Collection:Replicant-expanded
This collection is maintained by the Free software replacement project team.
Android is a mostly free operating system developed mainly by Google. Unfortunately, the drivers for most devices and most applications from the "market" are not free (as in free speech, not as in no cost). They frequently work against the interest of the users, spy on them, and sometimes cannot even be removed. We urge all Android users to switch to a free Replicant as soon as possible.'
Here is a list of popular free software applications that run on Android — along with the proprietary applications they replace. If you are still a Android user, you can take a first step towards free software by installing these applications.
When we say these application programs are free software, we're talking about freedom, not price. It means that you are free to use these programs constructively, either alone or in a community, while respecting the freedom of others. The source code is available, so that you can study the software, adapt it to your needs, fix bugs, and release versions with new features. You can also convince or pay others to do these things for you. You are also free to give away and free to sell copies, under the terms of the applicable free software license. These programs are free software because you have freedom in using them. Free software develops under the control of its users.
Using free software on Android (or any nonfree operating system) is the first step towards freedom, but it does not get you all the way there. You're still under Google power as long as you use Android.
However, on this page we're concerned with the first step.
Contents
Free programs
Please sort all entries alphabetically in the "Free program" and in the "Replacement for" columns.
Advertisement blocking
Application name | Description | Availability | License | API | Note | Replacement for | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Aptoide | Google Play | F-Droid | ||||||
Adblock Plus | Ad blocker | yes | yes | no | GNU GPLv3 | L7 / 2.1+ | Antifeature warning ⚠ | Ghostery NextDNS AdClear |
Web browsers
Application name | Description | Availability | License | API | Note | Replacement for | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Aptoide | F-Droid | Google Play | ||||||
Bromite | GNU Project version of Chromium | no | no | no | GPLv3 | 4.0.3+ | Chrome Chromium | |
GNU IceCat | GNU Project version of Firefox | no | no | no | MPL | 4.0.3+ | Fennec |
Office Suites and synchronisation
Application name | Description | Availability | License | API | Note | Replacement for | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Aptoide | F-Droid | Google Play | ||||||
ownCloud | Client for synchronization server | yes | yes | GPLv2 | 4.0+ | Microsoft onedrive Google drive Apple cloud | ||
Nextcloud | Client for synchronization server | yes | yes | GPLv2 | 4.0+ | pCloud MEGA.nz MediaFire |
Communication
Application name | Description | Availability | License | API | Note | Replacement for | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Aptoide | F-Droid | Google Play | ||||||
Briar | Peer-to-peer encrypted messaging and forums | no | yes | yes | GPLv3 | 4.0+ | Bridgefy | |
Conversations | XMPP client | no | yes | yes | GPLv3 | 5.0+ | ||
Element (formerly Riot) | Decentralized, encrypted chat & collaboration powered by Matrix | yes | yes | Apache 2.0 | 5.0+ | |||
GNUnet | ||||||||
I2P | Anonymizing network layer | yes | yes | Apache 2.0 | 2.3+ | I2P also maintain their own F-Droid repo. | ||
Jami | Softphone and messenger utilizing DHT and strong cryptography | yes | yes | GPLv3 | ||||
Jitsi | Videoconferencing and instant messenger | yes | yes | LGPLv2.1 | ||||
K9-Mail | Advanced email client | yes | yes | Apache 2.0 | 2.2+ | Supports OpenPGP integration with OpenKeychain | Microsoft Office Outlook Spark mail Gmail | |
Linphone | Video SIP/VoIP client | yes | yes | GPLv2 | 2.2+ | Zoiper 3CX Phone System | ||
Signal | Encrypted instant messaging, voice and video calling | yes | no | GPLv3 | 2.3+ | Also available for iOS. The Android client is a merger of the former TextSecure and RedPhone apps. | ||
Telegram | Client for cloud-based messaging platform | yes | yes | GPLv2 | 2.2+ | Also available for iOS. F-Droid build is based on forked repo. Server uses closed source software. | ||
Tox | peer-to-peer instant-messaging | yes | yes | GPLv3+ | 4.0+ | Alpha release | ||
Tutanota | Client for end-to-end encrypted email service | yes | yes | GPLv3 | ||||
Wire | Encrypted instant messaging, voice and video calling | yes | no | GPLv3 | Also available for iOS, Windows and OS X. Server uses closed source software. | |||
WordPress | Official WordPress client | yes | no | GPLv2 | 2.3+ |
Emulators
Application name | Description | Availability | License | API | Note | Replacement for | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Aptoide | F-Droid | Google Play | ||||||
Dolphin | Nintendo GameCube and Wii | yes | yes | GPLv2+ | 5.0+ | Requires device with support for arm64-v8a ABI and OpenGL ES 3 or above | ||
Mupen64Plus | Nintendo 64 emulator | yes | yes | GPLv3 | 2.0+ | Unofficial port as Mupen64 Plus AE. | ||
openMSX | MSX | yes | yes | GPLv2+ | ||||
PPSSPP | PlayStation Portable | yes | yes | GPLv2+ | 2.3+ | ePSXe | ||
