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63-628: F-Droid is a free and open source app store and software repository for Android , serving a similar function to the Google Play store. The main repository, hosted by the project, contains only free and open source apps . Applications can be browsed, downloaded and installed from the F-Droid website or client app without the need to register an account. "Anti-features" such as advertising, user tracking, or dependence on non-free software are flagged in app descriptions. The website also offers
126-522: A 2014 interview for Free Software Foundation , Gultnieks said he was inspired to launch F-Droid because of "lock-down, lock-in and general nefarious behavior from software" on phones. From 2010 to 2015, F-Droid used the AGPL -licensed Gitorious repository system for development. In 2015, it transitioned to proprietary licensed GitLab when Gitorious was acquired by GitLab. According to Daniel Marti, Former F-Droid Developer, in 2013, removal of AdAway from
189-556: A bit, or you just want to try some apps that have better ethics, F-Droid is a great place to go." In a December 2022 detailed article in Popular Science , Justin Pot wrote "F-Droid isn't going to replace Google Play for most people, but it's a nice and simple alternative for finding free and safe apps before you dive into the swamp that is Google's app store." Free and open source Free and open-source software ( FOSS )
252-959: A core of volunteers; some contributors have been paid for their work. F-Droid is not available on the Google Play Store. To install the F-Droid client, the user has to allow installation from "Unknown sources" in Android settings and retrieve the F-Droid Android application package (.apk file) from the official site. The client was designed to be resilient against surveillance, censorship, and unreliable Internet connections. To promote anonymity, it supports HTTP proxies and repositories hosted on Tor onion services . Client devices can function as impromptu "app stores", distributing downloaded apps to other devices over local Wi-Fi , Bluetooth , and Android Beam . The F-Droid client app automatically offers updates for installed F-Droid apps; when
315-478: A developer for Calyx Institute, Debian , F-Droid, and Guardian Project, said F-Droid was focusing on issues like security, building with Debian, reproducible builds, software requiring trust of as few people as possible, transparency, user privacy, non-internet distribution of apps, block avoidance, and media distribution. In March 2016, F-Droid partnered with the Guardian Project and CopperheadOS with
378-549: A different key. Originally, the Google Play store required applications to be signed by the developer of the application, while F-Droid only allowed its own signing keys. So apps previously installed from another source have to be reinstalled to receive updates. In September 2017 Google Play started offering developers a signing key service managed by Google Play, offering a similar service to what F-Droid offered since 2011, and F-Droid now lets developers use their own keys via
441-606: A niche role outside of the mainstream of private software development. However the success of FOSS Operating Systems such as Linux, BSD and the companies based on FOSS such as Red Hat , has changed the software industry's attitude and there has been a dramatic shift in the corporate philosophy concerning its development. Users of FOSS benefit from the Four Essential Freedoms to make unrestricted use of, and to study, copy, modify, and redistribute such software with or without modification. If they would like to change
504-581: A single unified term that could refer to both concepts, although Richard Stallman argues that it fails to be neutral unlike the similar term; "Free/Libre and Open Source Software" (FLOSS). Richard Stallman 's Free Software Definition , adopted by the FSF, defines free software as a matter of liberty, not price, and that which upholds the Four Essential Freedoms. The earliest known publication of this definition of his free software definition
567-542: A suite of free and secure Android applications, started running their own F-Droid repository in early 2012. 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 . In 2014 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. In January 2016, Hans-Christoph Steiner,
630-496: A variety of FOSS projects, including both free software and open-source. Element (software) Element (formerly Riot and Vector ) is a free and open-source software instant messaging client implementing the Matrix protocol . Element supports end-to-end encryption , private and public groups, sharing of files between users, voice and video calls, and other collaborative features with help of bots and widgets. It
693-411: A way to avoid malware from Google apps, which according to Google was a low risk. Advantages of F-Droid were said to include better security odds of open source software, avoidance of tracking in apps and a "stringent security auditing process", no hidden costs, and greater customization. Disadvantages were said to be lack of a rating system, only about 2,600 apps in F-Droid, versus more than 2.5 million in
