# F-Droid 230 Hacker News commenters recommended F-Droid and 91 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 12 of 13 months; owners who said how long report a median of 10 years (5 owners). It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule. **Verdict:** A curated store of open-source Android apps built from source and screened for trackers, making it easy to find ad-free apps; critics cite slow updates and security concerns. ## Why people recommend it - Curated, trustworthy, no spyware (10 comments): "F-Droid’s trustworthy-to-ad-ridden-slop ratio is pretty much definitionally lower than Google’s, by virtue of it being actually curated." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47560208)) "Trusted repositories work best when the repository maintainers build and read the code themselves, like on f-droid or Debian." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46200169)) "F-Droid's model (build from source, scan for trackers/malware) actually provides stronger guarantees about what the app does." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47140391)) - Ad-free, no-nonsense apps (4 comments): "You can install it from F-Droid/Droid-ify or Obtanium, where you can find all the real privacy-respecting and non-enshittified apps." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50176634)) "To me, it's worth it. Finding a tolerable weather app on the Play Store is impossible nowadays. Finding one on F-Droid is easy." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49523388)) "I remembered I had f-droid and I found a perfect, no bullshit app that does exactly what I needed and no ads." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49525228)) - Builds apps from source (4 comments): "F-Droid's model (build from source, scan for trackers/malware) actually provides stronger guarantees about what the app does." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47140391)) "F-Droid has a build farm, they don't just host apks uploaded by developers, so it can't be attacked in that way." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47450562)) "You can verify yourself what it is doing, and what was built is guaranteed not to be tampered with." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49190906)) - Great for discovering open-source apps (2 comments): "For me the value of F-Droid is as a list of open-source software with (a) pointers to source code and (b) sample binaries" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46444329)) "I think F-Droid is a great way to discover apps, but I'm not sure I would trust a binary downloaded from its repository" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49840016)) ## What people warn about - App updates lag behind (4 comments): "F-Droid apps are consistently out-of-date and often lag months being on important privacy and security fixes." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47051694)) "Their build system is somewhat arcane and difficult so some apps dont get updated from the git repo though." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47581341)) "Don't be mistaken, it's the delay I'm complaining about, not how to instal F-Droid or apps through it." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47463407)) - Security and build infrastructure concerns (3 comments): "GrapheneOS strongly recommends against F-Droid because it has major security deficiencies and adds an unnecessary middleman." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47063077)) "Fdroid signs and builds nearly every app on the main repository with outdated build infrastructure and poor moderation." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48079809)) "I think F-Droid is a great way to discover apps, but I'm not sure I would trust a binary downloaded from its repository" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49840016)) - Many mainstream apps missing (2 comments): "F Droid comes close and can even auto update now, but most apps I want or need like banking, health insurance etc aren't on F Droid." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49197730)) "Most of them, yeah. My main non-F-Droid apps are YT-Music, Google Maps, Duo auth, Bible, and my bank app." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49832508)) - Controversial policy on religious apps (3 comments): "F-Droid initiated a sudden change in policy—censoring religious apps—wilfully censoring content that’s never been illegal" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47185460)) "F-Droid's excuse, that they needed to restrict Bible apps to protect F-Droid from legal liability, is not believable." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47185944)) "After a stunt like that, I no longer trust them to fight the battle against oppressive government restrictions on operating systems effectively." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47182205)) ## Alternatives hackers recommend - [Apple App Store](https://hackerapproved.com/p/apple-app-store.md): 75 recommend - [Google Play](https://hackerapproved.com/p/google-play-store.md): 62 recommend - [Aurora Store](https://hackerapproved.com/p/aurora-store.md): 61 recommend - [Obtainium](https://hackerapproved.com/p/obtainium.md): 38 recommend - [Droid-ify](https://hackerapproved.com/p/droid-ify.md): 15 recommend ## Cite as Hacker Approved, "F-Droid", https://hackerapproved.com/p/f-droid/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).