F-Droid

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F-Droid
Official F-Droid-Logo
F-Droid 0.97 Dark.png
Screenshot F-Droid 0.97 on Android showing some installed apps
Developer(s) Ciaran Gultnieks, F-Droid Limited
Initial release 29 September 2010 (2010-09-29)
Stable release 0.100 (2 April 2016; 2 months ago (2016-04-02)[1]) [±]
Development status Active / 1,800+ apps (as of April 2016)
Written in Python (server), PHP (site), Java (client)
Operating system GNU/Linux (server), Android (client)
Type Digital distribution of free software, Software repository
License GNU GPLv3+
Website f-droid.org

F-Droid is a software repository (or "app store") for Android applications. The main repository, hosted by the project, contains only apps which are free software. It works similarly to the Google Play store. Applications can be browsed and installed from the F-Droid website or client app without the need to register for an account. "Anti-features" such as advertising, user tracking, or dependence on non-free software are flagged in app descriptions.[2] The website also offers the source code of applications it hosts as well as the software running the F-Droid server, allowing anyone to set up their own app repository.[3][4][5]

History[edit]

Development rate of F-Droid has increased over time[6]

F-Droid was founded by Ciaran Gultnieks in 2010. The client was forked from Aptoide's source code.[7][8] The project is now run by the English non-profit F-Droid Limited.[8]

Replicant, a fully free software Android operating system, uses F-Droid as its default and recommended app store.[9][10] The Guardian Project, a suite of free and secure Android applications, started running their own F-Droid repository in early 2012.[11] In 2012 Free Software Foundation Europe featured F-Droid in their Free Your Android! campaign to raise awareness of the privacy and security risks of proprietary software.[12][13] F-Droid was chosen as part of the GNU Project's GNU a Day initiative during their 30th anniversary to encourage more use of free software.[14]

In March 2016 F-Droid partnered with The Guardian Project and CopperheadOS with the goal of creating "a solution that can be verifiably trusted from the operating system, through the network and network services, all the way up to the app stores and apps themselves".[15][16]

Scope of project[edit]

The F-Droid repository contains a growing number of more than 1,800 apps, compared to over 1.43 million on the Google Play Store. The project incorporates several software sub-projects:

  • Client software for searching, downloading, verifying and updating Android apps from an F-Droid repository;
  • fdroidserver – tool for managing existing and creating new repositories.
  • WordPress-based web front end to a repository.

F-Droid builds apps from publicly available and freely licensed source code. The project is run entirely by volunteers and has no formal app review process.[17] New apps are contributed by user submissions or the developers themselves. The only requirement is that they be free of proprietary software.[18]

Client application[edit]

Get it on F-Droid logo

To install the F-Droid client the user has to allow installation from "Unknown sources" in Android settings[19] and retrieve the APK (installable file) from the official site. Installation is not available through the Google Play store due to the non-compete clause of the Google Play Developer Distribution Agreement.[20]

The client was designed to be resilient against surveillance, censorship, and unreliable Internet connections. To promote anonymity it supports HTTP proxies and repos hosted on Tor hidden services. Client devices can function as impromptu "app stores" distributing downloaded apps to other devices over local Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Android Beam.[21][22] The F-Droid client app will automatically offer updates for installed F-Droid apps.

The main F-Droid repository uses its own keys to sign packages, so apps previously installed from another source must be reinstalled to receive updates.[23]

Criticism[edit]

F-Droid has received criticism for distributing out-of-date versions of official applications and for its approach to application signing.