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#1732783048315756-475: Is available as a web application that can be accessed through any modern web browser , as desktop apps for Windows , Mac , and Linux , and as a mobile app for Android and iOS . Element is changing its license from Apache-2.0 to AGPLv3 only with CLA. Element was originally known as Vector when it was released from beta in 2016. The app was renamed to Riot in September of the same year. In 2016
819-465: Is known for hosting open-source apps such as Element or Tusky (later reinstated) that have been removed from Google Play Store. The F-Droid website lists the apps hosted, over 3,800; the Google Play Store lists about 3 million apps. The project incorporates several software sub-projects: F-Droid builds apps from publicly available and freely licensed source code. New apps, which must be free of proprietary software, are contributed by user submissions or
882-407: Is software that is available under a license that grants the right to use, modify, and distribute the software, modified or not, to everyone free of charge. The public availability of the source code is, therefore, a necessary but not sufficient condition. FOSS is an inclusive umbrella term for free software and open-source software . FOSS is in contrast to proprietary software , where the software
945-534: Is today better known as Mozilla Firefox and Thunderbird . Netscape's act prompted Raymond and others to look into how to bring the FSF's Free software ideas and perceived benefits to the commercial software industry. They concluded that FSF's social activism was not appealing to companies like Netscape, and looked for a way to rebrand the Free software movement to emphasize the business potential of sharing and collaborating on software source code. The new name they chose
1008-748: Is under restrictive copyright or licensing and the source code is hidden from the users. FOSS maintains the software user's civil liberty rights via the " Four Essential Freedoms " of free software. Other benefits of using FOSS include decreased software costs, increased security against malware , stability, privacy , opportunities for educational usage, and giving users more control over their own hardware. Free and open-source operating systems such as Linux distributions and descendants of BSD are widely used today, powering millions of servers , desktops , smartphones , and other devices. Free-software licenses and open-source licenses are used by many software packages today. The free software movement and
1071-663: Is used by the Open Source Initiative (OSI) to determine whether a software license qualifies for the organization's insignia for open-source software . The definition was based on the Debian Free Software Guidelines , written and adapted primarily by Bruce Perens . Perens did not base his writing on the Four Essential Freedoms of free software from the Free Software Foundation , which were only later available on
1134-738: The United Space Alliance , which manages the computer systems for the International Space Station (ISS), regarding why they chose to switch from Windows to Linux on the ISS. In 2017, the European Commission stated that "EU institutions should become open source software users themselves, even more than they already are" and listed open source software as one of the nine key drivers of innovation, together with big data , mobility, cloud computing and
1197-665: The hacker community at the MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory , announced the GNU project , saying that he had become frustrated with the effects of the change in culture of the computer industry and its users. Software development for the GNU operating system began in January 1984, and the Free Software Foundation (FSF) was founded in October 1985. An article outlining the project and its goals
1260-494: The internet of things . In 2020, the European Commission adopted its Open Source Strategy 2020-2023 , including encouraging sharing and reuse of software and publishing Commission's source code as key objectives. Among concrete actions there is also to set up an Open Source Programme Office in 2020 and in 2022 it launched its own FOSS repository https://code.europa.eu/ . In 2021, the Commission Decision on
1323-609: The open-source software movement are online social movements behind widespread production, adoption and promotion of FOSS, with the former preferring to use the terms FLOSS , free or libre. "Free and open-source software" (FOSS) is an umbrella term for software that is simultaneously considered both free software and open-source software . The precise definition of the terms "free software" and "open-source software" applies them to any software distributed under terms that allow users to use, modify, and redistribute said software in any manner they see fit, without requiring that they pay
