When people think of an app store on Android, most think of Google Play.
It comes preinstalled on the vast majority of Android devices.
Can F-Droid serve as your primary way to download Android apps?
For a growing number of us, the answer is yes!
What Is F-Droid?
F-Droid is a volunteer-run, non-profit project that has been around since 2010.
It’s more of a software repository, like what is commonly found on Linux distributions.
you could download updates manually or wait for a notification to prompt you.
Why do people go out of their way to seek it out?
Is F-Droid Safe to Use?
Android will toss up a pretty scary warning about the risk that this entails.
But in many ways, F-Droid is actually safer to use than the Play Store.
F-Droid doesn’t do any of these things.
But F-Droid is not without its risks.
This means apps can take longer to receive security patches.
What Kind of Apps Can You Find on F-Droid?
The apps on F-Droid tend to serve a utilitarian function, rather than an addictive or monetary one.
What Apps Won’t You Find?
There are no locked-down messaging platforms like Facebook Messenger, Discord, or Slack.
There are no video streaming platforms like Netflix, Hulu, or Disney+.
You won’t find Spotify or Steam.
You won’t find any Google apps like Maps or YouTube.
Nor will you find the kind of apps that pair with wearables, like Fitbit or Apple Watch.
Neither will you find all that many games.
While there are some games on F-Droid, these tend to be small amateur titles.
All of this is because F-Droid only distributes apps for which it can also distribute the source code.
Since these apps are all proprietary, F-Droid can’t distribute them.
Are F-Droid Apps Any Good?
There are many high-quality apps found throughout F-Droid.
Unfortunately, F-Droid doesn’t do a great job of helping you find them.
TheFennec Web surfing app, for example, is the mobile version of Firefox with the trademark removed.
TheDuckDuckGo browseris also available, giving you two great options for browsing the web more privately.
TheWikipediaapp is also present.OsmAnd+can download maps of most of the planet for use offline.
It’s not all about work either.
There are apps likeMuzei, an attractive way to change and display wallpapers.
