Post #616415

2026-03-08 16:46 UTC

I own a certified android phone (as of today, not connected to a google account anymore). If I understand it correctly, all apps I use (currently sourced from fdroid) will stop functioning this year or next year. I would like to know if there&#39;s any way to avoid this. Will I need to buy a new phone, and, if so, are there any manufacturers that guarantee that non-playstore apps will continue to function? #AskFedi #Android #TechnicalAdvice

Replies (2)

@xinit@mastodon.coffee 2026-03-09 07:03

@vivian It's still not really clear, and depends on what google actually does. If your new phone is a google device, ironically, there are more options for removing google completely with Graphene or similar. I want to try out Linux on the phone, like with Sailfish. @imp3tuz

Open ##2064796
@messieass@procial.tchncs.de 2026-03-10 14:23

@vivian@mastodon.art There ARE alternatives to the classic "Play Store" app. Among others, /e/ uses something called "App Lounge" which contains fdroid.org AND the regular "Play Store", but as anonymously as possible. The iodé version of the "Play Store" was called "Aurora Store" and as far as i can tell, it does the same. I have however been bitten by my bank app that checked for an installed cameo "Play Store" (faked by the system) AND a valid Google account configured there. It should however be possible to use an alternative mail address to create a #Google account and use that. Not sure what happens to this contraption once access to the "Play Store" gets restricted. Works fine now. Amazon and, afaik, huawei offer app stores as well, but... Your mileage may vary. I DO hope however that #Europe will come up with similar infrastructure some day. #Android #fdroid #Free #Libre

Open ##2064797