On Saturday 23 August 2025 18:35:29 Mike Bird via tde-users wrote: > On Sat August 23 2025 18:25:00 J Leslie Turriff via tde-users wrote: > > So I'm looking at Catfriend1's syncthing-fork for Android > > <https://github.com/Catfriend1/syncthing-android?tab=readme-ov-file> and > > trying to understand what all the parts are of the Android app, and it > > looks like it's a front-end for syncthing-fork? and I guess that F-Droid > > is an alternate repository to PlayStore, so there are two apps to > > install, syncthing-fork and syncthing-fork for Android? > > > > I am very confused; as you can tell I've downloaded fewer than a > > half-dozen apps in the years I've had this phone. > > I only download phone apps from the play store, and then only apps with a > lot of downloads and a good rating. The reason is I don't have time to > check for malicious source code and then recompile an app from scratch. > > Debian, TDE, and a very few other sources I trust for my laptops and > servers. > > --Mike In my opinion, F-droid and other repositories like it is the only way to go with smartphones. (There are other repositories, G-droid, M-droid, some Guardian repositories, etc.; but they require a bit of searching.) On my first smartphone, I didn't know anything about them, and I had to use one for my work at the time, so my choices were limited. I went ahead and downloaded from the PlayStore, and allowed everybody free access to my data. Maybe others don't mind doing that? Gradually, I started moving towards something more like GNU/Linux, like TDE, like what I've been using on my desktops and laptops for decades now. I still used PlayStore apps, but was also trying out F-droid apps. While the iStuff is good in some ways, users get locked into Apple apps *only* (for the most part); besides which, their phones are too expensive for what one gets. My next phone, I changed over almost everything to F-droid apps, though there were still a couple of proprietary apps that I still used. Now I am on my third smartphone, as Samsung Galaxy, and right from the start I have used *only* F-droid apps, all open-source, as close to GNU/Linux free/libre as I can get. Also, I have shut off everything Google, have shut off mobile data, never use internet on my phone at all (except occasionally for wifi calling, when reception is bad). I use my phone as a phone, and don't need it for all that other stuff. I do use it a lot to listen to music, as I have copied the best of the best of my music collection to a 256 gb SD card. The camera I use only rarely, when I am especially taken with a subject, and even then I don't sync with my other machines. When I have time and inclination, and don't mind bricking my phone accidentally, I will try to install a free/libre OS such as, perhaps, Replicant. I don't know of any others that are totally free as in freedom, although I've heard good things about a couple OSs for phones For myself, at least, F-droid and its kin is the way to go. My phone has been running just fine for a couple years now; although, as I said, I don't use it much. I definitely use it more for music, or for the calculator, for the calendar, etc., etc. (all F-droid apps), and have found apps that (promise that they) block unwanted apps from accessing the internet, or collecting data, etc. I don't know how much I believe it, but I don't seem to get spam, or ads, or pop-ups, or unwanted calls, etc. Most months, I am lucky if I make as many as a dozen calls, and almost never get calls. As for what apps to use: Well, other people probably know better than I what they want to do with their phones. But the nice thing about F-droid is that they tell you what permissions are required by every app, what information they collect, whether it depends on non-free software, etc. It's not quite GNU/Linux yet, but if I installed the Replicant OS on my phone, and used only F-droid and similar apps, that would come pretty close. Bill P.S. If this response was not long enough, I could also include my tips for how to get phone service for your smartphone for just $15 a month; unlimited calls and text, only 2 gb of mobile data (which I myself never use). Otherwise, it seems to be my usual phone service, so I am satsified. ____________________________________________________ tde-users mailing list -- users@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx To unsubscribe send an email to users-leave@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Web mail archive available at https://mail.trinitydesktop.org/mailman3/hyperkitty/list/users@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
