# F-Droid F-Droid is an app store for Android that only carries free and open source software (FOSS). No account, no ads, no tracking, no fees. Ciaran Gultnieks started it in 2010. Today it's run by volunteers, legally represented by The Commons Conservancy, and paid for by donations. Why does it matter? On Android, the app store decides what you're allowed to run, and Google Play is the default gatekeeper. F-Droid shows that a store can work with no company in the middle. ## How it works The catalog is nice. The build process is what makes F-Droid different. Most stores distribute whatever binary the developer uploads. You trust the developer, and you trust the store. F-Droid takes the public source code of each app, reviews it, and builds the APK itself on its own servers. What you install comes from code anyone can read (i.e., nobody can slip a tracker into the binary after the fact). That model has a few consequences: - F-Droid signs most apps with its own key. When a build is reproducible (F-Droid's build is bit-for-bit identical to the developer's), it ships the developer's signature instead - "Anti-Features" labels flag what the project tolerates but wants you to know about: ads, tracking, non-free network services, non-free dependencies, non-free upstream code. You see the trade-off BEFORE you install - Anyone can run a repository. The client accepts third-party repos (IzzyOnDroid and the Guardian Project are well known), and `fdroidserver` or Repomaker let you publish your own There's a price. Updates arrive later than on Google Play, because every release goes through that build pipeline. And F-Droid won't build an app that depends on proprietary libraries (e.g., Google Play Services for push notifications), which is why some apps ship a separate "FOSS" flavor just for F-Droid. On 24 September 2026, F-Droid 2.0 replaced the old client: a full rewrite in Kotlin and Jetpack Compose, automatic updates by default, and Tor VPN instead of the old "Use Tor" toggle. ## The fight with Google In August 2025, Google announced developer verification: apps installed on certified Android devices must come from developers who registered with Google and verified their identity. Sideloaded apps included. That hits F-Droid's model head-on. F-Droid builds and signs apps itself, so most of its catalog doesn't map to one verified developer the way Google's framework expects. Only developers can register package names, and F-Droid can't force thousands of volunteer maintainers to hand their identity to Google. It refuses to try. The project's response has been blunt. It published an open letter against the program in February 2026, told developers not to sign up, and backs the Keep Android Open campaign. Status as of November 2026: 1. Phase one started on 30 September 2026 in Brazil, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand. Google says it covers Google Play and a few manufacturer stores, and leaves other stores and sideloading alone for now 2. The global rollout is planned for 2027, with no published schedule yet 3. Unverified apps will still install through an "advanced flow": developer mode, a restart, re-authentication, a one-day wait, then biometric or PIN confirmation. ADB installs skip the wait 4. The rules don't apply to AOSP builds, uncertified devices, or regions without Google Mobile Services A one-day wait plus a buried setting is enough to stop most people. That's the real risk: not a ban, just friction until nobody bothers. ## Why I care For me, F-Droid belongs in the same bucket as [[Self-hosting]] and [[Sovereign AI]]. The question is always the same: who controls the software you depend on? A phone that can't install software without a corporation's permission isn't really yours. F-Droid defends that principle with a build server, a signing key, and a lot of volunteers. If you use Android, install it and browse. Check whether the apps you already use have a FOSS version there. Many do! ## References - https://f-droid.org - https://f-droid.org/en/about/ - https://f-droid.org/en/docs/Anti-Features/ - https://f-droid.org/en/news/ - https://f-droid.org/en/2026/02/24/open-letter-opposing-developer-verification.html - https://keepandroidopen.org - https://anoni.net/news/en/2026/10/fdroid-2-android-developer-verification/ - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F-Droid ## Related - [[Open Source]] - [[Free Software]] - [[Termux]] - [[Google]] - [[Self-hosting]] - [[Sovereign AI]]