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#17327830483151386-517: 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. F-Droid was founded by Ciaran Gultnieks in 2010. The client was forked from Aptoide 's source code. The project was initially run by the English nonprofit F-Droid Limited. As of 2021, F-Droid Limited was no longer used for donations, and was being shut down, according to spokesman Hans-Cristoph Steiner. In
1449-638: The EU. These recommendations are to be taken into account later in the same year in Commission's proposal of the "Interoperable Europe Act" . While copyright is the primary legal mechanism that FOSS authors use to ensure license compliance for their software, other mechanisms such as legislation, patents, and trademarks have implications as well. In response to legal issues with patents and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA),
1512-495: The F-Droid Privileged Extension is installed, updates can also be installed by the app itself in the background. However, automatic updates are not turned on by default. The extension requires the device to have root access , or to be able to flash a zip file . The Android operating system checks that updates are signed with the same key , preventing others from distributing updates that are signed by
1575-706: The FOSS ecosystem, several projects decided against upgrading to GPLv3. For instance the Linux kernel , the BusyBox project, AdvFS , Blender , and the VLC media player decided against adopting the GPLv3. Apple , a user of GCC and a heavy user of both DRM and patents, switched the compiler in its Xcode IDE from GCC to Clang , which is another FOSS compiler but is under a permissive license . LWN speculated that Apple
1638-653: The Free Software Foundation released version 3 of its GNU General Public License (GNU GPLv3) in 2007 that explicitly addressed the DMCA and patent rights. After the development of the GNU GPLv3 in 2007, the FSF (as the copyright holder of many pieces of the GNU system) updated many of the GNU programs' licenses from GPLv2 to GPLv3. On the other hand, the adoption of the new GPL version was heavily discussed in
1701-669: The Google Play Store caused a spike in searches and downloads of F-Droid, and he estimated there were 30 to 40 thousand users. Replicant , a fully free software Android operating system, previously used F-Droid as its default and recommended app store. In 2016, the Replicant project determined F-Droid did not comply with GNU Free System Distribution Guidelines , on the grounds that some of the software it offers promotes or depends on non-free software. Replicant asked for assistance correcting it, but progress stalled. In June 2022, Replicant announced they had removed F-Droid. Guardian Project ,
1764-632: The Ministry of Home Affairs, citing terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir as the main cause. Element is built with the Matrix React SDK, which is a React -based software development kit to ease the development of Matrix clients. Element is reliant on web technologies and uses Electron for bundling the app for Windows , macOS and Linux . The Android and iOS clients are developed and distributed with their respective platform tools. On Android
1827-536: The Play store, and more manual process for updating apps. Editors cautioned F-Droid can give users more control and better privacy and security, but also takes more diligence. In an April 2022 detailed article for HowtoGeek, Joe Fedewa wrote "The selection of apps is much smaller in F-Droid than the Play Store, around 3,000 compared to around 3 million, but that's to be expected. If you're looking to de-Google your life
1890-402: The actual causes of the many issues with Linux on notebooks such as the unnecessary power consumption. Mergers have affected major open-source software. Sun Microsystems (Sun) acquired MySQL AB , owner of the popular open-source MySQL database, in 2008. Oracle in turn purchased Sun in January 2010, acquiring their copyrights, patents, and trademarks. Thus, Oracle became the owner of both
1953-856: The app is available both in the Google Play Store and the free-software only F-Droid Archives, with minor modifications. For instance, the F-Droid version does not contain the proprietary Google Cloud Messaging plug-in. Element is able to bridge other communications into the app via Matrix, including IRC , Slack , Telegram , Jitsi Meet and others. Also, it integrates voice and video peer-to-peer and group chats via WebRTC . Element supports end-to-end encryption (E2EE) of both one-to-one and group chats. Media compared Element to Slack , WhatsApp and other instant messaging clients. In 2017, German computer magazine Golem.de called Element (then Riot) and Matrix server "mature" and "feature-rich", but criticized its key authentication at
