Android personal app list

Last updated : 6/4/2024 (Fossify replacing whatever SMT apps it can replace)

Introduction

This article is to list out the Android apps that I use. It's just as nutshelled as the ROM list, since it uses the same format.

All apps I've mentioned here will run without internet and/or Goolag Play dis-services, unless mentioned otherwise.

Here are the things I generally require out of the apps I use:

Works without internet access (does not apply for apps meant to run with internet such as instant messengers, email clients, browsers, app stores, and online-only games).
Works without depending on Google Play Services / microG.
Downloadable through Git releases / F-Droid / official site (with the last one preferring a non-soydev site), not just some Telegram groups and/or Google Play Store (and any of their unofficial mirrors, such as APKMirror / APKPure / uptodown).
In continuation of the 3rd requirement above, the app must be downloadable as a single full APK, not some split APKs. Full APKs for different architectures are tolerated as long as they work & don't need a separate installer app other than the system's inbuilt package installer.
Properly maintained, with effort to ensure it works on the latest Android version without breaking any default functionalities. Old & unmaintained apps might be fine, but as time goes on & users update to the latest Android version, these apps may eventually not work; so I cannot really recommend those apps unless you're fine with whatever tradeoff it could have.
If the app features a paid-only Play Store exclusive feature unlocker, all requirements listed above this point aside from downloadable through other sources will be applied.

Some nice to have things:

No integrations with internet requirements (like Google Now) unless absolutely necessary.
Libre software (serves as a double count for my 3rd requirement, if considering Git releases / F-Droid)

For the past archive, here's the link.

Gallery

Mentions :

Aves : While decent, it's a bit bloated (and in the wrong ways too) for my tastes.
Simple Gallery Pro : Previous gallery app of choice, abandoned in favor of the currently maintained Fossify Gallery. More on Simple Moile Tools here.

Fossify Gallery

Simple, open source & straightforward gallery app; just like Simple Mobile Tools' were. Can exclude folders, hiding its media from curious eyes (but not the file manager and/or any other gallery apps you may have installed). Lacks subtitle support for videos though, so I end up pairing this with another video app.

Links:

Video

Dishonorable mentions :

VLC : I'm not cool with combining music & video. In addition, blocking microphone permission using AppOps (back in Android 9 / Pie) may prevent the app from functioning (why does a media player need microphone access?).

MPV Android

A port of MPV, for Android. While its file browser interface leaves much to be desired (I use Simple Gallery to browse the gallery anyway, so it can be ignored), it has the subtitle support Simple Gallery lacks. MPV also supports music playback, although its interface (both MPV & Android as a whole) is too ill-suited for it.

Links:

Music

Theoretically, I could combine Music & Video if I were using VLC and/or MPV. However, I'm not a fan of such approach.

Dishonorable mentions :

VLC : See the video section for the reason. Oh yeah - I tested it as a music app & it's just like everyone else nowadays - Triple tap to rewind / previous track treated as double tap for next & single tap to pause without any option for button controls.
PowerAmp : Basically a Goolag-only paid music player, free version tied to 15-day trial before expiration. I used to enjoy this back when I am still fully invested in the Goolag ecosystem.
MPV : Video-focused interface combined with a rather lackluster file browser. Sorry, but a dedicated music player is better than video/audio players (including MPV) at all fronts (at least for music).
Fossify Music : Fossify's Simple Music replacement. Double tap with media button results in what single tap would do, triple tap is double + single tap. I'd say this is Fossify's weakest application, at least for now.

Honorable mentions :

Symphony : Mostly similar to Simple Music, but with a more comfortable UI (including a dedicated file browser), no customizable icons, auto updates (can be disabled in Settings), & persistent "favorites" playlist. However, triple tap with headset control button to previous track does not work (it gets treated as double-tap for next title & a single tap for pause instead; and headset button controls can't be modified), which unfortunately kills it for me.
Simple Music : SimpleMobileTools' music player. Interface is not as practical as AIMP, there's less options (no control over how headphone buttons interact with the music player, for example - although it's not necessarily a bad thing when it works the way it's supposed to be); but at least it's open source (which is better than the closed-source AIMP if you're concerned with source codes). Used to have some issue where library resets when storage is removed, but 5.15.0 fixes it (16/8/2023 Update : Simple Music now implements media rescanning, though only for tracks tab). 15/9/2023 Update : With 5.18.0 (or 5.18.1 to be slightly more precise, as it's the version I tested), Simple Music joins Auxio & Symphony in replacing triple tap with headset button with double tap for next & single tap to pause - I'm back to good old AIMP now, but if I had to choose Simple Music (if & only if AIMP can no longer reliably run on my shitboxes), I'd go with 5.17.1.

I was looking for another music player app to replace AIMP. But then again, I probably shouldn't, considering AIMP still works, I'll just keep that page up just in case.

AIMP Android (3.10.1052)

Short for (maybe?) Artem Izmaylov Music Player, or as I've enjoyed calling it, Artyom Is Music Player, this was the best music player on Android IMO, until the newer builds came along. 3.10.1052 is the last version that works according to my preferences (and also without Scoped Storage by default, for anyone who despises it), as later builds ignores the "jump to file beginning on single previous button click" option for headset commands by default without any way to change it.

23/12/2023 Update : Tested out 4.05.1390 (which was latest at time of writing), and triple tap can be set to either previous track (still ignores "jump to file beginning" option) or rewind (where music playback is set back by rewind delta in Settings > Playback instead of back to beginning by default). "Double tap switches the tracks" (Settings > Control > Volume Buttons) can also be used to change tracks, which can be used as a workaround for when you have triple tap to rewind (and "set" it to rewind to beginning by putting any length of time longer than most tracks would ever have into rewind delta) & need something for previous track. While all of these are somewhat better than most music players (especially ones bundling in stock Exoplayer / media3 - those just go double tap to next & single tap to pause) it's still not the old standard of triple tap to rewind and/or previous track at beginning of playback.

