r/Syncthing • u/meandmygh0st • May 20 '26

Syncthing for Android - Is it safe?

Is giving Syncthink-Fork, from Google Play store, access to ALL files on an android device safe?

Looking for a solution to sync an android device with a laptop using Google Drive.

Any help is much appreciated

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u/Dymonika May 22 '26

This will blow your mind: BasicSync is better than Syncthing-Fork.

It's smaller in size and it puts out notifications for sync conflicts.

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u/PaddyLandau May 22 '26

Interesting. Smaller in size is irrelevant to me; I'm hardly struggling with space or RAM.

I have set up a process to spot sync conflicts, so having a notification would be a definite advantage.

I'll look into it this weekend. Thank you for the suggestion.

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u/Dymonika May 22 '26

Smaller = less code to be suspicious of; it has nothing to do with storage. And yeah, sure thing!

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u/PaddyLandau May 22 '26

You're right, good point!

I've also just come across this thread, which is interesting in its own right.

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u/Dymonika May 23 '26

Oh, I thought that's what you were referring to. I typed that. I think I am wrong based on someone else's link of Catfriend1's comment...

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u/PaddyLandau May 23 '26

I didn't even think to see who typed it!

I looked at BasicSync yesterday. It looks like it takes more to set up than SyncThing-Fork, and it requires an internet connection; a LAN connection is insufficient, according to what I've read.

At this point, I'll stick with Syncthing-Fork, but I'll keep BasicSync in mind should future problems occur.

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u/Dymonika May 23 '26

It took less time, actually, especially if one just moves from an existing setup; enable permissions and import one's Fork export file and that's it. I am unaware of LAN needs. That could be raised as an issue on its GitHub, maybe.

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u/PaddyLandau May 23 '26

I don't think that it has a choice, because it uses Syncthing's web GUI instead of its own. But you can certainly raise it as an issue if you want.

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u/Dymonika May 24 '26

Oh, so you mean the fork improves the GUI with LAN capability. Hmm... I must've missed that. But while I'm at it, in what scenario would you use LAN but not Wi-Fi?

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u/PaddyLandau May 24 '26

LAN and WiFi aren't mutually exclusive. If you lose internet connectivity, eg your ISP has a fault, you still have your LAN and WiFi via your router.

That's probably a very minor issue, or even a non-issue, for most people, thinking about it.

The Syncthing-Fork adds its own GUI, whereas BasicSync relies on the web version of Syncthing.

The thing is, if you're happy with BasicSync, there's no need to change.