#defaang — Public Fediverse posts

Remember the "Simple Mobile Tools" suite of Android apps? It used to be a great collection of basic apps that didn't slurp up your data, clog up your apps with advertising, or charge exorbitant prices. It isn't anymore.

At the end of 2023, the suite was sold to ZipoApps, who proceeded to do all of those things. (This appears to be their business model: buy an app with a large install base and squeeze every last bit of monetization out of it while destroying its usefulness, fun, and credibility.)

Seriously: They replaced the $2.99 one-time payment for the Pro version of Calendar with a $15/week subscription.

Fortunately the apps were all GPL, and there's a complete fork called Fossify. They're still slowly rolling apps out to F-Droid and Google Play, with about 10 out so far.

I use the calendar and contacts apps all the time, and the voice recorder is good for taking quick notes.

Fossify Apps: Replacing Simple Mobile Tools

Update: The file manager and gallery have also been solid (local-only of course), and the phone app handles calls just fine (unless you need more accessibility or transcriptions). The music player does well with local audio.

I ended up dropping the messages app, which is OK for SMS/MMS, but doesn't handle RCS at all. The keyboard really doesn't fit my typing style, and I switched to Heliboard.

#FOSS #Fossify #Android #MobileApps #SimpleMobileTools #RotEconomy #DeFAANG #DeGoogling