Links:

Official Website
Latest download (use "Android APK" button)
Archive

Camera

No dishonorable mentions (Except for AOSP Camera2 which has a terrible UI), since I don't use my cameras that much to the point of needing GCam in my daily life. However, I occasionally use GCam Go if it's prebuilt in the ROM.

Honorable mentions :

GCam Go by Greatness : Closed source & lacks interface customizations, but at least doesn't have GApps dependency. Known working builds for me are GCam Go Special Build 2 & GCam Go NS2, with the latter being inbuilt on some ROMs in the X3(N/P) (at least in A11). No shutter sound controls.
GrapheneOS' Camera : A camera app based on Android CameraX library, made by GrapheneOS. Simple to set up & use, though I never figured out how to use my V30's additional cameras with this one. By the way, I heard some phones can't disable shutter sound using this camera app - while a minor issue (considering I don't use camera all that often), I'd rather have no shutter sound at all, so this one gets demoted to a mention.

Default prebuilt

The default prebuilt camera varies between ROMs & I don't need to replace them for most of the time as I don't use them all that often. However, AOSP Camera2 that are sometimes prebuilt has the least pleasant UI IMO, which causes it to be replaced.

Open Camera

Another one of my preferred replacement camera app (even after GrapheneOS camera app debuted). It's more complex to set up & use, but it can identify & use additional camera modules in phones (at least for phones that fully support it, such as LG V30); as well as disable shutter sound for those noisy cameras. Interestingly, development is hosted in SourceForge instead of GitHub / GitLab; unlike most of everything I've heard of.

Links:

Homepage
Help page (in case OpenCamera UX is overwhelming)
F-Droid build
SourceForge

Text editor

I occasionally use this when I need to quickly create and/or edit a text file while not accessing my computer.

Honorable mentions :

Markor : A text editor with support for Markdown, todo.txt, and online syncing. However, its interface seems more cumbersome to me.
Simple Notes (SimpleMobileTools) : A good notepad, but not good for editing text files, or viewing any texts beyond 1MB.

SimpleTextEditor (maxistar)

Highly simple text editor, with support only for plaintext. Not as good as Simple Notes on keeping notes, and unfortunately F-Droid only (ignoring Goolag PS).

Links:

Notepad

I generally use this to take quick notes that don't need to be permanently saved into a file.

Honorable mentions :

SimpleTextEditor (maxistar) : Good for text editing, not for when you don't want to permanently keep some texts.
Leaflet : POSP's official notepad app, also with online note syncing. Does not support .txt.
Literal paper notepad (and your writing tools) : Far faster than notepad apps, but unfortunately placed here since this is a phone app list.

Simple Notes

SimpleMobileTools' notepad app. Good for keeping notes, not so much for dealing with text files. No Fossify equivalent yet, so I'm stuck with this one for now.

Links:

F-Droid build

Document reader

Librera Reader (Pro)

A feature-rich document reader that supports various formats, including PDF. Personally, I use the F-Droid build (from GitHub releases) as it doesn't have internet access.

Links:

Drawing

Optional (you're better off using paper & drawing tools) since it's not used all that often - 4-7' panels just aren't great drawing boards especially without a stylus (and that is if the device and/or its ROM even supports one).

Simple Draw Pro

Simple Mobile Tools' drawing app. Still no Fossify equivalent.

Links:

F-Droid build

Calculator

Honorable mentions :

Simple Calculator : Simple Mobile Tools' calculator app. Lacked a result preview.
OnePlus Calculator : A calculator app made by OnePlus. Works like what you could expect out of a prebuilt calculator app & is an OEM app that work without GApps. 3/2/2024 update : removing link because fuck APKMirror.

Default prebuilt

Actually, the prebuilt calculator on every ROM is usable enough, save for the lack of theme customizations (depending on what's inbuilt - A12L stock calculator generally follows the system theme).

OpenCalc

Pretty much prebuilt calculator with added theme customizations. Granted, I don't get to use this all that often since most ROMs I use have a prebuilt calculator, but it's somewhat nice that we can have a fallback calculator that's open source.

Links:

Calendar

Not used all that often since there's the superior paper calendar.

Dishonorable mentions :

AOSP calendar : Looks irredeemably terrible. Also, it demands Goolag sign-in (without sign-in & internet access, at best it's a view-only app).
Google calendar : While it looks better than AOSP calendar (which isn't that high of a bar to pass), it still demands Goolag sign-in.

Honorable mentions :

Etar (LineageOS fork) : In a nutshell, it's AOSP calendar without Goolag sign-in demand on opening, & after getting used to how it looks, I'd say that it isn't as bad as I thought it would be. However, one ugly side of this calendar is that it's not available on GitHub releases - F-Droid & Play Store only; and neither of them are compatible with the prebuilt Etar (which is actually forked with a different package name). Compared to Simple Calendar, Etar is unable to set events without a calendar account, which can easily be made in Etar's own settings.
Simple Calendar Pro : Simple Mobile Tools' calendar app.
A literal paper calendar : Shows your local regions' holidays, unlike all calendar apps. While this undoubtedly makes paper superior, this is a phone apps list... so I can only stick it up the honorable mentions.

Fossify Calendar

Fossify's calendar app. Doesn't seem as well maintained as SMT used to be, but as long as it's usable...

Links:

Clock

Honorable mentions :

Simple Clock : SimpleMobileTools' clock app.

Default prebuilt

The prebuilt clock app is usable enough, ignoring the lack of theme customizations. On Pie, Graphene-A12, and A10/A11 (with disabled dark theme); it looks like shit, with its all blue theme (it's not as bad in A10 & A11 with dark theme enabled, but still, it doesn't have theme customizations).

Keyboard

I prefer to disable any kind of swipe typing, autocorrect, autocapitalization, word suggestions, & all other BS cruft (including sound) built into a keyboard app. Vibration stays enabled (which is unfortunately irrelevant starting with A13 as it fuses keyboard vibrations with navbar vibrations for whatever reason - and most keyboards based on AOSP keyboard can't apply their own vibration settings once systemwide touch vibration is offed in Settings > Sound & vibration) as I ended up getting a bit too used to it after trying it out in early 2020.

