Added suggestions apps for various categories #29

DodoLeDev · 2023-07-30T19:15:22Z

Hi!

Because the concept of this project is simply genius, I just couldn't resist contributing! 😋

Here is the PR of some of the alt apps that could be used to increase users' freedom and privacy!

MuntashirAkon · 2023-07-30T23:42:21Z

Here are my observations:

The number of suggestions for each ID/file/category must be as small as possible. This project does not intend to catalogue all the alternatives available in the wild, it attempts to make it easy for a user to get started with an alternative. For example, if a catagory already has a suggestion that met all the criteria, there's no point in accepting another app with the same or less criteria (app_stores already has a F-Droid client as well as Aurora Store, the only other suggestion could be Obtainium, but it hasn't been reviewed yet). If there exists a better alternative than the existing ones, it must be defended.
It's preferable to open separate issues/PRs for each suggestion, because we need to review a lot of things before accepting an app (example: add com.bnyro.translate #27 (comment)). For this PR, it might take many months to review it. It's also a good idea to search for the app you're adding because chances are there's already some reviews and discussions available for it along with the reasons for not considering it (example: Browser & WebView suggestion #28)

shuvashish76 · 2023-07-31T02:42:28Z

Suggestion need some basic investigations for quality based on their usability apps

reason (optional) ≠ short description of apps.
Check with some tools (e.g: AM) for trackers. If trackers exist > test if disabled by default > if not sure search in their issue tracker.
If F-Droid AntiFeature exist then search their issue tracker. (Untill they implement a better way to manage AF notes with index v2)
If same flavour used in all appstores & ID same or different. Usually we pick ID used by F-Droid because of FLOSS flavours.
Important : Test on your device, you're welcome to post your extended personal review/test results about the app.

Official criteria & contribution guidelines mentioned in README page.

MuntashirAkon

I've reviewed 15 out of 20 files. There are many issues with each suggestion. Please read and address my comments and mark them as resolved why done.

suggestions/app_stores.json

suggestions/audio_recorders.json

suggestions/authenticators.json

suggestions/cloud_services.json

MuntashirAkon · 2023-07-31T09:45:51Z

suggestions/clocks.json

+        "id": "com.simplemobiletools.clock",
+        "label": "Simple Clock",
+        "source": "fg",
+        "reason": "Combination of a beautiful clock widget, alarm clock, stopwatch, timer",
+        "repo": "https://github.com/SimpleMobileTools/Simple-Clock"
+    },
+    {
+        "id": "com.bnyro.clock",
+        "label": "Clock You",
+        "source": "f",
+        "reason": "Clock and alarms app featuring awesome widgets using Material You",
+        "repo": "https://github.com/Bnyro/ClockYou"
+    },
+    {
+        "id": "com.best.deskclock",
+        "label": "New Clock",
+        "source": "f",
+        "reason": "New Clock is an updated version of the AOSP desk clock, including alarms, clock, timer and stopwatch",
+        "repo": "https://github.com/qw123wh/new-clock-fdroid"
+    }


Require reviews in order to keep only one out of the three. @shuvashish76: Any thoughts?

MuntashirAkon · 2023-07-31T09:46:26Z

suggestions/call_recorders.json

+        "id": "com.callrecorder.android",
+        "label": "Call recorder for Android",
+        "source": "f",
+        "reason": "Should work with devices running Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) and above",
+        "repo": "https://github.com/riul88/call-recorder-for-android"
+    },
+    {
+        "id": "com.github.axet.callrecorder",
+        "label": "Call Recorder",
+        "source": "f",
+        "reason": "Call Recorder with custom recording folder",
+        "repo": "https://gitlab.com/axet/android-call-recorder"
+    }


Require reviews.

MuntashirAkon · 2023-07-31T09:47:55Z

suggestions/calendars.json

+    {
+        "id": "com.simplemobiletools.calendar.pro",
+        "label": "Simple Calendar Pro",
+        "source": "fg",
+        "repo": "https://github.com/SimpleMobileTools/Simple-Calendar"


Requires a review to keep only one out of the two. @shuvashish76: Opinions?

