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[–] tixnou@feddit.cl 14 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (2 children)

i hadnt thought about it before but i just had the realization that im not even gonna be able to have 3rd party apps AND my banking app in the same phone (cuz it doesnt like developer options being enabled). uhm shit

[–] cotlovan@lemmy.world 11 points 1 month ago

I unlocked my phone's bootloader. I'm on the oem OS, up to date, no root, just unlocked the bootloader. Now my device is "not certified" and a lot of apps that have no business caring about my "certification status" don't work (like my phone operator app). That's if the playstore lets me download it in the first place: "this app is not compatible with your device"

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[–] Kangae_Hishiryo@scribe.disroot.org 13 points 1 month ago (6 children)

The worst part is for non tech savvy people.

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[–] themachinestops@lemmy.dbzer0.com 11 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (4 children)

This is why rooting is great and if you re worried about banking apps, KernelSU is very good at blocking detection and keyboxs for the hardware attestation get leaked weekly.

[–] grue@lemmy.world 7 points 1 month ago (1 children)

This is why antitrust law is great... or would be, if we fucking had it anymore!

Technological workarounds are not the same thing as actual solutions.

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[–] Yerbouti@sh.itjust.works 177 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (2 children)

Nice. There's just a FOSS alternative for almost everything these days. I get 80% of my apps from F-Droid.

[–] morto@piefed.social 37 points 1 month ago (1 children)

The only non foss apps that I use are banking apps and whatsapp (forced to use it...). Everything else is foss.

[–] NarrativeBear@lemmy.world 15 points 1 month ago (4 children)

Look at Beeper as a alternative, let's you bridge your WhatsApp chats.

https://www.beeper.com/

[–] hornedfiend@sopuli.xyz 29 points 1 month ago (2 children)

The only way you should trust anything bridging is if you self host it.

Matrix with WhatsApp bridge is the only way to properly use that.

[–] Kangae_Hishiryo@scribe.disroot.org 13 points 1 month ago

For many people it's literally impossible to self host anything, whether it's because of lack of decent hardware resources, and/or because of a lack of technical knowledge, and/or because of a lack of time, and/or because of a lack of energetic stability, and/or because of a lack of monetary resources, and/or because of a lack of mental and/or physical energy, and/or because of a lack of someone with some or any of these; and of course, all of these things can be and in fact are intersectional with each other.

So that's why any managed alternative it's still a good alternative for these people; obviously, only if they're as transparent and reliable as humanly possible.

I myself only do use Disroot's (and maybe Nadeko and a bit others) services because I don't have the hardware, the money, the energy and the enviromental resources to be able to properly self host, and even more, I only use the free tiers of these services.

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[–] chrislowles@lemmy.zip 7 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I don't take advantage of Beeper nearly as much as I should, I saw that they give you a Matrix handle when you sign up which I think is cool.

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[–] mesamunefire@piefed.social 34 points 1 month ago

Same. Its great!

[–] statelesz@slrpnk.net 69 points 1 month ago (19 children)

Isn't everybody using Droid-ify anyway?

[–] ShutUpWesley@piefed.zip 67 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I've just been rawdoggin it with the OG f-droid app

[–] Redjard@reddthat.com 5 points 1 month ago

mines been on no updates for years after they removed the ability to downgrade apps inexplicably.

[–] amlor@piefed.social 27 points 1 month ago (1 children)

No. Team neo store represent

[–] nothingcorporate@lemmy.today 9 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

+1 for neo store. I wonder if the new f-droid overhaul catches up as neo is pretty fantastic.

Edit, just looked at the screenshots, looks better than before but I'll stick with neo.

[–] xylol@leminal.space 20 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I get pretty much everything through obtainium

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[–] apfelwoiSchoppen@lemmy.world 15 points 1 month ago

I love that I've never heard of Droidify. Open source offers a buffet of alternatives.

[–] Cris_Citrus@piefed.zip 14 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Honestly the new ui is nice enough I may be switching back to the official F-droid app.