ScummVM | Emulates multiple gaming engines | yes | yes | GPLv2 | 1.5+ | Kosmi |
Games
Application name | Description | Availability | License | API | Note | Replacement for | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Aptoide | F-Droid | Google Play | ||||||
Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup | Roguelike | yes | no | GPLv2+ | Text-based version also available | Moonshades | ||
Freeciv | Turn-based strategy game similar to Sid Meier's Civilization | yes | no | GPLv2 | 2.0+ | Civilization Europa Universalis Empire Earth | ||
Frozen Bubble | Tile-matching puzzle game | yes | yes | GPLv2 | 1.6+ | Port of Frozen Bubble | Utilizer Deluxe | |
Minetest | Sandbox similar to Minecraft | yes | yes | Minecraft | ||||
OpenArena | First-person shooter similar to Quake 3 | yes | no | GPLv2 | 1.6+ | Unofficial port by "pelya" using SDL 1.2 | Quake | |
OpenTTD | Business simulation game similar to Transport Tycoon Deluxe | yes | no | GPLv2 | 1.6+ | pelya SDL port |
General
Application name | Description | Availability | License | API | Note | Replacement for | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Aptoide | F-Droid | Google Play | ||||||
Dasher | Accessible text-input method | yes | yes | GPLv3 | Also available for iOS | |||
OpenLP | Worship presentation software | yes | yes | GPLv3 |
Multimedia
Application name | Description | Availability | License | API | Note | Replacement for | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Aptoide | F-Droid | Google Play | ||||||
AntennaPod | Podcatcher | yes | yes | MIT | 2.3.3+ | Google podcasts Pocket Casts Podcast Addict | ||
Kodi (formerly XBMC) | Media player and center | yes | yes | GPLv2+ | Multi | Emby | ||
Popcorn Time | Media player utilizing BitTorrent protocol | no | no | GPLv3+ | Netflix | |||
Rockbox | Media player | GPLv2+ | ||||||
Tribler | Decentralized video sharing | yes | yes | LGPL v2.1+ | 3.0+ | |||
Tux Paint | Simple drawing program for children | yes | nonfree | GPLv2 | Version on Google Play is published by a 3rd-party & contains proprietary ad libraries in violation of upstream developers' license | Paintastic Painty | ||
VLC | Media player | yes | yes | GPLv2+ | 4.2+ | MX Player KMPlayer GOM player |
Application name | Description | Availability | License | API | Note | Replacement for | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Aptoide | F-Droid | Google Play | ||||||
OsmAnd | Offline mapping using OpenStreetMap data | yes | yes | GPLv3 | 2.3+ | Only parts of the software are available at no cost, this cause the software to get a few arbitrary limitation as limited portion maps of openstreetmap may be loaded. There is an unlimited paid version. The unlimited version is also available for free on | Google maps maps.me Here WeGo |
Reading
Application name | Description | Availability | License | API | Note | Replacement for | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Aptoide | F-Droid | Google Play | ||||||
FBReader | e-book reader | yes | yes | GPL | 1.5+ | Amazon Kindle Moon+ Reader ReadEra | ||
Kiwix | Offline Wikipedia reader | yes | yes | GPLv3 | 4.0+ | |||
MuPDF | PDF and XPS viewer | yes | yes | AGPL | 2.2+ | Adobe Acrobat Reader Foxit Reader Xodo | ||
orgro | Org Mode file viewer | no | yes | yes | GPLv3 |
Science and education
Application name | Description | Availability | License | API | Note | Replacement for | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
aptoide | f-droid | google play | ||||||
BOINC | Participate in distributed grid computing initiatives | yes | no | LGPL/GPLv3+ | 2.3+ | DreamLab | ||
GCompris | Educational activity suite for children aged 2–10 | yes | yes | GPLv3 | Member project of KDE | |||
GNU Octave | Scientific programming language syntax with built-in plotting and visualization tools | no | GPLv3 | MathStudio HP Prime Graphing Calculator | ||||
SageMath | Client for mathematical software | yes | yes | GPLv3 | 2.0+ | MATLAB | ||
Stellarium | Planetarium software | yes | GPLv2 | |||||
AnkiDroid | Flashcard spaced repetition for memorization | yes | yes | GPLv3 | Memrise | |||
gnuplot | Plotting | yes | yes | GPLv3 | GeoGebra |
Security
Application name | Description | Availability | License | API | Note | Replacement for | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
aptoide | f-droid | google play | ||||||
Bitwarden | Password manager | yes | yes | GPLv3 | 4.4+ | LastPass Authy 1password | ||
Haven | Monitoring system to protect against evil maid attacks | yes | yes | GPLv3 | 4.1+ | Developed by Edward Snowden under the auspices of The Guardian Project]], and Freedom of the Press Foundation | ||
KeePassDroid | Password manager | yes | yes | GPLv3 | 1.5+ | Port of KeePass | Enpass Dashlane Google smart lock | |
Prey | Anti-theft and monitoring | yes | yes | GPLv3 | 4.0+ |
System and utilities
Application name | Description | Availability | License | API | Note | Replacement for | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
aptoide | f-droid | google play | ||||||
F-Droid | Graphical package manager for app repositories | no | yes | GPLv3+ | 4.0+ | F-Droid team also maintain an application repository | Google play | |
Mycroft | Voice assistant companion | GPLv3 | Amazon echo Google Assistant Siri |
See also
External links
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