Dishonorable mentions :

SwiftKey : Trash keyboard, nothing more. Swipe typing enabled by default but can be disabled, word suggestions that can't be disabled at all, & Microsoft unsolicited connections are just examples of the bad stuff on this one.
GBoard : What the AOSP keyboard was supposed to be, but with added Go-ogle unsolicited connections & other kinds of bloat, such as swipe typing. At least there's more themes, I suppose?
Simple Keyboard (SimpleMobileTools) : SimpleMobileTools' keyboard app, not to be confused with rkkr's one, found below. 6/6/2023 Update : Keyboard vibration works even in A13, but clipboard tab above the keyboard is immutable, sometimes it capitalizes first letter, and emoji shortcut is unremoveable. All in all, this is one of SimpleMobileTools' weaker applications. 6/4/2024 Update : Moved to dishonorable mentions - I'd imagine Fossify's fork in honorable mentions, if I don't mind degrading my keyboard app of choice.

Honorable mentions :

AnySoftKeyboard : Highly customizable, but with plenty of offensive cruft enabled by default.
FlorisBoard : AnySoftKeyboard, but with a different settings interface. FlorisBoard 0.3.16 stable ignores AOSP vibration settings if "Ignore system haptic settings" are enabled & "Trigger vibration directly" is disabled in Keyboard > Sounds & Vibration (though vibration isn't exactly the best). Currently too focused on implementing word suggestions (pointless bloat IMO) to the point stable updates (last known stable is aforementioned 0.3.16 from 13 June 2022) are delayed for not having this feature.
OpenBoard : AOSP keyboard, but with more customizations. Only reason I don't use it for long-term prebuilt keyboard replacement is because it's not as light as Simple Keyboard by rkkr (and OpenBoard is less well-maintained as well). All in all, it's a "why bother?" for me.
Default prebuilt : The prebuilt AOSP keyboard is sometimes usable for me (at least if I don't care about bordered buttons), though it leaves a lot to be desired in terms of customizability. AOSP Keyboard has an unremoveable emoji shortcut for whatever reason. Also, in A13, for whatever reason, Android kills keyboard vibrations if touch vibration is turned off, regardless of the settings in AOSP keyboard (though its forks work to various degrees of reliability).

Simple Keyboard (rkkr)

Similar to OpenBoard, it's basically AOSP keyboard with more customizations. However, it's lighter than the former & packs in less offensive cruft than both OpenBoard & AOSP keyboard (no spellcheck, swipe typing, word prediction bar, emoji BS). Thanks to these factors, it's now my prebuilt keyboard replacement of choice. As it's an AOSP keyboard fork, it's unfortunately subject to Goolag's touch vibration setting issue in A13 (though not as bad as it still works only when keypress vibration duration is set to "system default").

This Simple Keyboard is not a part of SimpleMobileTools' app suite, despite the name (and SimpleMobileTools has their own similarly named keyboard app which I mentioned honorably).

6/4/2024 Update : No new releases since 28/10/2023. However, I don't mind it, as rkkr's Simple Keyboard is 100% finished aside from whatever work is needed to make it work with latest Android (something I'd never use nowadays).

Links:

Launcher

No dishonorable mentions for now, aside from Nova requiring Prime unlocker for full features (and closed source) & Lawnchair denying icon pack installation when a "piracy tool" is installed.

I am currently looking for another launcher app to replace Nova.

Default prebuilt

Default prebuilt launcher works, though experience varies by the ROM. Personally, I'd rather run Nova if possible, but this works if I couldn't.

Nova Launcher (Prime, 7.0.57)

The best launcher for me, with lots of customizations. It's unfortunately closed source, but that's what you get with permissive (read : cuck) licenses like Apache License - you may fork an open-source software & close-source it. Also, it has some sort of telemetry that can be disabled in Nova Settings > Advanced > Error & usage reporting (and/or disable internet access for Nova Launcher).

To get the Prime unlocker, you might want to collaborate with someone with a Goolag account & extract the APK from their devices (or find it in the seven seas). Just keep in mind that you will need a Goolag ID that "paid" for the Prime unlocker if you're running a GApps-infested ROM.

As for the Nova Launcher itself, I'll link the version I'm currently using to Nova Launcher's own site (you can also use Play Store "mirrors" if you want to).

File Manager

Default prebuilt

Prebuilt & available in the ROM from the get go. Enough for regular uses, but couldn't read anything else outside /storage (SD Maid handles everything else outside /storage & TWRP is sufficient for me when I want to tamper with system files). As of A11, the default file manager is unable to write to /Android.

No links can be provided, as they're prebuilt in every ROMs.

Console emulators

Unless mentioned otherwise, BIOS files are required. microSD (≥256GB at least) is recomended if your device has a slot for it.

Dishonorable mentions :

AetherSX2 (post 1.5-3668 - 1.4-3064 & 1.5-4248) : Once known as "the only good PS2 emulator"; at least until Tahlreth got pushed a bit too far & abandoned AetherSX2, only to return & ruin his old creation. NetherSX2 is there to undo the sabotage, but it exists only as patches for the AetherSX2 1.5-(3668/4248) apks.
DamonPS2 : Play Store exclusive, ads on both regular & "Pro" version, online-only, blatant & unpunished GPL violation, and coercive demands for purchases at all times inside the app (at least on regular version, from what I've heard).
DraStic : Play Store exclusive, designed to break on purpose if cracked (latest version seem to remove the offending DRM, but I cannot personally confirm it). Considering the latter, I doubt it'll run on degoogled environments (vanilla / microG). However, at the very least, this emulator is no longer updated (6/4/2024 Update : it's back on Play Store & is now gratis, though still closed source).
EggNS : Used to be the DamonPS2 of Nintendo Switch (until the aforementioned DamonPS2 actually made their Switch emulator called DamonSwitch), except instead of online-only DRM it demands a Gamesir controller.
RetroArch : Emulator modules (cores) cannot be obtained without using the app & connecting it to the internet. This alone disqualifies what could be the one-app-for-all-consoles emulator.
Yuzu : Along with Citra (a 3DS emulator), it folded after Nintendo sicced a lawsuit on their company (with the dev team settling out of court). I worry for the future of console emulation in general after this shit, but otherwise I don't have much to say about this one...