Etar supports multiple offline calendars though you don't get as frequent updates as SCP. SCP paid on playstore vs Etar free. Both project active & stable enough for daily use. SCP is their 2nd popular (based on GH stars) app from SMT, so I know a lots of users use it. Need to use it for longer time for proper review. Give us your review @DodoLeDev

Initial comparison table

Feature SCP Etar

Material Design 3 ✅ ❌

Add calendar events ✅ (events and tasks) ✅

CalDav sync ✅ (opt-out) ✅ (opt-in)

Widgets ✅ ✅ (only one widget)

Offline calendars ✅ (via event types) ✅

Custom day for starting a week ❌ (only western) ✅ (global)

Automatic backups ✅ ❌

Print calendar ✅ ❌

Subscription Free on F-Droid and premium on Play Store Free

Size (on F-Droid) 9.4 MB 6.2 MB

Updates Frequent updates Less updates

Maintainability Backed by Simple Mobile Tools Backed by Etar and Lineage OS

SCP gains more points than Etar.

https://github.com/Etar-Group/Etar-Calendar#technical-explanation

Etar calendars are visible to other apps e.g Tasks, no such feature for SCP. SCP events visible to that app only.

SCP gains more points than Etar.

Agreed 👍

Etar calendars are visible to other apps e.g Tasks, no such feature for SCP. SCP events visible to that app only.

This wasn't considered because this is not something the app should do. It should be managed by a separate calendar provider (e.g. DecSync). Calendar, contacts, etc. in Android is divided into providers and clients for giving users the freedom to choose their favourite clients, and ideally, these clients should never be installed in the system partition (should be installed as user apps during initial setup). There was such a minimal OS called Magma Moonshine (only 4/5 launcher apps) which, unfortunately, was discontinued due to lack of time.

So... Should we keep both apps, or remove Etar from the list?

So... Should we keep both apps, or remove Etar from the list?

I think Etar should be removed in favour of SCP. Etar has some good features but it's still less appealing than SCP in terms of features that a typical user's looking for.

DodoLeDev · 2023-08-01T12:29:53Z

Hello!
Thank you for reviewing my PR!

Thanks to your comments, I now better understand what are the selection criterias.

And I agree with most of your opinions about apps usability and interface preferences. I just thought that the goal was to fill the list with reviewed alteratives, but I was wrong!

I will adjust the content of my pull request based on your code reviews and I will add some apps review to support my choices.

Signed-off-by: DodoLeDev <[email protected]>

DodoLeDev · 2023-08-13T12:32:41Z

Some issues have been fixed!

MuntashirAkon

I've left some more reviews.

MuntashirAkon · 2023-08-18T16:30:52Z

suggestions/sandboxing_apps.json

+    {
+        "id": "net.typeblog.shelter",
+        "label": "Shelter",
+        "source": "f",
+        "reason": "Isolate and run multiple instances of apps using Work Profiles",
+        "repo": "https://gitea.angry.im/PeterCxy/Shelter"


Shelter might actually be better than Insular in terms of features e.g. Shelter also freezes the applications in addition to only disabling the work profile.

MuntashirAkon · 2023-08-18T17:22:51Z

suggestions/calculators.json

+        "repo": "https://github.com/belelaritra/Neumorphic_Calculator"
+    }
+]


I think yetCalc is the best among the candidates. But I'm yet to find a calculator capable of replacing my favourite Calculator++ (I wish somebody will continue the project).

MuntashirAkon · 2023-08-18T17:23:52Z

suggestions/browsers.json

@@ -5,6 +5,34 @@
        "repo": "https://github.com/GrapheneOS/Vanadium",
        "reason": "GrapheneOS only"
    },
+    {


Firefox cannot be added. We've already added a privacy-friendly alternative called “Mull” (by Divest OS).