Out-of-date versions[edit]

In 2012, security researcher and developer Moxie Marlinspike criticised F-Droid for distributing out-of-date versions of TextSecure which contained a known bug that had been fixed in the official application. F-Droid removed the application from the repository at the request of Marlinspike.[24] Marlinspike later criticised the project's handling of the issue, stating that they "mischaracterized the scope of [the] bug" and were "incredibly immature" in their post announcing the removal, after he received email from users who had been mislead by F-Droid's announcement.[25]

Key management[edit]

Marlinspike has also been critical of F-Droid's approach to application signing in the main repository.[26] Applications distributed via the Google Play store are signed by the developer of the application, and the Android operating system checks that updates are signed with the same key, preventing others from distributing updates that the developer themselves did not sign.[26][27] F-Droid subverts this security model by often building and signing their own packages, meaning F-Droid administrators or anyone else with access could be compelled to push out malicious updates to any application.[26]

Additionally, the keys for most applications in the main repository are stored on machines that are accessible from the Internet[28] (i.e. not separated by an air gap), which Marlinspike asserts is an unacceptable security risk.[29]

See also[edit]

Portal icon Free software portal

References[edit]

  1. ^ Martí, Daniel (2016-06-14). "Client 0.100 Released". F-Droid. F-Droid. Retrieved 2016-06-14. 
  2. ^ "Client 0.54 released". F-droid.org. 5 November 2013. 
  3. ^ "F-Droid is the FOSS application store for your Android phone". androidcentral.com. 27 November 2012. 
  4. ^ Tom Nardi (August 27, 2012). "F-Droid: The Android Market That Respects Your Rights". thepowerbase.com. 
  5. ^ "F-Droid Server Manual". 
  6. ^ "FOSDEM 2014 F-Droid". 2014. Retrieved 27 July 2014. 
  7. ^ "F-Droid initial source code". F-Droid. 19 October 2010. Retrieved 2014-12-10. 
  8. ^ a b "F Droid About". Retrieved 28 January 2014. 
  9. ^ "FDroid: a free software alternative to Google Market". Replicant Project. 26 November 2010. Retrieved 17 January 2015. 
  10. ^ "FDroid". Replicant Wiki. 
  11. ^ "Our New F-Droid App Repository". The Guardian Project. 2012-03-15. 
  12. ^ Walker-Morgan, Dj (28 February 2012). "FSFE launches "Free Your Android!" campaign". H-online. Retrieved 27 July 2014. 
  13. ^ "Liberate Your Device!". Free Software Foundation Europe. Retrieved 27 July 2014. 
  14. ^ "GNU-a-Day". GNU Project, Free Software Foundation. Retrieved 23 July 2014. Day 9: Have an Android phone? Install F-Droid, a repository with hundreds of free software apps. 
  15. ^ "Copperhead, Guardian Project and F-Droid Partner to Build Open, Verifiably Secure Mobile Ecosystem". 
  16. ^ "CopperheadOS wants to bring better security to Android". 
  17. ^ "Contribute". Retrieved 29 March 2015. 
  18. ^ "Inclusion Policy". 4 April 2014. Retrieved 29 March 2015. 
  19. ^ "Android Open Distribution". 2012-10-31. Retrieved 2012-10-31. 
  20. ^ "Google Play Developer Distribution Agreement". 2012-10-31. Retrieved 2012-10-31. 
  21. ^ "Client 0.76 Released". 14 October 2014. Retrieved 28 March 2015. 
  22. ^ Russell Brandom (10 June 2014). "Your survival guide for an internet blackout". The Verge. Retrieved 2 August 2014. 
  23. ^ "Release Channels and Signing Keys". 12 August 2014. Retrieved 29 March 2015. 
  24. ^ "Security Notice – TextSecure". F-Droid. 2012-08-23. 
  25. ^ Moxie Marlinspike (2012-08-24). "SMS Plain text leak via LogCat". 
  26. ^ a b c "moxie0 commented Feb 12, 2013". 2013-02-12. 
  27. ^ "Signing Your Applications". Google. 
  28. ^ Moxie Marlinspike. "moxie0 commented Oct 16, 2013". 
  29. ^ Moxie Marlinspike. "moxie0 commented Oct 21, 2013". 

Further reading[edit]

External links[edit]
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