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2016-470: The author(s) of the software a royalty or fee for engaging in the listed activities. Although there is an almost complete overlap between free-software licenses and open-source-software licenses, there is a strong philosophical disagreement between the advocates of these two positions. The terminology of FOSS was created to be a neutral on these philosophical disagreements between the Free Software Foundation (FSF) and Open Source Initiative (OSI) and have
2079-434: The concept of freely distributed software and universal access to an application's source code . A Microsoft executive publicly stated in 2001 that "Open-source is an intellectual property destroyer. I can't imagine something that could be worse than this for the software business and the intellectual-property business." Companies have indeed faced copyright infringement issues when embracing FOSS. For many years FOSS played
2142-502: The copyright law was extended to computer programs in the United States —previously, computer programs could be considered ideas, procedures, methods, systems, and processes, which are not copyrightable. Early on, closed-source software was uncommon until the mid-1970s to the 1980s, when IBM implemented in 1983 an "object code only" policy, no longer distributing source code. In 1983, Richard Stallman , longtime member of
2205-426: The developers themselves. F-Droid tries to check the source code and remove issues, but warns that the checking is not exhaustive. Many app stores, such and Google Play and Apple's App Store, screen apps mostly using automated tools only; malware with defeat devices can pass these tests, by detecting when the software is being automatically tested and delaying malicious activity. The project describes itself as having
2268-584: The first implementation of the Matrix end-to-end encryption was implemented and rolled out as a beta to users. In May 2020, the developers announced enabling end-to-end encryption by default in Riot for new non-public conversations. In April 2019, a new application was released on the Google Play Store in response to cryptographic keys used to sign the Riot Android app being compromised. In July 2020, Riot
2331-562: The functionality of software they can bring about changes to the code and, if they wish, distribute such modified versions of the software or often − depending on the software's decision making model and its other users − even push or request such changes to be made via updates to the original software. Manufacturers of proprietary, closed-source software are sometimes pressured to building in backdoors or other covert, undesired features into their software. Instead of having to trust software vendors, users of FOSS can inspect and verify
2394-443: 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". Follow-on project GrapheneOS does not include F-Droid, and is developing their own app distribution method for "higher robustness and security". On 16 July 2019, the project published a "Public Statement on Neutrality of Free Software". This statement
2457-416: The goal of developing the most efficient software for its users or use-cases while proprietary software is typically meant to generate profits . Furthermore, in many cases more organizations and individuals contribute to such projects than to proprietary software. It has been shown that technical superiority is typically the primary reason why companies choose open source software. According to Linus's law
2520-567: The government charged that bundled software was anticompetitive. While some software was still being provided without monetary cost and license restriction, there was a growing amount of software that was only at a monetary cost with restricted licensing. In the 1970s and early 1980s, some parts of the software industry began using technical measures (such as distributing only binary copies of computer programs ) to prevent computer users from being able to use reverse engineering techniques to study and customize software they had paid for. In 1980,
2583-491: The historical potential of an " economy of abundance " for the new digital world , FOSS may lay down a plan for political resistance or show the way towards a potential transformation of capitalism . According to Yochai Benkler , Jack N. and Lillian R. Berkman Professor for Entrepreneurial Legal Studies at Harvard Law School , free software is the most visible part of a new economy of commons-based peer production of information, knowledge, and culture. As examples, he cites
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2646-485: The level of interest in a particular project. However, unlike close-sourced software, improvements can be made by anyone who has the motivation, time and skill to do so. A common obstacle in FOSS development is the lack of access to some common official standards, due to costly royalties or required non-disclosure agreements (e.g., for the DVD-Video format). There is often less certainty of FOSS projects gaining
