Nostr Web Client

My #newpipe app says I have an update, but #fdroid says I am up to date. The general settings on #GrapheneOS ( nostr:npub1gd3h5vg6zhcuy5a46crh32m4gjkx8xugu95wwgj2jqx55sfgxxpst7cn8c ) do not allow installation of packages dowloaded via the browser, do package managers/repositories like fdroid just lag behind a bit or what? Should I disable the browser apk install protection? I assume if the app itself prompted me then the apk probably isn't malicious...?

Also I have a few apps in #aurora (for like a week now) which currently have updates available but won't download/install, of which #Amethyst ( nostr:npub1gcxzte5zlkncx26j68ez60fzkvtkm9e0vrwdcvsjakxf9mu9qewqlfnj5z ) is one. I think this happened once before & it eventually worked itself out, but I would love to know the cause, or if there is a solution...?

#asknostr

Newpipe is great btw! Many thanks to all who recommended it ❤

Amethyst & Graphene also make the general #Android user experience feel like a massive step up from iOS. Nostr is better, battery life is better, security is better, etc. Genuinely happy with all software mentioned, thank you!

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Discussion

goodcharity 2y ago

From my experience Obtainium is the best way to get apps on GrapheneOS, so maybe try that.

F-Droid is slow to get updates and the app itself is buggy. Aurora for me barely worked.

Don't Believe The Vibe 🌱🍋🍊 2y ago

I agree.

chp 2y ago

Yeah, fdroid lags a bit behind due to there, I think, approval and build system. That's why newpipe, that is critical to timely updates, have their own fdroid repository.

Jeff Swann 2y ago

But if I downloaded & installed newpipe via fdroid, what's the difference between that & the newpipe fdroid repository?

Spencer 2y ago

Nothing. But newpipe hosts it's own repo. You can get the up to date version there using obtanium

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chp 2y ago

They publish new versions immediately, while the official repo takes its time, usually 3 days or something like that

Zen 🏴‍☠️ 2y ago

Fdroid reporsitory often lags with updates. Apps often itself check source (github) for latest update on startup and prompt if available - nothing fishy.

It's recommended that you use fdroid/source packages only. Can try obtainium for updating all apps at once from GitHub if you find F-droid updates slow.

Another rec: do check out the Newpipe x Sponsorblock fork ( https://apt.izzysoft.de/fdroid/index/apk/org.polymorphicshade.newpipe), it'll cut out in-vid adverts or libretube if you'd like a better UX. Izzysoft is an amazing repository for FOSS F-droid Apps.

Aurora is great when you need a google play app. Although you should switch to F-droid version of Amethyst as it doesn't have play services built-in (used for translation and notifications).

Grab the Amethyst GitHub link ( https://github.com/vitorpamplona/amethyst) and throw it into https://github.com/ImranR98/Obtainium and it'll take care of all future updates.

1 more tip, F-droid client can be slow and clunky, try neo store (available on F-droid) for better UX and app discovery.

Jeff Swann 2y ago

Okay, so if I have installed lots of other stuff via Aurora & fdroid, but I want to use obtainium to manage my installs is there a way to get it to detect everything & take over that job or is there a lot of manual uninstalling & reinstalling that has to be done?

Zen 🏴‍☠️ 2y ago

It should work, throw the github url for an app into obtainium and try updating. It should update and keep the settings.

If this fails, I'd say one time obtainium setup would be required. No need to get everything through obtainium (do amethyst as it updates frequently and runs ahead of fdroid a lot).

Much of stuff you'd have installed through aurora would not be open source and if it is you should use fdroid/github versions as they'd lack the Google components. Use aurora for apps that are not available elsewhere, better than sourcing apks on shady websites. Aurora pulls from Google directly so at least they are as published by devs.

Do try neo store/izzysoft repo combo for most of you fdroid installs, it'll take over updating without issues for fdroid installs.

MetropleX [GrapheneOS] ⚡🟣 2y ago

F-Droid does lag behind and has a range of issues, some are being addressed but not before getting personal toward those pointing the shortcomings out.

https://privsec.dev/posts/android/f-droid-security-issues/

As far as seeing apps in Aurora, please note the version number against your current install, usually you'll find it is the same. You also can't in the main install an app with the same app ID from a different source on top of a pre installed app due to signing keys being different. ie you can't install App A from Store A in User 1 then App A from Store B in User 2 unless the AppID is different.

Use NewPipes in built update method or add their release page URL from GitHub to Obtainium and reduce dependency on F-Droid/Aurora as much as you can. Add any F-Droid apps to Obtainium too to reduce the need to more appstores and Aurora for anything else. Ideally your aurora apps could do with being put in another user alongside our sandboxed Play Services and your own salted and unidentifiable account for the Play Store seeing that is all Aurora provides which also works with unattended app updates that Aurora doesn't.

Spencer 2y ago

Looks like I'm too late to add much to the conversation that hasn't been said, but I also would recommend obtanium. I've fully transitioned to it and don't even use the F-droid app anymore. (Though I do still use their repository through obtanium sometimes)

Hang in there. The degoogled android experience has a bit of a learning curve, but ultimately its much cleaner and more freeing. You'll get the hang of things pretty quickly.

Jeff Swann 2y ago

Yeah, I should have asked for more advice months ago, I thought I was doing pretty good, but now it seems like I have dug myself a little hole in a couple of ways 😅 hopefully I can get it straight without too much headache.

Spencer 2y ago

We've all been there. I can't count the amount of times I've had to burn everything and start from scratch

chp 2y ago

You can switch between newpipe variants by exporting the database, that includes all settings, subscriptions and views.

There is also a fork of newpipe on the Izzy repo, that has Sponsorblock added, so it skips the ads inside of the video. But I'm not sure about privacy. It is querying the Sponsorblock server about the parts it needs to skip, so they know what videos you're watching.