MuntashirAkon · 2023-08-18T17:24:30Z

suggestions/browsers.json

+        "reason": "The browser made by Mozilla, developed with user in mind.\nUses their homemade browser engine: GeckoView, and has a native support for extensions.\nContains telemetry bits that can be disabled in settings"
+    },
+    {
+        "id": "org.mozilla.fennec_fdroid",


Cannot be added because we've added Mull which is better than Fennec.

MuntashirAkon · 2023-08-18T17:25:45Z

suggestions/browsers.json

+        "reason": "The Firefox you know, but with proprietary bits and telemetry removed"
+    },
+    {
+        "id": "com.duckduckgo.mobile.android",


DDG browser is as bad as their search engine which is basically Bing (and this is basically a WebView).

MuntashirAkon · 2023-08-18T17:27:29Z

suggestions/browsers.json

+        "reason": "The browser developed by the team that made the DuckDuckGo search engine.\nOffers off-browser features like Email and App tracking protections."
+    },
+    {
+        "id": "com.brave.browser",


A better alternatively, Cromite is already added which is better than Brave as it does not have all the Brave telemetry services and advertisements.

MuntashirAkon · 2023-08-18T17:31:32Z

suggestions/barcode_scanners.json

@@ -4,5 +4,24 @@
        "label": "Binary Eye",
        "source": "fg",
        "repo": "https://github.com/markusfisch/BinaryEye"
+    },
+    {
+        "id": "com.example.barcodescanner",


Looks abandoned.

Abandoned, still connects to Sentry. Upstream PR for that still open & no response from the Owner, which is why F-Droid team fixed it from their side.

The app doesn't offer anything better than the other two candidates anyway.

MuntashirAkon · 2023-08-18T17:31:58Z

suggestions/barcode_scanners.json

+        "repo": "https://gitlab.com/Atharok/BarcodeScanner"
+    },
+    {
+        "id": "com.google.zxing.client.android",


Demo app. Google itself discouraged using it.

MuntashirAkon · 2023-08-18T17:36:25Z

suggestions/barcode_scanners.json

+        "repo": "https://github.com/wewewe718/QrAndBarcodeScanner"
+    },
+    {
+        "id": "com.atharok.barcodescanner",


Looks modern with reasonable size. @shuvashish76: Opinions? If everything is right, we can replace Binary Eye with it. The UI/UX of Binary Eye hasn't been improved in the past few years.

I think the only issue I have with this app is that the Internet features are enabled by default (ie. “Query remote API automatically” is enabled by default) which shouldn't be for any reason. Let me explain a bit in case you haven't actually tried the app:

The app has “Open Food Facts” API enabled by default. It's not like that people only scans for food-related barcode. In a super shop, you can scan barcodes related to food, beauty, music — anything. So, it's not ideal to have it enabled anyway. Besides, after scanning the barcode, there's already an option to fetch results using one of the APIs. So, I don't see why this option should be enabled or query automatically by default. If it's intended to be one of the primary or highlighted features, it should be highlighted/featured during the first run (and prompt user to enable it) instead of enabling it by default.

OK. There are a few other minor issues:

Backup allowed but it didn't specify the contents to back up

No network-security-config present in the manifest (possibly with PKP)

Non-exported/private activities aren't marked as so

Universalizer · 2023-08-21T10:01:11Z

Hello Team, regards nice work in these repository,

Just overview https://github.com/Psyhackological/AAA

shuvashish76 · 2023-08-23T17:20:39Z

suggestions/battery_managers.json

Root

AccA (inactive) : IMO probably the best manager. Everything works as expected, doesn't need frequent updates. Feature complete? Front-end of acc & djs which are being activity developed.

BCL : In maintenance mode, works as expected. Muntashir knows which one is better for general users as he is the maintainer of it.

Battery Tool : Save battery by stopping apps that are running in the background. I don't think this should be the function of a Battery manager category app especially with root access.

No root
We don't have many choice when it comes to battery managers without root for obvious reasons.

Batterybot Pro (inactive) : shows temperature, voltage.., conditional alarms, notifications, battery state logs, estimate approx. time remaining etc features. It has lot of useful features for non-rooted device but it's not truly a battery manager.

