Can I just get rid off f droid if using droid ify? Since I think from my understanding latter one is better although still unsure as to why since posts from years ago with the links that were explaining it aren't accessible to me anymore
F-Droid vs/or Droid-ify
Sempa Yes you can just replace F-droid with Droid-ify, as they fetch their data from the same repository. Droid-ify has a nicer UI, auto-updates and more repositories by default.
However, it is still recommended to get apps directly from the developer via Obtanium, or use secure app stores such as Accrescent or the Playstore.
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CyberOtter never heard before about accrescent what is special about it? Droid ify is that better for floss / privacy?
Sempa From the official site:
Accrescent is a private and secure Android app store built with modern features in mind. It aims to provide a developer-friendly platform and pleasant user experience while enforcing modern security and privacy practices and offering robust validity guarantees for installed apps.
Currently its app catalog is very limited (12), so it's not a complete replacement of the Playstore or F-droid. At this stage, it can be rather thought of a reference design on how to build a modern app store that focuses on security and privacy.
Droid-ify is just another client for the F-droid repository. It does the same as the official client, albeit with a different UI.
Dont use the main F-Droid client. Android is pretty strict about SDK versions and as F-Droid targets legacy devices, it is very outdated.
F-Droid Basic is the official client build for modern Android i.e. GrapheneOS.
I dont know how Droid-ify and Neostore compare in target SDK, but their UI is different and I prefer F-Droid Basic.
Droid-ify has a prefilled external repo list, which is great, and you can suggest more missing repos.
In general it is best to use izzyondroid and external repositories, or just use the client, copy the "source URL" and use Obtainium to get the official release APKs. That topic is already covered in the forum, give it a search.
CyberOtter However, it is still recommended to get apps directly from the developer via Obtanium
I actually like the fact that F-Droid builds the apps from source themselves. It depends who you trust more, I guess. In the case of Simple Apps (bought by an adware company) they immediately stopped updating the apps in the F-Droid repo - while you'd still get the "bad" updates through Play or Obtainium.
Viewpoint0232 interesting
I use F-droid with Izzyondroid repo to find apps, then I copy the GitHub URL to Obtanium and install the app from there. It also does a better job of keeping it updated.
Viewpoint0232 the case of Simple Apps (bought by an adware company) they immediately stopped updating the apps in the F-Droid repo - while you'd still get the "bad" updates through Play or Obtainium.
Google Play, yes. Obtainium, no. Not a single update has been published through github (and therefore Obtainium), only the apps on Google Play have been updated. Users can also just remove the apps from Obtainium anyway.
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CyberOtter I would rather trust Fdroid than trusting a bunch of different developers to keep my data safe. And it's not like Fdroid is shady like Aptoide. In fact their policies are so strict that not all apps can get into their official repo. Yes I know about the late updates and using their own key to sign the app packages. I can live with that than putting my trust on hundreds of different developers who I don't even know or head of before. If you have the time and patience to verify the source code of each app you download from Github, then it's okay I guess. But being a working person, I do not have the time and I certainly can't trust a random guy telling me on Reddit or XDA that certain XYZ app available on Github repo is safe to download.
SoulKeeper
F-Droid vs Obtainium/GPlay/etc. is like a never-ending discussion of "native app vs PWA" :) It depends on the use case.
About the trust - I like the F-Droid approach of building the apps from the source code compared to the already compiled APK from GitHub. There is no guarantee that (random) developers use the exact source code they published on GitHub.
On the other hand - if the F-Droid infrastructure gets compromised (signing keys, etc.) it can affect all apps you downloaded/installed from its repository. And this is unlikely to happen if you use GitHub/Obtainium as you use different devs/projects for different apps.
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Sorry, I didn't understand, can I get a report? which one is better to use? (F-Droid basic or Droid-ify)?
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A summary. Between the two which one is best to use.
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This is a personal choice, depends on what feels better to you. You need to install and try both.
But from a functional perspective i think fdroid basic is better because updates are automatic.
a year later
It's hard not to depend on F-Droid when only F-Droid allows me to install Element in a way that it does not depend on Google Play Services for push notifications. So while I would be all in for as much privacy and security as possible, I don't want Google Play Services on my main profile, and I don't want to switch to a separate profile for using Element.
SirWolf If youre into as much security and privacy as possible then use Signal lmao
stupidcreature It's hard to agree with that. Signal wants you to register with your phone number, and the server code is partially open-source. By the way, I'm already using my self-hosted Matrix server for Element, and I disabled federation...