F-Droid

What hackers pick instead

• Apple App StorePeople recommend it for vetted apps, easy installs and simple subscription management. Critics say the commission and app review are the main caveats.75recommend
• Google PlayRecommended for its large app catalog, malware scanning, and sandboxed option. Main caveat: critics say Google's control over Android app distribution and slow reviews hurt developers.62recommend
• Aurora StoreFree Play Store alternative for installing apps Google Play blocks or without a Google account; critics say it breaks and relies on shared accounts.61recommend
• ObtainiumFree Android app that installs and updates apps straight from their GitHub, GitLab and other release pages, so you get developer-signed builds. Critics say setup is fiddly and not user friendly.38recommend
• Droid-ifyPeople recommend it as a cleaner, simpler front end for the F-Droid app store on Android. Critics say background updates are unreliable.15recommend

Every quote

The 40 most detailed of 400 comments. Each links to the original.

1. F-Droid’s trustworthy-to-ad-ridden-slop ratio is pretty much definitionally lower than Google’s, by virtue of it being actually curated.

   Recommends · Mar 2026 · in “Google just gave Android power users a sideloading win”

2. 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.

   Mixed · Aug 2026 · in “Meta Ran Ads That Contained AI-Generated Child Sexual Abuse Imagery”

3. You can install it from F-Droid/Droid-ify or Obtanium, where you can find all the real privacy-respecting and non-enshittified apps.

   Recommends · Oct 2026 · in “What should I use instead of Firefox on Android?”

4. 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.

   Mixed · Sep 2026 · in “AnkiDroid: Google Play no longer allowing Open Collective donation link”

5. Trusted repositories work best when the repository maintainers build and read the code themselves, like on f-droid or Debian.

   Recommends · Dec 2025 · in “Google confirms Android attacks; no fix for most Samsung users”

6. F-Droid's model (build from source, scan for trackers/malware) actually provides stronger guarantees about what the app does.

   Recommends · Feb 2026 · in “Open Letter to Google on Mandatory Developer Registration for App Distribution”

7. 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

   Mixed · Dec 2025 · in “A faster heart for F-Droid. Our new server is here”

8. 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

   Mixed · Sep 2026 · in “F-Droid 2.0”

9. For all its faults (of which there are many) it is still a leaps and bounds better trust story than say Google Play.

   Recommends · Dec 2025 · in “A faster heart for F-Droid. Our new server is here”

10. Part of the value of F-Droid is the curated distribution model that hopefully catches the worst behaving developers

    Recommends · Sep 2026 · in “The Google Play app review process now regularly takes longer than a week”

11. installing it from there instead of the play store actually gives you some assurance that it isn't full of spyware

    Recommends · Sep 2026 · in “Luanti removed from Google Play due to baseless AI copyright notice”

12. Nobody gets hoodwinked into installing apps that track them or sell their data or otherwise abuse them on F-Droid.

    Recommends · Mar 2026 · in “Android Developer Verification”

13. F-Droid has a build farm, they don't just host apks uploaded by developers, so it can't be attacked in that way.

    Recommends · Mar 2026 · in “Android: Balancing Openness and Choice with Safety”

14. I remembered I had f-droid and I found a perfect, no bullshit app that does exactly what I needed and no ads.

    Recommends · Sep 2026 · in “AnkiDroid: Google Play no longer allowing Open Collective donation link”

15. Their build system is somewhat arcane and difficult so some apps dont get updated from the git repo though.

    Mixed · Mar 2026 · in “Android Developer Verification”

16. F-Droid was a blow of fresh air. Nice apps that help me do something, instead of exploding ads in my face.

    Recommends · Sep 2026 · in “AnkiDroid: Google Play no longer allowing Open Collective donation link”

17. Most of them, yeah. My main non-F-Droid apps are YT-Music, Google Maps, Duo auth, Bible, and my bank app.

    Recommends · Sep 2026 · in “F-Droid 2.0”

18. just install the F-Droid version. That's why I use F-Droid - to guarantee I don't get proprietary blobs.