Honorable mentions (as far as ones I haven't personally used yet) :

Nintendo DS

NooDS : A (hopefully, following the developer's goal) speedy DS emulator, also with GBA backwards compatibility.

Skyline (requires production & title keys; and optionally Adreno drivers for Snapdragon devices)

PS2 : Play! (doesn't require BIOS; untested)

NetherSX2

AetherSX2 1.5-4248, with Tahlreth's ad additions patched out (there's also NetherSX2-classic which adds in NetherSX2 additions to 1.5-3668). While it's usable, licensing issues makes NetherSX2 only available as scripts for building and/or patching the apk yourself. You also can't install NetherSX2 over (or alongside) AetherSX2, so be ready to set up things again.

DIY xdelta patching for NetherSX2 (or NetherSX2-classic) :

Download the latest NetherSX2 xdelta file, along with AetherSX2 1.5-4248 (now available on NetherSX2 GitHub Releases, but here's for old AetherSX2 site & its archive.org snapshot) - remember to keep a spare copy around. If you're going for NetherSX2-classic, replace 1.5-4240 with 1.5-3668.
Download the latest DeltaPatcher, choosing the correct build for your computer's operating system.
Unpack & execute DeltaPatcher (Linux, in terminal : chmod a+x DeltaPatcher before executing)
In DeltaPatcher, put AetherSX2 apk in "Original file" & NetherSX2 xdelta to "XDelta patch", then tap "Apply patch". This won't work for already patched AetherSX2 (or NetherSX2 by now) apks, so be sure to keep a spare unpatched apk for this route.

DuckStation

"Is that AetherSX2 but for PS1 emulation?" would be my first impression on DuckStation (also consider the fact that I have used AetherSX2 for longer than I even heard of DuckStation). There's tons of similarities found in both, down to the language.

Links:

melonDS Android

Unofficial Android port of melonDS. No BIOS files required (at least if not using DSiWare). Landscape is available only if auto-rotate is enabled systemwide.

Links:

PPSSPP

The only PSP emulator anyone should use. No BIOS files required.

Support for Scoped Storage is present since 1.12.

Links:

Official site

Official download link (stable builds)
GitHub Repo

Root managers

This covers root solutions & root managing apps.

Mentions :

Shizuku : Allows direct usage of system APIs through either ADB / root. Generally faster than directly using Magisk, but there's not much things I use that require elevated system APIs (AFWall+ & AdAway explicitly requires root to function, for 2 examples) that I am currently not using it for now.

Magisk

The de-facto root solution, with the added ability to hide root from apps... at least until KernelSU & root whitelist took over the scene.

Flaws I want to mention :

Internet access required to hide Magisk Manager (7.4.0 & beyond) (or Magisk app starting with 22.0)
Automatic update checking cannot be disabled, only prevented from checking in the background. You could disable internet access for Magisk Manager (or Magisk app starting with 22.0), but you'll be unable to hide Magisk Manager and/or find Magisk modules from the app.

Links:

KernelSU

The latest root solution for Android. Compared to Magisk (in terms of root interaction with apps), apps need to be whitelisted for root access instead of being able to interact with it by default.

12/1/2024 Update (rendered obsolete by 3/2/2024 update below) : Thanks to harrassment & malicious slander which also affected LSPosed (the harrassers can speak for themselves, they knew what they did), tiann/weishu has stopped his KernelSU development. It was picked up by wxt1221 for now.

3/2/2024 Update : tiann/weishu resumed KernelSU development.

Links:

SD Maid

SD Maid is a category upon itself due to the things it do.

On first run, will search & ask for root permission before requesting storage & usage access.

13/4/2023 Update : I heard it got discontinued in favor of SD Maid SE. It lacks a file manager at the moment of writing, so I'm going to ignore it for now.

List of root-dependent features I'm using :

App controls - freeze system apps that can't be disabled in the Settings
File manager - access system files, copy files to /Android/obb, and extract system files from /system/etc to external storage. No longer able to tamper with system files, but TWRP file manager takes care of that and I usually don't tamper with system once I'm done setting up anyway (at most I would copy hosts file from /system).

Links:

Firewall / Network monitor

Dishonorable mentions :

Glasswire : Useless in Android as it simply extracts network usage data from the system & displays it in the app (and doesn't even identify connections), in contrast to its Windows build (though it randomly pops up its "premium" feature advertisement).

InviZible Pro

InviZible Pro is somewhat like NetGuard (both uses Android's VPN slot & works with 1 hosts source), but with a more verbose network monitor, added darknet access (I2P & TOR, with latter enabled by default), & DNSCrypt. By the way, TheAnonymouseJoker considers this a cornerstone of his privacy guide, and it's understandable considering the features it has (though to be frank I'd rather take rooted solutions in AFWall+ & PCAPdroid). Also supports root mode, but not recommended as it cripples network monitoring.

Links:

NetGuard

VPN-based firewall with some network monitoring abilities. Also offers adblocking in GitHub Releases / F-Droid builds. Unfortunately, some features are locked behind Goolag Play in-app purchases.

Links:

AFWall+

Root-only firewall using iptables. Has an unlocker on either Goolag Play Store or in-app purchases (via Goolag Play), which unlocks background theming & hostname logging.

Links:

PCAPdroid

The reverse of AFWall+ - root/VPN network monitor with firewalling hidden (not dangled like carrot on a stick) & locked behind either Play Store unlocker and/or license codes.

