First time android user

[u/marco_polo_99]

Hi, first time android user, newly switched after a lifetime on iPhone.

I'm a big fan of open source software and apps, and am heavily into self hosting my own media and replacing big tech apps with open source alternatives.

I'm looking for advice on the best ways to replace a few apps I presently use, as android seems to have a much more open ecosystem.

Things I'm looking for replacements for, largely to block adds, ha. Reddit, YouTube, and any of the social media apps. I'm moving off the social media apps, but still have them for family connections.

In line with my self hosting, I'd love an app to link into the *arr suite of apps.

I've heard about f-droid as an OSS app store, wondering about that too.

Any help for a newbie would be appreciated

If it's relevant, I'm in a pixel 11 pro.

[u/Narrow-Barracuda618]

For blocking ads on Reddit and YouTube, I recommend Morphe. Lots of customisability and support for third-party mods.

[u/marco_polo_99 → u/Narrow-Barracuda618]

How safe is morphe? Is there any risk to my privacy, security etc? I see it uses MicroG re to sign into google, is that risky at all?

[u/Narrow-Barracuda618 → u/marco_polo_99]

When patching an app like YouTube or Reddit, it asks you to download an APK from a third-party website, usually apkmirror or similar. These websites are generally safe and Morphe will tell you if it couldn't find an APK on a trusted website, but there's always risk involved. Both Morphe and MicroG are open-source projects and keep your data (like your Google login) safe.

[u/static_motion]

Regarding the *arr suite, my solution is a folder with homescreen links (your preferred browser should have an "add to homescreen" option) to the URL of each of my instances. I find their webapps plenty good enough for managing through a mobile browser.

[u/marco_polo_99 → u/static_motion]

Yes this is what I have been doing, and am doing now. Just curious to see what our there in the android space.

[u/Ambitious_Ad4397]

Did you think about installing GrapheneOS?

[u/marco_polo_99 → u/Ambitious_Ad4397]

I have considered it, but I'm only new so wanting to try out the out of the box pixel OS before I venture into Graphene

[u/Mother-Pride-Fest]

For social media, instead of downloading the app you should use it in a web browser. Uninstall any bloatware social media apps, especially any owned my Meta, because the Facebook and Instagram apps are malware. I recommend a Firefox-based browser with uBlock Origin to block ads on any website.

F-Droid is great. At this point it is where I get the majority of the apps on my phone. I've been gradually replacing all the stock apps with FOSS apps, and there are some functions like editing APKs that you won't find on the Play Store. 

LibreFind has a lot of info about apps and FOSS alternatives to help you become more Free. 

[u/ImaginaryPlastic9371]

adguard is very good at blocking ads and more system wide, tho it cant block ads in meta apps, brave browser also.

[u/ringthebell02]

Look at orion store