2709-545: The more people who can see and test a set of code, the more likely any flaws will be caught and fixed quickly. However, this does not guarantee a high level of participation. Having a grouping of full-time professionals behind a commercial product can in some cases be superior to FOSS. Furthermore, publicized source code might make it easier for hackers to find vulnerabilities in it and write exploits. This however assumes that such malicious hackers are more effective than white hat hackers which responsibly disclose or help fix
2772-477: The most popular proprietary database and the most popular open-source database. Oracle's attempts to commercialize the open-source MySQL database have raised concerns in the FOSS community. Partly in response to uncertainty about the future of MySQL, the FOSS community forked the project into new database systems outside of Oracle's control. These include MariaDB , Percona , and Drizzle . All of these have distinct names; they are distinct projects and cannot use
2835-640: The open source licensing and reuse of Commission software (2021/C 495 I/01) was adopted, under which, as a general principle, the European Commission may release software under EUPL or another FOSS license, if more appropriate. There are exceptions though. In May 2022, the Expert group on the Interoperability of European Public Services came published 27 recommendations to strengthen the interoperability of public administrations across
2898-544: The parties stipulated that Google would pay no damages. Oracle appealed to the Federal Circuit , and Google filed a cross-appeal on the literal copying claim. By defying ownership regulations in the construction and use of information—a key area of contemporary growth —the Free/Open Source Software (FOSS) movement counters neoliberalism and privatization in general. By realizing
2961-402: The reproducible build process. In 2012, F-Droid announced they had removed an app because of a security flaw that could leak personal information. In 2017, F-Droid stated "No malware has been found in f-droid.org in its 7 years of operation." In 2022, F-Droid discovered over 20 distributed applications contained "known vulnerabilities". In August 2019, Rae Hodge of CNET recommended F-Droid as
3024-418: The required resources and participation for continued development than commercial software backed by companies. However, companies also often abolish projects for being unprofitable, yet large companies may rely on, and hence co-develop, open source software. On the other hand, if the vendor of proprietary software ceases development, there are no alternatives; whereas with FOSS, any user who needs it still has
3087-484: The right, and the source-code, to continue to develop it themself, or pay a 3rd party to do so. As the FOSS operating system distributions of Linux has a lower market share of end users there are also fewer applications available. "We migrated key functions from Windows to Linux because we needed an operating system that was stable and reliable -- one that would give us in-house control. So if we needed to patch, adjust, or adapt, we could." Official statement of
3150-521: The source code themselves and can put trust on a community of volunteers and users. As proprietary code is typically hidden from public view, only the vendors themselves and hackers may be aware of any vulnerabilities in them while FOSS involves as many people as possible for exposing bugs quickly. FOSS is often free of charge although donations are often encouraged. This also allows users to better test and compare software. FOSS allows for better collaboration among various parties and individuals with
3213-518: The trademarked name MySQL. In August 2010, Oracle sued Google , claiming that its use of Java in Android infringed on Oracle's copyrights and patents. In May 2012, the trial judge determined that Google did not infringe on Oracle's patents and ruled that the structure of the Java APIs used by Google was not copyrightable. The jury found that Google infringed a small number of copied files, but
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#17327830483153276-837: The vulnerabilities, that no code leaks or exfiltrations occur and that reverse engineering of proprietary code is a hindrance of significance for malicious hackers. Sometimes, FOSS is not compatible with proprietary hardware or specific software. This is often due to manufacturers obstructing FOSS such as by not disclosing the interfaces or other specifications needed for members of the FOSS movement to write drivers for their hardware - for instance as they wish customers to run only their own proprietary software or as they might benefit from partnerships. While FOSS can be superior to proprietary equivalents in terms of software features and stability, in many cases it has more unfixed bugs and missing features when compared to similar commercial software. This varies per case, and usually depends on
3339-485: The web. Perens subsequently stated that he felt Eric Raymond 's promotion of open-source unfairly overshadowed the Free Software Foundation's efforts and reaffirmed his support for free software. In the following 2000s, he spoke about open source again. From the 1950s and on through the 1980s, it was common for computer users to have the source code for all programs they used, and the permission and ability to modify it for their own use. Software , including source code,