Links:

GitHub Repo
GitHub Releases
F-Droid build
PCAPdroid Beta F-Droid repo : https://pcapdroid.org/fdroid/repo
PCAPdroid license code generator (requires unlock token from Play Store unlocker & installation ID from GitHub/F-Droid build)
User guide
Unofficial network documentation with root-enabled PCAPdroid

Hosts manager / ad-blocker

Mentions :

Blokada : VPN-only ad-blocker, with several prebuilt providers such as StevenBlack & Energized. Blokada 5 doesn't seem to allow additional providers.
Netguard : See the firewall section above. For more clarifications : While NetGuard allows ad-blocking (if you don't use Goolag's build), you only get one provider, but you get to pick them.

AdAway

Internet access is needed to update hosts file.

Since 5.1.0, AdAway has a setup wizard that allows you to pick between root / VPN, and persists until either mode is selected (also, the selected mode persists until AdAway got its in-app storage cleaned / reinstalled). AdAway may also automatically check for updates, which could be disabled in Preferences > Automatic updates.

Links:

Kernel Manager

Requires root access. I no longer use these, but these should be useful to those who need it.

Dishonorable mentions :

Franco Kernel Manager (FKM) : Available only as a paid app in Goolag Play Store, & has license checking.
EX Kernel Manager (EXKM) : Similar to FKM, but I didn't even bothered touching it.
No Gravity App : Limited device compatibility, update checking once the app is opened, & not open source. At least it's gratis, I suppose?

SmartPack

The sane choice for kernel managers. Fork of the now-discontinued Kernel Adiutor.

Advantages compared to common kernel managers such as Franco (FKM) & EX:

Open source
Unlike FKM & EX, it doesn't have any Goolag license checking BS. It probably doesn't apply to its donation apk though.
Paid, as in paid in a few megabytes of your internet quota, instead of paid in Goolag Play cash & the aforementioned quota. Actually, it doesn't cost anything other than few seconds off your time downloading, installing, and setting up the app.
Also available in Github Releases & F-Droid, unlike FKM & EX's Goolag exclusivity. However, with 16.2 exclusively released in Play Store, I'm concerned that this advantage might disappear, especially if future versions aren't available in GitHub / F-Droid.

Flaws that I see & could be removed if you fork and/or self-compile SmartPack:

Automatic updates enabled by default without any ways to disable it other than blocking SmartPack from internet.
Interface customizations locked behind a paywall, which requires a donation apk.
SELinux switcher in Misc (can be hidden in Settings)

Links:

No Gravity App

The recommended kernel manager for No Gravity Kernel. Not included with the kernel, so it has to be installed separately, if required.

Advantages compared to common kernel managers such as Franco (FKM) & EX:

Unlike FKM & EX, it doesn't have any Goolag license checking BS.
Paid, as in paid in a few megabytes of your internet quota, instead of paid in Goolag Play cash & the aforementioned quota. In other words, it's gratis.

Flaws :

No source code available
SELinux switcher that can't be hidden (best chance of "hiding" it is to make sure you're the only one who can open the app)
Limited compatibility - supports only devices with available NGK builds
Update checking that ties app opening with internet speed when the app has access to the internet. Unfortunately, the only obvious way to "disable" auto updates is to block the app from internet.

Backup App

Apps that backup your app data. Requires root access unless mentioned. I also haven't used any of these apps.

Mentions :

Migrate : An alternative to Titanium Backup, it backs up data in a TWRP-flashable zip.
Titanium Backup : The ye olde backup app that just works (at least back in Pie). However, it's closed source, has questionable permissions such as phone & contacts, & locks some features behind a "Pro" paywall with Goolag license checking (license key without Goolag is available, though it requires PayPal).
Seedvault : An open source backup tool made by Calyx, it has made its way to various ROMs' /system/priv-app folder. Haven't used this one yet, so I can't say how reliable this is yet. Doesn't seem to need root, as it seems to be meant to run on unrooted phones.

Neo Backup

A fork of the open-source and inactive OAndBackup, aimed at keeping it alive beyond 202x. After trying out release 7.0.0 (when it was OAndBackupX), I can conclude that it's currently shaping up to be my backup tool of choice, even if it has some imperfections (and I haven't fully committed to using it yet).

Formerly known as OAndBackupX, it was renamed to Neo Backup in 27/3/2022.

Links:

App Manager

Requires root access.

Honorable mentions :

MyAndroidTools : Former app manager of choice, until I tried out Warden. Simple & intuitive interface, but closed source, has opt-out telemetry, & no longer maintained / updated past 2019. No longer works with A11 per November 2021 security patch.
Warden : Replaced by AppManager. Seems to be abandoned since there's no updates past 2020.

AppManager by MuntashirAkon

My current personal app manager of choice, replacing the probably abandoned Warden. I don't agree with an app having an expiry date, but since it can be bypassed, I could overlook it.

Links:

What I don't use & will never use

Kernel "optimizers" / "tweakers"

The likes of FDE.AI, LSpeed, NFS Injector, MAGNETAR, & LKT. In short - questionable benefits (I dunno, 3 more FPS in the "latest" excessively bloated AAA game you're playing that you won't normally detect?) with loads of issues (random reboots, stuff randomly turning off, unfixable Redmi K20 "Pro" bricking after FDE.AI is installed, etc.).

KTweak is better in every regards compared to the crapshoots above (there's an actual thought & purpose for the tweaks, for example), but I can't justify installing this when I don't have any need for kernel optimizers / tweakers.

Patcher apps

The likes of Lucky Patcher & Uret Patcher. Here's a short list explaining why I don't bother with them (at least for myself).

