Continuing with what we did in a previous article with the Apple platform, we will now do a list of the best open source android apps that we had the opportunity to try this year.
It should be noted that the Android ecosystem has an advantage over Apple's (at least for lovers of free and open source software) andIt is to allow the use of alternative application stores and an easier method of manually installing packages. This makes the offer higher.
My List of Best Open Source Android Apps
It goes without saying that this list is absolutely personal and that I invite you to make your own in the contact form. I would especially like recommendations for open source games since it is not a subject that I dominate too much.
A clarification. In most cases two links are provided. The one from the official app store and the one from the alternative F-Droid store specialized in open source applications. F-Droid offers two possibilities, download the app from its store and install the program with it (as is done with Google Play) or download the app and install manually. In this case you must give the necessary permissions on the phone.
KDE Connect
The KDE project tool to facilitate the interaction of mobile and desktop devices connected to the same network It's already a classic every time I make these lists. It not only allows the transfer of files to and from any device but also shows you any notification that is received in one of them in which you are using at that moment.
The program allows you to use the phone as a remote control or mouse substitute and execute actions on the phone from the desktop computer.
K-9 mail
This will probably be the last time this app appears on my list of best Android apps. Not because I've found a better email client but because is on its way to becoming the mobile version of Thunderbird, the email and calendar solution from the Mozilla Foundation.
Since the source code will remain the same (although I assume it will include some form of synchronization with the desktop application) we can remain hopeful that it will continue to be a great alternative to the official email application.
The features I like best about K-9 Mail are:
- Support for multiple accounts in a single window.
- Local search and on the mail server.
- Support for encryption.
- Background synchronization.
Mastodon
Three hundred and sixty-five (or sixty-six if it is a leap year) from the year of Linux on the desktop to the year of Mastodon on social media. Every time a group gets angry with Twitter, there is a migration to this decentralized and non-profit alternative, but for some reason its final takeoff never takes place.
The truth is that the official application for Android has everything we would like to have in Twitter. Dark mode, almost double the number of characters, chronological timeline without ads or an AI deciding for me what interests me and publication from any application.
Google Play
F-Droid
My Brain
Being this an absolutely subjective list, a productivity application could not be missing, a category of which I am absolutely addicted. We can define My Brain as a small suite as it includes managing to-do lists and calendars, creating notes, journaling, and compiling bookmarks. All this focused on privacy since everything is managed locally. The point against is that there is no possibility of synchronization.
Aurora Store
Another classic on my lists. One of the big problems with Android is dispersion, that is, the number of versions that are not compatible with each other that circulate at the same time. This can cause you to not be able to install an app from the official store because it is supposedly not supported. Aurora allows you to make Google Play believe that you are using any other device.
In addition, in the case of free applications you do not even need to register while maintaining your privacy