Google is Killing Open Source Android Apps (Here's Why)
Google's new developer verification requirements starting September 2026 will force ALL Android app developers to register with Google - even those avoiding the Play Store entirely. F-Droid, the tr...
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Yeah, I'm fixing to move to either /e/OS or LineageOS. I'm leaning /e/OS, but I'm worried it's less supported than LineageOS for a newbie like myself. On a side note, I also need to go through all my Authy 2FA keys and refresh them because Authy is too locked down to work on anything but a "real" android phone. That's going to be another PITA.
I am enjoying /e/ on the Fairphone.
Im very tempted to just get a small cyber-deck setup and "call" it a day ;). https://www.clockworkpi.com/shop is VERY close to what I want.
Serously, the only people that "Call" me are spam callers. Everyone SMSs or something similar. A small linux device can do the same when you think about it. The only thing I am missing is a directions app and Ill personally be fine.
If by "directions app" you mean navigation, there are several on F-Droid. I keep seeing lots of positive talk about Organic Maps lately if you need somewhere to start.
Comaps... Organic maps had some drama about how they handle the money and control a single point of failure with the map server address. So it was forked to comaps.
Android auto support? My biggest complaint about organic maps it was always coming soon.
I honestly don't use my phone much either, it's as you say, mostly for text based messages.
::: spoiler Luckily I don't get spam calls because in my country we have pretty good privacy laws still:
like my number is set to private and I'm on the "Robinson" list, and if someone calls that's not in my contacts list I don't pick up. Cold calls is how they get ya, and once they know there's someone picking up, it's like sharks smelling blood.
:::
The app I use the most, besides my banking app (which I've confirmed works in waydroid aka LineageOS), is probably the Lidl app 😂.
I do still use Google Pay quite a bit, but I'm fine going back to card. I don't even know if NFC works in LineageOS or /e/OS.
And like you said, as long as the phone can do some GPS stuff for navigation, that's mostly all I need. And browse the internet (IronFox) every now and then.
Yes, NFC works in custom roms. You can replace Google Pay with Curve Pay and others more local options. Some countries have independent payment systems that work ass contactless payment.
Yes, NFC works in custom roms.
That's good to hear.
I don't use my phone a lot but do. I listen to podcasts and books mostly. Then navigate with it. But don't really touch the phone.
This is the first time I've seen a device like this, super cool. Thanks for sharing.
Google's version of android isn't the "real" one, it's the (soon to be even more) defective one.
I would go Lineage OS since it is more mainstream
Yeah, that's what I'm thinking as well. I just like /e/OS defaults better. But having tried LineageOS via Waydroid I think I'll be fine using that. I can probably harden it manually if needed.
Try Iodé, try crDroid, ResurrectionRemix, Havoc, or Bliss. They all have nice features to offer.
I’m running /e on a Galaxy Note 4 and it’s nice but nothing magical.
Thanks for the suggestions. I'm on an older phone, Samsung A52 5G so there's not a lot of options. Of the ones you mentioned I checked and crDroid was the only one that supported it for sure.
crDroid is a really good one. I have it on a few devices. Quite a bit older even than yours and it runs beautifully. One of my faves.
There used to be an exploit in an older version of the Authy desktop app that could let you export your 2FA keys, but i dont think you can sign in on the old desktop apps anymore (iirc the app was made in Electron and they left chromium's developer tools enabled in it, which allowed you to run your own JS or something like that). It's always a pain to move 2FA keys to a new app.
I spent the whole weekend going through every possible step. I installed Android-x86, I installed Android Studio, I installed Waydroid. Authy will not run on a rooted device.
I downloaded the Snap version of Authy Desktop v. 2.2.3, but alas, they've closed all the loopholes.
It’s always a pain to move 2FA keys to a new app.
Yeah. Sucks. But I've been registrering all new 2FA keys in both Authy and KeePassXC since I moved to Linux, so hopefully it's not as bad as I think it'll be, at least I'll have KeePassXC TOTP setup for maybe >20% of my accounts.
rooted device
You can hide root and all other stuff. Only thing you can't get long term is Google Device and Strong integrity.
This right here is the biggest barrier for me. I have so many authentication keys that I need that are on my Android devices and I have no idea how to transfer them to something else.
On a side note, I also need to go through all my Authy 2FA keys and refresh them because Authy is too locked down to work on anything but a "real" android phone.
Oof. One of the things I love about Aegis is that I can export and import encrypted MFA configs, to recover from a lost or reinstalled phone.
Yeah, I really shot myself in the foot when I originally went with Authy. I remember looking around for an alternative to Google Authenticator back in ~2014 when I got my first smartphone, and Authy was recommended at the time. Had I been more worried about FOSS back then I might've picked a better solution.
I feel you. I went months (or year?) living with several different auth apps, because I didn't want to deal with redoing them.
I'm happier now that almost everything I still use works with Aegis.
With all the glowing reviews I'll probably go with Aegis then. I had been looking at FreeOTP and FreeOTP+ as well.
/e and others like it are just flavors. I happen to like Bliss and crDroid and several others as well. But they aren’t exactly unique, so whatever ROM will work for what you need is what you should go with.
Thanks, that's actually great to hear. Otherwise I could've spent weeks looking into the differences. Surprisingly crDroid is offering a version based on Android 16 for my device, they seem ahead of the curve.
I’ve tested quite a few and most of the differences lay in what kinds of customizations have they built into the settings module. And most of them are aesthetic or things like easy switches. There’s really not much difference at the functional level, except for some come with MicroG integrated already which simply saves you time and occasional nuisance of installing it. But really, whatever you can find that works is good. Ironically, Lineage itself is the most vanilla and least gadgety; most of the others are built on either Lineage or Cyanogen. Understandable since they were early progenitors of the custom ROM if I’m not mistaken.