Closed source - even if you know what the patcher is supposed to do, you won't know how it does what it's meant to do. In addition, there is no proper documentation to explain how the patcher works. (probably to prevent the patcher from being unable to patch things out, but who knows)
There's no official site for either AFAIK - luckypatchers.com, LP's alleged official site, has the same feel as one of those ad-ridden copypaste sites with Android-related content. This, compounded with the lack of documentation, is a big red flag on those patchers.
For whatever purpose these apps are made, they just don't work. Case example - back in February 2020, I tried LP just to deal with a cousin's Minecraft PE license checking issue (using LP was his idea, & he's running a rooted Pixel Experience at that time). Simply said, it doesn't work & Minecraft PE force-closes itself as soon as it's opened, so I advised him to stop playing Minecraft (which he did, fortunately).
Even if LP (or any of these "magical" patchers) somehow works, chances are I am already using something that didn't require me to constantly rely on any patchers (well, except for NetherSX2 & its xdelta, but that's a fix for a sabotaged AetherSX2). For example, why should I bother patching PowerAmp Trial just to make it usable for longer than 14 days when AIMP (or Simple Music) perfectly covers my music app needs?

Cloud Storage

Why should I bother relying on a storage controlled by someone else & can only be accessed via internet, when I have microSD & USB drive (maybe add in an external hard drive as well) ready to be drawn out at all times?

DRM media streamers (or screamers according to RMS)

The likes of Netflix & Spotify. Just as I don't want to rely on internet-only storage, I would also like my media to run on whatever combination of apps & platforms I have access to, not just an online-only, DRM-laden, snowflake dis-service.

Also, keep in mind the "DRM" word here refers to Digital Restriction Management (R for rights doesn't feel right despite being the default name), not Direct Rendering Manager.

Browsers

12/4/2023 Update : Yeah... all Android browsers has sucked for too long & couldn't match desktop browsers (not to mention that no effort to catch up with desktop is ever made). Moving it straight to the "never used" tier. Old report can be seen below.

What I look for in a browser (alternatively, Luke Smith has a decent article here, which I mostly copied with some disagreeable parts changed):

Works on the modern web (actually the least important since most mobile browsers work on the modern web... at the very least.)
Add-on support (or at least include uMatrix-like functionality by default - adblocking alone is not good enough)

Ability to not store history at all without "Incognito" mode (like Pale Moon and/or Firefox in desktop)
No unsolicited connections by default (so far only Ungoogled Chromium does this)

Free & open source (paid is probably ok, as long as there are no DRMs and/or paywalled features & it's still open source)
Can be downloaded from other sources (F-Droid, direct download, Git releases) aside from Play Store & its unofficial "mirrors" (APKPure, APKMirror, etc.)

Clean, uncluttered, and neutral user experience by default (aside from integrated uMatrix-like functionality I mentioned previously)

Works with alternative protocols such as Gemini & Gopher (optional, but nice for those who uses them)

Dishonorable mentions (don't use these, seriously) :

Google Chrome

Chromium (Bromite's build is a good example of this)

Brave Browser

It was once my Chromium browser of choice despite its issues (still no extension support, removed grouped tab, in-browser auto update checking, Go-ogle being default search engine (though you can still add your own search engine with a workaround), and other inherent Chromium issues). However, with the developer being a muh ukrain psyop simp & abandoning his work (though there's Cromite picking up where Bromite left), Bromite is now considered dishonorable.

Firefox Android (and every other Firefox-based browsers; but some will receive special notes)

Before the Fenix release, Firefox was an OK browser despite not being privacy-friendly out of the box, thanks to its support for essential extensions like uMatrix (though needing Mozilla store) & extensive moddability (including about:config). However, with the Fenix release, uMatrix is no longer compatible with all Firefox Android builds (including the old IceCat) (and several features including about:config removed). Combined with Mozilla's undeniable hypocrisy & concerns on Mozilla's future, there's no way I'd recommend using any Firefox-based browsers.

26/2/2022 Update : Tried out Mull & IceRaven, and hated the Fenix UX. No add-ons can be installed without going through Mozilla's add-on page (meaning the user is subject to Mozilla's artificially limited add-on compatibility, and has to whitelist Mozilla connections), clunky interface that somewhat tries to prevent the user from reaching the settings (especially when the address bar is waiting for an input), and loss of options compared to desktop Firefox (no options to not keep history, for one that applies to all Firefox Android forks AFAIK) are just examples of why I hated the Fenix UX.
17/5/2022 Update : Explaining the 26/2/2022 update in a nutshell: Fenix UX degenerates the experience of using Firefox-based browsers into something that manages to compare itself unfavorably to Chromium's UX.
8/5/2023 Update : Late mention, but I would also like to mention that Firefox Android is only available on Play Store (as well as some of its "mirrors").

Fennec

Firefox Android, but without a good portion of Mozilla's telemetry & proprietary bits. But still, it's just Firefox Android with a bit less spyware.

IceCat Android

Once the best Android browser IMO, I once used it extensively as my main browser of choice, until Mozilla released Fenix & made uMatrix (the one mandatory add-on) incompatible with all Firefox releases. At least IceCat Android is dead.

IceRaven

Firefox Android, with some features such as about:config added back & less telemetry. Unfortunately, it's also less well-maintained than Firefox Android, and still suffers from Firefox Android's flaws.

Kiwi Browser

Chrome, but with extension support. Extensions may also be installed using .crx files, which is a major advantage compared to Firefox Android (that does not allow installing extensions without internet). However, Kiwi has various unwanted connections that cannot be disabled (aside from blacklisting with hosts file).

Klar / Firefox Focus

Essentially Firefox with "private" browsing enabled at all times, & even less features (including removal of add-on support & about:config).

Mull

DivestOS' take on Firefox Android, with some features upstreamed by Tor uplift project, added preferences from arkenfox-user.js, about:config support, and some proprietary blobs removed. In essence, Fennec with less spyware.

Pale Moon for Android

Dead & unmaintained. A shame, as this could be the best (assuming all add-ons are supported; especially eMatrix) Android browser (for desktop, I nominate Pale Moon as the best browser I've ever used despite their issues).

TOR Browser

Firefox Android with TOR integrations. Unfortunately, TOR Project thinks embracing cuckflare is a right thing to do (which isn't, despite various attempts at silencing any & all who'd speak out against cuckflare). Not to mention desktop (at least Windows) TOR Browser resets some settings each time it's opened, making any usage of TOR Browser (regardless of whatever platform it's on) problematic despite its inherent advantage of easy access to the TOR network.

