What is F-Droid and how to install it on Android

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Did you ever come across this application store named as F-Droid? It has been around for almost 7 years now, but what it is and why is it there? We are going to answer some of the questions about F-Droid today. We are going to learn what is F-Droid and also how to install F-Droid on Android.

What is F-Droid?

F-Droid is basically an application store. All the applications in F-Droid are open source. The applications are free to improve, free to tweak and free to modify. This is why F-Droid is not available on the Google Play Store. The applications on F-Droid are of a very different nature. Just like the Play Store, there are categories in F-Droid as well. Anyone can access the application on F-Droid and improve them according to their liking.

The applications on F-Droid are quite useful. There are some applications that never made it to the mainstream stores, but the applications are more than useful. For example, there is an application called NewPipe. This application has to do with YouTube. You can play YouTube videos in a pop-up, in an external video player and also download the YouTube videos on the go. There are some launchers which can give you current Android phone a completely new look.

just a month ago, F-Droid finally reached a stable state and got an update to version 1.0.0. F-Droid has an active community of developers working 24/7 to improve the overall store and the applications inside the store. Following are the categories that are currently available in F-Droid.

Categories in F-Droid

  1. Connectivity: Applications to establish a connection between multiple devices. You can also access another piece of hardware by establishing a connection using an application from the connectivity section of F-Droid.
  2. Development: Tools for Android smartphones that you can use to tweak the applications or develop new applications using your Android smartphone.
  3. Games: Games that are being consistently improved. An open platform for people to show off their ideas.
  4. Graphics: Painting and Drawing applications for Android.
  5. Internet: Applications to stream online media. Internet Browsers and more.
  6. Money: Stock price applications, money saving tips and also the financial managers.
  7. Multimedia: Music Players, Video Players and more.
  8. Navigation: Maps applications.
  9. Reading: Companion applications of platforms to keep an eye on the insights.
  10. Security: Applications to watch fishy services on your phone.
  11. Science & Education: Learning applications for Kids and elders as well.
  12. Sports & Health: Medical tools, sports activities and more.
  13. System: Applications to modify the system on your Android handset.
  14. Theming: Applications to give a new makeover to your Android phone. Themes, Launchers, Wallpapers and more. 
  15. Time: Clocks, Calendars and more.
  16. Writing: Text Editors, Notepads and more.
  17. Phone & SMS: SMS & Phone Clients.

How to install F-Droid on Android

  1. Download latest F-Droid APK.
  2. Copy the downloaded APK to your phone.
  3. On your phone, go to settings > security > unknown sources > tap the radio button to allow.
  4. Now launch F-Droid APK using a file manager.
  5. Complete the installation.
  6. F-Droid will now appear in the app drawer.
  7. Launch F-Droid now.
  8. Now you can install any application from F-Droid. F-Droid also manages the updates for all the applications that are installed from its store.

That’s all that we know about F-Droid. In case you have any queries, feel free to drop them below.

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Usama is a software engineer by profession and at TechBeasts.com he uses his expertise to solve everyday consumer tech problems with his main areas of interest being Android, iOS and Windows.

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