We'll see where I stay. I love the simplicity of droid-ify but sometimes have some issues with minor jank

[–] berty@feddit.org 6 points 1 month ago (1 children)

That was the reason I switched back to F-Droid. Had serious problems with updating and stuff, no problems with F-Droid so far. I don't use it that much anyways, most of my apps are already installed. When searching for new apps F-Droid has a big category selection which is nice.

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[–] nuko147@lemmy.world 6 points 1 month ago

Yes, but now I want a comparison of F-droid 2 vs Droid-ify.

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[–] mamg22@sh.itjust.works 34 points 1 month ago

Been using it since the alpha came out, absolutely love what they've done with the app. The installation flow is much smoother with the instant prompt for confirmation, the more granular categories and improved search make browsing so much better. I tried other stores before, but I couldn't get myself to like any of the actively maintained ones, v2.0 is good for me.

[–] chjsou@quokk.au 32 points 1 month ago

Almost exclusively use F-Droid. Great news!

[–] dharmacurious@slrpnk.net 30 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Can anyone ELI5 for the nontechy how things are going to work once Google rolls out the new bullshit? I'm seeing so many of my apps put out notices that they will no longer work once Google goes through with the verification system. Will I still be able to install shit through f droid?

[–] hanrahan@slrpnk.net 25 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Will I still be able to install shit through f droid?

yeah, with extra hoops the first time though (24 hr wait etc etc)

[–] dharmacurious@slrpnk.net 11 points 1 month ago (2 children)

I already have developer options turned on, are they gonna fuck me out of that again? :/

I really hate this shit

[–] MonkderVierte@lemmy.zip 18 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (4 children)

I really hate this shit

If you have Play Services running, Google owns your phone (and also tracks you, and sucks 50% of the juice for it). Just rip 'em out.

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[–] NarrativeBear@lemmy.world 12 points 1 month ago

Ya there's going to be wait periods to turn on developer options, and it sucks cause some apps don't work with developer options turned on, like banking apps for example.

This whole thing sucks, imagine on your laptop not being able to install software and only being locked to getting everything through the Microsoft Store App.

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[–] reksas@sopuli.xyz 10 points 1 month ago

the problem here isnt that users cant do what they want, its that developers might stop developing because not enough people cant be arsed to jump through googles hoops. Everyone who can should support opensource developers more than ever now.

[–] Fermenade@feddit.org 27 points 1 month ago (3 children)

I've just tried it. The UX is great and the downloads are faster than ever. It's soo much better noww!

[–] hansolo@lemmy.today 8 points 1 month ago (13 children)

WTF, why is the download on the Fdroid front page still giving me 1.3.2?

[–] kamen@lemmy.world 10 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (4 children)

Could be a gradual rollout.

Edit: saw it's actually still a beta (and probably this is why it doesn't show), here's a link for the APK: https://f-droid.org/repo/org.fdroid.fdroid_2000050.apk

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[–] Quacksalber@sh.itjust.works 21 points 1 month ago

When you find an app, F-Droid 2.0 will make the installation process easier. Google has long put up roadblocks for sideloaded apps, citing the security implications. This is also the rationale behind its upcoming developer verification system. For now at least, apps will be easier to install from F-Droid thanks to the use of Google’s pre-approval API.

That answers my question if those smoother installs already account for Google's insistence in making "sideloading" way more annoying. They do not.

[–] shirasho@feddit.online 10 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I've only started using F-Droid recently, but it's UI is a clusterfuck. I welcome an overhaul.

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[–] rotten@lemmy.today 10 points 1 month ago

Now it will take them another decade to update apk on their website to the newest version.

[–] Kissaki@feddit.org 10 points 1 month ago (1 children)

F-Droid News: https://f-droid.org/en/2026/09/24/f-droid-2.0-a-new-chapter-for-android-freedom.html

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[–] jjlinux@lemmy.zip 9 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

I've been on neo store for a couple of years for the apps that have no APIs ready in git repos (for those, Obtainium is just the greatest). I tried the new F-Droid app, and it is way smoother than the last time I tried it, and the UI improvement is amazing. They still show you apps that haven't been maintained for over a year up front, but that's not a deal killer.

[–] raven55six@lemmy.world 6 points 1 month ago

It has indeed gotten better more pleasing to look at.

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