Ungoogled Chromium

Bromite with some more additions (and even less unsolicited connections), but abandoned thanks to its sole maintainer abandoning it for a job as Brave Browser contributor. Used to have builds with extension support, though dropped in 21/2/2021. The WebView from its own F-Droid repo (which uses build from Droidware) may also clash with repos providing their own Chromium & Webview forks (such as Bromite & Mulch).

Honorable mentions (imperfect, but probably alright to use. Listed from worst to best) :

Vanadium

issue against Bromite

archive.org

Mulch

https://divestos.org/fdroid/official

F-Droid repo mirrors

Privacy Browser by Stoutner

Cromite

used to dislike extensions

linked issue

fully works without any compromises

YouTube client / downloaders

Requires internet access. I can no longer recommend any YouTube clients (regardless of whatever is used to sidestep YouTube's evils) as they rely on Google not randomly breaking things with backend updates. This recent issue on NewPipe (archive.org) should explain as a decent example.

Below is an old report of NewPipe, which is what used to be the least worst YouTube client & the only one I bothered to even touch.

An open source YouTube front-end that used to be decent, and still has some advantages compared to both official YouTube & YouTube Vanced, such as support for some platforms like Peertube & ability to download videos. However, starting with 0.20.x, it has gone too far to be an alternative to anything.

I no longer use NewPipe, but I will keep this section up for reference of NewPipe's sins.

Advantages compared to other YouTube clients (such as Goolag's official YouTube client & YouTube Vanced):

Open source
Can download YouTube videos

No Goolag account required whatsoever
Has its own F-Droid repository, allowing NewPipe to receive updates via F-Droid clients without its official repo's general delays.
Support for various platforms such as Peertube, Bandcamp, Soundcloud. While it's cool that NewPipe supports them, chances of it mattering isn't that high as users are likely to stick to YouTube (which is there on 1st open).

Bandcamp

Flaws I can see:

The inherent flaw of being an alternative client - it has to keep up with upstream, especially if it introduces breaking changes; and NewPipe's inconsistent release schedule severely hurts it, especially when it couldn't do what it was supposed to do, as seen in issue #8502 (archive.org) and/or any similar issues.
Cannot be configured to connect to invidious instances instead of YouTube (not that it would help against upstream YouTube throttling, but still).

worked on

Starting with version 0.20.0, Newpipe went from being a decent YouTube client to a shitty one. Here are my problems :

Correct Video Orientation feature (unified player BS) (redacted by 24/7/2021 update, seen below)

Back in version 19.8, the progress bar were easier to tap. Now, it's annoyingly harder (and also easier if accidentally done) for no reason whatsoever.
Autoplay enabled by default when using Wi-Fi connection. It can be disabled in Settings > Video and audio > Autoplay.
The unified player feature ensures that the video keeps on playing even when I exit NewPipe, albeit on the background. It stops when I close Newpipe, but the notification stays for a bit.
Technically, these issues aren't present in a contributor's build, but you'll also have to trust per on not putting any additional tracking.

Confrontational contributors that may act like they're the developer. An example can be found here (archive.org)

Newpipe will give YouTube their user's IP, after being somewhat anonymized. 10/4/2021 Update : Linking the Privacy Policy.
Auto-update check enabled by default, can be disabled in Settings > Updates.
NewPipe's development team is a bunch of tyrants who will happily censor stuff they do not like. Examples listed below.

Rejecting BitChute as a "hateful right-wing platform". (archive)
Completely locking down a discussion about supporting Rutube (archive) as soon as someone speaks of political reasoning against it, while ignoring counter-claims regarding YouTube politics (and hiding various comments off non-logged in users)
While there might be more examples hiding in plain sight, I am not going to search for it any further, as I don't want to throw NewPipe any more attention than DigDeeper would throw any positive affection at Mozilla. Speaking of Mozilla, anyone could probably think NewPipe is the Mozilla Firefox of Android's YouTube clients if YouTube's official client is treated as Google Chrome... except the "Mozilla Firefox" here doesn't seem to be hidden Go-ogle actors. But then again, those issues could be avoided by leaving support for every other platforms to others & solely focusing on being an alternative YouTube client & keeping the app working.

All Newpipe links (other than the issues) removed, I can't recommend this app as a YouTube client alternative anymore (or any YouTube client for that matter). Besides, even if I could recommend Newpipe again (as either a YouTube OR PeerTube client), I still wouldn't since it's still relying on the big G (unless support for YouTube is removed and NewPipe becomes a PeerTube client for Android - although it requires completely changing NewPipe's public image).

App icon apps

Never cared for custom app icons (except SMT's app icons, though at most I set them to black & never touch the colors settings again).

Apps that I'm still conflicted about

App Store

These require internet access to work.

Dishonorable mentions :

Goolag Play Store : It's so bad I have to list this one out:

Goolag account is demanded to even view the store when using the app
There's no way to save APK files for any purpose
App availability limitations - Fate/GO USA, as an example, is only available in US, Singapore, Canada, Australia, & UK. You can't get them from the Play Store if you're living anywhere else. However, the game works even in other countries where it's not supposed to be released, such as Indonesia.
May not work if it's not a system app without a compatibility layer
Auto updates enabled by default. The only auto update you can disable is for the apps that aren't Play Store & Play Services.
Unneccesary permissions such as location, SMS, & telephone access. Why would an app store need any of those?
Random & unexplainable takedowns

Simple Keyboard (rkkr)

(archive.org)

Allows known criminals such as NXTeam (Egg NS) & Damon (DamonPS2, DamonSwitch) to remain.
Also forgot - getting a Goolag account (and/or logging in to one) requires a fucking phone number. Good luck finding an online SMS receiver that doesn't get stopped by Goolag.
There are more issues than these, but the things I'm listing might be just a dust in a dusty room's corner.