SaveTuner : This is probably best for non-rooted devices as it works with ADB permission. I'm not sure what it does with "Firewall" feature.

ACC is known to cause hardware (battery) issues in some cases.

I would suggest BCL for root mode. Battery Tool is like Greenify but not really that effective.

I've used BatteryBot Pro. Good for statistics, but as you said, it doesn't really manage battery. I've never used SaveTuner, so I'm not sure how it works. I'll look into this.

MuntashirAkon · 2023-10-06T16:30:32Z

@DodoLeDev: Any updates? You've still got 17 unresolved conversations.

DodoLeDev · 2023-10-06T21:58:20Z

@DodoLeDev: Any updates? You've still got 17 unresolved conversations.

Oops, sorry for being inactive for so long, but I'm currently focusing on my studies and I forgot about this thing...

I'll try to share some updates on the next days

DodoLeDev added 21 commits July 30, 2023 18:46

Added browser alternatives

b9f7d80

Adjusted Firefox entry to fit suggestions criteria

9ec9b96

Added app store alternatives

86dd21b

Added authenticator alternatives

a8dc09e

Added audio recorders alternatives

0a5ec08

Added barcode scanners alternatives

324758a

Added Battery managers alternatives

c0a17e1

Added calculators alternatives

0ec1ad5

Added calendars alternatives

8b98787

Added call recorders alternatives

f33724e

Added VPN Services alternatives

0c0b800

Added SMS alternatives

fea78ae

Added sandboxing apps alternatives

98f8494

Added RSS readers alternatives

e72576e

Added radio alternatives

f5f06e8

Added maps alternatives

47c70ee

Added file manager alternatives

a9f98f5

Added clocks alternatives

ced5428

Added dialers alternatives

f4150b9

Added contacts alternatives

205ca1b

Added cloud services alternatives

172128a

MuntashirAkon added the enhancement New feature or request label Jul 30, 2023

MuntashirAkon requested changes Jul 31, 2023

View reviewed changes

DodoLeDev added 4 commits August 13, 2023 14:08

App store fix

d0fe6f9

Audio recorders fix

7fc175c

Authenticators fix

1a7bc0d

Cloud services fix

4bd5c36

DodoLeDev added 8 commits August 13, 2023 14:17

Contacts fix

63eda44

Files manager fix

68c3702

Maps fix

9398035

RSS Readers fix

678fb67

Sandboxing apps fix

6c5d1c5

SMS fix

15be9b4

VPN fix

b90cf6a

Merge branch 'master' into suggestions

e2e13aa

Signed-off-by: DodoLeDev <[email protected]>

This was referenced Aug 13, 2023

(Suggestion app) Add Record You as an Audio recorder alternative #32

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(Suggestion app) Add Filen Drive as a Cloud service alternative #33

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MuntashirAkon reviewed Aug 18, 2023

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shuvashish76 reviewed Aug 23, 2023

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shuvashish76 mentioned this pull request Aug 23, 2023

August23 update offa/android-foss#305

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shuvashish76 mentioned this pull request Oct 29, 2023

Pull request - Additons to suggestion #46

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MuntashirAkon added the stalled label Feb 12, 2024

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Added suggestions apps for various categories #29

Added suggestions apps for various categories #29

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DodoLeDev commented Oct 6, 2023

Feature	SCP	Etar
Material Design 3	✅	❌
Add calendar events	✅ (events and tasks)	✅
CalDav sync	✅ (opt-out)	✅ (opt-in)
Widgets	✅	✅ (only one widget)
Offline calendars	✅ (via event types)	✅
Custom day for starting a week	❌ (only western)	✅ (global)
Automatic backups	✅	❌
Print calendar	✅	❌
Subscription	Free on F-Droid and premium on Play Store	Free
Size (on F-Droid)	9.4 MB	6.2 MB
Updates	Frequent updates	Less updates
Maintainability	Backed by Simple Mobile Tools	Backed by Etar and Lineage OS

Added suggestions apps for various categories #29

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Added suggestions apps for various categories #29

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DodoLeDev commented Jul 30, 2023

Hi!

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