Google-free!

I'm now completely Google-free, using Lineage OS 17. The only stuff I need from the Google Play store is the Steam mobile app for two factor authentication with Steam.

Most software now comes from the F-droid store.

These are my uses for the phone:

Mail

Even though I'm more at my desktop now, having a mail reader is still good for those times when I'm in the wild outside.

K-9 Mail

K-9 is a convenient, multi-account mail reader. It just works.

Web

Browsing the web is still a necessity. I don't like to use Google Chrome, so it is Mozilla Firefox.

Firefox Fennec

Mozilla Firefox is still a good browser, even though the development team has nerfed the plugins. I surf with Javascript disabled to defang most of the annoyances that "modern" websites have. An adblocker is a must as well.

Firefox Android allows for (many of) the Add-Ons that Firefox Desktop has, so that is a great plus:

* ~~uMatrix~~
  This allows me to select what kind of resources a website is allowed
  to request, per-website. Currently not available for Firefox Android.

* NoScript (temporary)
  This is a heavier add-on that allows toggling Javascript per-website.

* Ublock Origin
  A good ad blocker.

* ~~Cookie AutoDelete~~
  Automatically clean out all cookies. Currently unavailable.

* ~~Violentmonkey (sync via WebDAV)~~
  Write your own Javascript to rewrite webpages to make them more
  convenient to use. Currently unavailable.

Firefox was very good until they removed support for lots of useful add-ons.

Other

Various other apps I have installed:

Hacker's Keyboard

This gives me "standard" keyboard with the 104-key layout. It lacks a mode for emoji though.

Termux

Termux is a complete set of Unix tools for any Android phone. Most importantly it includes ssh and perl, but it also includes lots of other tools and a package manager. It even includes clang as C compiler so you have a complete development environment on Android.

Messaging

Various people are reachable over various messengers, and none of them are interoperable. So I have the following messengers installed.

Threema

My preferred messenger, but it is (one-time) paid. Not available on F-droid, but the developer offers an APK for download.

Telegram

A messenger I use for some channels.

SMS Backup+

This one synchronizes all my text messages to my mail server for convenient backup. It is mainly geared towards Gmail, but any IMAP server works.

Note taking

Google Keep was the last thing holding me back with Google, but now I found a solution that is convenient enough to replace Google Keep.

Carnet

Carnet works well enough for note taking. It can synchronize its notes to my WebDAV server so notes do not stay siloed on my phone.

Contacts / Calendar

I have my own CalDAV server, but I want to access my calendar and my addressbook on my phone as well.

DAVx^5

A calendar adapter that connects my CalDAV server to the Android calendar. This synchronizes my calendar and my address book. Just works.

Etar Calendar

Calendar app that allows displaying the calendar and adding/editing new entries.

Todo Agenda widget

A calendar doesn't help much without having a widget on the start screen that shows me the next three calendar entries.

Navigation

Öffi

Back in the time when I still used public transport, I used this app to access the real-time schedules across Germany and elsewhere.

OSMAnd~

For navigation on bicycle or with car, this is very convenient.

Images

I like to use my phone as a photo camera, as I'm far more likely to have my phone on me than to have brought my camera.

Open Camera

No-frills camera program. Can access front and back cameras.

Photobackup

Automatically upload new photos to Net::PhotoBackup::Server.

Media consumption

VLC

The best media player.

Newpipe

For looking up a video on Youtube without advertisements, of course, Newpipe is a convenient client.

Other stuff

Steam / APK download

I have a Steam account and to protect that, I need the two-factor app:

Steam App APK download