Amazon App Store : Fuck the unethical monopolist whose name caused the rainforest & tribe with a similar name to hardly pop up on search engines unless directly searched.
Aurora Store : An open source front-end to the Play Store. While I like its added features (no mandatory Goolag account required (check 30/5/2023 update below; this point is invalid now) & ability to save split APKs in addition to regular APKs), I don't like the fact that it relies on the Play Store API not changing & fucking it up. Moreover, the ability to save APKs requires internet access, forcing the user to be online to get their APKs (in comparison, SD Maid is only good for saving non-split APKs, but doesn't need internet to do so - though it needs root access). In addition, Aurora apps are a one-dev show & with the developer busy on real-life stuff (and not maintaining his apps & servers), any guarantees that Aurora Store will work again after Google updates Play Store in a way that breaks Aurora Store functionality is questionable at best (13/4/2023 Update : A CalyxOS contributor became Aurora's co-maintainer, which should fix the one-dev show issue).

may

taken down

F-Droid

F-Droid is open source.
F-Droid supports additional repositories in addition to its own.

In the likely case anyone doesn't like F-Droid's interface (and/or the lack of additional repositories), they can use other clients, such as M-Droid, Aurora Droid, Neo Store, or Droid-ify.

Thanks to different signatures, any apps installed from the F-Droid repo (or other repositories from other users) cannot be updated with the ones released by the developer (and vice versa) without a re-install.
F-Droid builds arrive later than their developer-released counterparts, as they need to recognize any changes, build the APK, sign it, & release it to the repository. This is a general flaw of F-Droid repo builds.

Without a privileged extension (which has to be inbuilt AFAIK), F-Droid will not work as seamlessly as Play Store, requiring manual input for installations. Not a major issue for me who's used to directly instaling APKs, but still an issue nonetheless.
Slow repository synchronization, without any way of seeing its progress. In fact, this is why I don't use the official F-Droid client.
F-Droid's maintainers being censorship-happy, examples listed below.

F-Droid confirming their support for censorship (archive.org), as seen in them blocking out Gab without mentioning it while respecting Tusky's decision to rickroll any users they don't like (archive.org).
F-Droid banning spinster.xyz & banning those speaking out against it - combine this with their hypocritical statement on the previous point & see if F-Droid's maintainers can still be trusted for their "neutrality".

More issues on F-Droid security by Wonderfall, now handed over to privsec.dev. Keep in mind the author recommended Play Store despite its issues.

Honorable mentions (not so bad, but still problematic) :

Neo Store

Telegram-only beta builds

Droid-ify : Yet another F-Droid client I've used. Neo Store, but with more updates & simpler interface.
Accrescent : A private & secure Android app store built with modern features in mind, including first-class support for split APKs. Haven't fully tried them out though, so it'll have to stay here even if I'd rather not even touch any app stores whenever possible.

WebView

Currently, I'm stuck on prebuilt WebView. Here's some additional WebView apps that I used to use.

Mulch : Replaced Bromite until it got its own package ID.
Bromite : Similar reason to Mulch - it got its own package ID. In addition, csagan5's longstanding loyalty to muh ukrain psyop has kept me away from Bromite.

Other apps I might use, no longer use, or worth their own note

Might use if I wanted to :

Email client : FairEmail, if I ever bother settling in an Android device. K9 Mail has been taken over by Mozilla (archive.org).
XMPP : Probably Conversations, as it's essentially the only choice I've heard about (Profanity can be used in Android through Termux, though I'm not exactly sure about using terminal-only apps for a GUI-heavy platform like Android). However, the aforementioned Conversations does not compare well to most desktop XMPP clients.
Prebuilt dialer : Pretty much useless without a SIM card, which I no longer have. Maybe useful to launch some hidden diagnostics. I would have used Simple Dialer as my dialer, but I might as well use prebuilt dialer without internet access.
Prebuilt contacts : Because it just works for contacts. Sure, it's not as customizable as Simple Contacts, but at least I don't have to be bothered to deal with an additional app.
QKSMS : A drop-in replacement for stock AOSP messaging app. I don't use SMS at all for communications (nor will I give out my phone number, if I ever have any to not dispose of), but this would be what I use for SMS. Features its own blocking manager, which can be useful for SMS-based text ads. Unfortunately, there's no way to block class 0 SMS spam aside from not having a SIM card in the device in the first place.
BatteryBot Pro : A battery monitoring tool. Accubattery (which I actually used for now) might be a more mature alternative in terms of user interface, but it's closed source, Play Store exclusive (of course there are unofficial "mirrors" like APKMirror & APKPure, but we don't really talk about that), & locks some features (particularly the dark themes) behind a Play Store exclusive paywall within the app.

No longer used :

AppOps : Rikka AppOps. Haven't used this one since v4.0.0 (which exclusively uses Shizuku API / Sui).
SystemUI Tuner by zacharee : An app for modifying hidden settings on Android. Requires root/ADB to function (by enabling its permissions). Normally, I wouldn't even think of using this (especially since it doesn't help with navbar, in which case I'd probably consider daily driving GrapheneOS), but with Goolag putting an arbitrary volume level alert that re-enables itself (at least on ≥2020 devices), this should be a good workaround; although in my anecdote, it doesn't work for the X3P (on official A12L crDroid, LineageOS, & Lineage-microG), regardless of which settings applied (disabled / not active). Needless to say, everything else there doesn't really matter to me.

Worth noting :

Split APK Installer : An installer for split APKs, which has became more common, especially with Goolag's demands for any newly released apps. No longer maintained, but still works, so I'm still using it for you-know-what, ever since it changed its APK format to split APK.
Survival Manual : A survival guidebook compiled into an Android app. Particularly useful for outdoor / off-grid / survival situations as long as you can keep your device alive, assuming this app is your primary access to a survival manual.
Kiwix : An offline reader for zim files. Unfortunately creating a zim file for the pages I like to read is pretty complex, to the degree that I consider zim an essentially proprietary (despite being open source) file format simply because it only works with Kiwix. Nevertheless, I am not going to use it for now & the foreseeable future.

Index - cellphone

Main Page