FOSS-Android
List of free and open-source alternatives to proprietary Android apps.
Feel free to contribute, fork and star this list. :)
Operating system
| Proprietary app | FOSS App |
|---|---|
| Android | microG fork of LineageOS (if available), LineageOS |
| Google Play services | microG |
| Google Play Store | F-Droid (FOSS apps only), Aurora Store or Yalp Store (free Google Play clients) |
Must have apps
- AdAway (requires root, I recommend adding
https://energized.pro/bluas source) or Blokada (non-root, telegram group) to block ads & some trackers - Copy to Clipboard or Share to Clipboard
Basics
| Purpose of the app | Proprietary app | FOSS App |
|---|---|---|
| Maps | Google Maps | OsmAnd, F-Droid Maps (based on MAPS.ME) |
| Photo sync | Google Photos | Nextcloud Instant Upload |
| Browser | Chrome, Firefox (has Chromecast libraries) | Fennec F-Droid (Firefox fork), Waterfox (Firefox fork, note that not yet available from F-Droid), Tor Browser for Android, Bromite (Chromium fork, has Adblocking features as well) |
| Contacts Sync | Google Contacts | Nextcloud server with DAVdroid (guide) |
| SMS app | Android Messages, your phone's default | Silence, QKSMS, Signal (open source, proprietary apk, has Google dependencies!) |
| Keyboard | Gboard, SwiftKey, your ROM's included keyboard | Simple Keyboard, AnySoftKeyboard, AOSP Keyboard (included with LineageOS) |
| Launcher | Lawnchair or KISS Launcher (very minimalistic) |
Productivity
| Purpose | Proprietary app | FOSS App |
|---|---|---|
| Cloud storage | Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox | Nextcloud (selfhosted) |
| Gmail, your phone's default Email app | K-9 Mail, pEp | |
| Calendar sync | Google Calendar | Nextcloud Calendar |
| Calendar client | Google Calendar | Simple Calendar |
| Tasks | Wunderlist, Google Tasks | Tasks (sync with Nextcloud Tasks with DAVdroid) |
| PDF Reader | Google PDF Viewer | Document Viewer, MuPDF |
Instant messaging
Note: Most IM networks do not have FOSS clients or even open API for making those.
- Telegram - Messaging platform, similar to WhatsApp (FOSS fork, do not use Google Play version, it has proprietary dependencies!)
- Conversations - Up-to-date, maintained and modern standards supporting XMPP client for Android
- Signal (open source, proprietary apk, has Google dependencies!)
- Riot.im - Matrix client
- Facebook Messenger - MaterialFBook has messaging support!
Social media
| Proprietary app | FOSS App/Web-based alternative client |
|---|---|
| Slide | |
| Use Twitter Lite mobile site and add to home screen | |
| MaterialFBook (Improved mobile site wrapper for Facebook) | |
| Use Instagram mobile site and add it to your home screen (more info on that) |
Other
| Proprietary app | FOSS App |
|---|---|
| YouTube | NewPipe (youtube client), YouTube Vanced (proprietary, modded version of the original YouTube client, no ads, etc.) |
| Google Assistant | Just Search (just search but works for the button (long press home button)) or Fennec F-Droid/Firefox's Assist Feature (opens url box inside the app) |
DNS Resolvers
It's important to choose privacy respecting DNS resolver.
Few ones I recommend can be found from my wiki.
Use DNS-over-TLS, DNS-over-HTTPS or DNSCrypt if possible to encrypt the connection.
You can change your DNS resolver for example in Blokada or Nebulo (DNS-over-TLS & DNS-over-HTTPS).
Some other tips and links
- My Firefox recommendations
- uBlock Origin recommendations
- Telegram-FOSS Offtopics (general discussion about Free and Open Source software)
- Small Privacy & Security Guide for Android by @Thespartann
- MicroG Support Group on Telegram