    Recommends · Jul 2026 · in “CoMaps – FOSS Offline Maps”

19. F-Droid at least does a quick review to make sure there's nothing malicious in the app before adding it

    Recommends · Mar 2026 · in “Google just gave Android power users a sideloading win”

20. vetted by their policies is kind of my benchmark for "software that is guaranteed to be not crapware."

    Recommends · Feb 2026 · in “Netbird a German Tailscale alternative (P2P WireGuard-based overlay network)”

21. nonprofit repositories like F-Droid which have scary warnings on software that does undesirable things

    Recommends · Mar 2026 · in “Android: Balancing Openness and Choice with Safety”

22. Don't be mistaken, it's the delay I'm complaining about, not how to instal F-Droid or apps through it.

    Mixed · Mar 2026 · in “Android: Balancing Openness and Choice with Safety”

23. You can verify yourself what it is doing, and what was built is guaranteed not to be tampered with.

    Recommends · Aug 2026 · in “For an app claiming end-to-end encryption, what evidence would earn your trust?”

24. After a stunt like that, I no longer trust them to fight the battle against oppressive government restrictions on operating systems effectively.

    Criticizes · Feb 2026 · in “F-Droid Board of Directors nominations 2026”

25. GrapheneOS strongly recommends against F-Droid because it has major security deficiencies and adds an unnecessary middleman.

    Criticizes · Feb 2026 · in “GrapheneOS – Break Free from Google and Apple”

26. F-Droid initiated a sudden change in policy—censoring religious apps—wilfully censoring content that’s never been illegal

    Criticizes · Feb 2026 · in “F-Droid Board of Directors nominations 2026”

27. Fdroid signs and builds nearly every app on the main repository with outdated build infrastructure and poor moderation.

    Criticizes · May 2026 · in “GrapheneOS fixes Android VPN leak Google refused to patch”

28. F-Droid's excuse, that they needed to restrict Bible apps to protect F-Droid from legal liability, is not believable.

    Criticizes · Feb 2026 · in “F-Droid Board of Directors nominations 2026”

29. F-Droid apps are consistently out-of-date and often lag months being on important privacy and security fixes.

    Criticizes · Feb 2026 · in “GrapheneOS – Break Free from Google and Apple”

30. Yes, essentially. I do have the Guardian Project repository and I get a handful of applications from the Play Store (via Aurora Store), but everything else comes from F-Droid.

    Recommends · Sep 2026 · in “F-Droid 2.0”

31. I'm using that with 2.0 (or rather with F-droid Basic, but I noticed Basic was updated to the same that is described in article, but a while ago).

    Recommends · Sep 2026 · in “F-Droid 2.0”

32. Countries which fear they could be cut off from the duopoly mobile ecosystem should be forcing android manufacturers to bundle in F-Droid

    Recommends · Dec 2025 · in “A faster heart for F-Droid. Our new server is here”

33. F-Droid has arguably produced more value than GrapheneOS for open source community, independent ROM users, and android in general

    Recommends · May 2026 · in “GrapheneOS fixes Android VPN leak Google refused to patch”

34. so still distributing with f-droid is messed up? i now have to pay a fee to develop an open-source app via f-droid to everyone?

    Mixed · Nov 2025 · in “Android developer verification: Early access starts”

35. Fdroid has been running fine for years and I'd rather have a volunteer manage the servers than some big corporation

    Recommends · Dec 2025 · in “A faster heart for F-Droid. Our new server is here”

36. I actually think that's a great solution and, interestingly, F-Droid apps already don't use significant permissions

    Recommends · Feb 2026 · in “Open Letter to Google on Mandatory Developer Registration for App Distribution”

37. It can be personally dangerous to volunteer for projects that directly circumvent the control of the establishment.

    Recommends · Nov 2025 · in “Android developer verification: Early access starts”

38. The software and many parts of the project are bad, but I don't see how you can't understand its reason to exist.

    Mixed · Sep 2026 · in “Play Store blocks AuroraStore, hurting GrapheneOS users”

39. There are libraries of the official core pieces for third party clients to use to gain many of these protections

    Recommends · Sep 2026 · in “F-Droid 2.0”

40. so you have to do it once when you install F-Droid but then it can set those permissions the same as Google Play

    Mixed · Nov 2025 · in “Android developer verification: Early access starts”