3402-590: Was "Open-source", and quickly Bruce Perens , publisher Tim O'Reilly , Linus Torvalds, and others signed on to the rebranding. The Open Source Initiative was founded in February 1998 to encourage the use of the new term and evangelize open-source principles. While the Open Source Initiative sought to encourage the use of the new term and evangelize the principles it adhered to, commercial software vendors found themselves increasingly threatened by
3465-447: Was commonly shared by individuals who used computers, often as public-domain software (FOSS is not the same as public domain software, as public domain software does not contain copyrights ). Most companies had a business model based on hardware sales, and provided or bundled software with hardware, free of charge. By the late 1960s, the prevailing business model around software was changing. A growing and evolving software industry
3528-462: Was competing with the hardware manufacturer's bundled software products; rather than funding software development from hardware revenue, these new companies were selling software directly. Leased machines required software support while providing no revenue for software, and some customers who were able to better meet their own needs did not want the costs of software bundled with hardware product costs. In United States vs. IBM , filed January 17, 1969,
3591-475: Was in the February 1986 edition of the FSF's now-discontinued GNU's Bulletin publication. The canonical source for the document is in the philosophy section of the GNU Project website. As of August 2017 , it is published in 40 languages. To meet the definition of "free software", the FSF requires the software's licensing respect the civil liberties / human rights of what the FSF calls the software user's " Four Essential Freedoms ". The Open Source Definition
3654-588: Was issued to address the project's failure to prevent "oppression or harassment ... at its communication channels, including its forum", controversy surrounding alt-tech social media website Gab , and to explain how Fediverse client Tusky blocking access to it, while client Fedilab allowed its users to choose, was consistent with their principles. Action was considered against several applications, including Purism 's Librem One , to exclude them for allowing access to sites such as Gab or spinster.xyz. According to Ankush Das writing for ItsFoss.com in 2021, F-Droid
3717-572: Was motivated partly by a desire to avoid GPLv3. The Samba project also switched to GPLv3, so Apple replaced Samba in their software suite by a closed-source, proprietary software alternative. Leemhuis criticizes the prioritization of skilled developers who − instead of fixing issues in already popular open-source applications and desktop environments − create new, mostly redundant software to gain fame and fortune. He also criticizes notebook manufacturers for optimizing their own products only privately or creating workarounds instead of helping fix
3780-528: Was published in March 1985 titled the GNU Manifesto . The manifesto included significant explanation of the GNU philosophy, Free Software Definition and " copyleft " ideas. The FSF takes the position that the fundamental issue Free software addresses is an ethical one—to ensure software users can exercise what it calls " The Four Essential Freedoms ". The Linux kernel , created by Linus Torvalds ,
3843-657: Was released as freely modifiable source code in 1991. Initially, Linux was not released under either a Free software or an Open-source software license. However, with version 0.12 in February 1992, he relicensed the project under the GNU General Public License . FreeBSD and NetBSD (both derived from 386BSD ) were released as Free software when the USL v. BSDi lawsuit was settled out of court in 1993. OpenBSD forked from NetBSD in 1995. Also in 1995, The Apache HTTP Server , commonly referred to as Apache,
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#17327830483153906-527: Was released under the Apache License 1.0 . In 1997, Eric Raymond published The Cathedral and the Bazaar , a reflective analysis of the hacker community and Free software principles. The paper received significant attention in early 1998, and was one factor in motivating Netscape Communications Corporation to release their popular Netscape Communicator Internet suite as Free software . This code
3969-410: Was renamed to Element. In January 2021, Element was briefly suspended from Google Play Store in response to a report of user-submitted abusive content on Element's default server, matrix.org . Element staff rectified the issue and the app was brought back to the Play Store. In May 2023, India 's government banned 14 messaging apps, including Element. The ban was enacted on the recommendation of
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