Re: grapheneOS app store - how to get a list of available apps ?

R.Wieser <address@is.invalid> wrote:

Again, :-) .  I've had the "pleasure" to read that Googles walled garden
offers downright maware as well as poisonned versions of populair apps.  And
ofcourse the "pay a lot, get little" strain of apps (the old "pay $10,- to
turn your phone into a flashlight" kind of crap comes to mind).
 
Also, AFAIK *all* their apps are third party, created by big businesses as
well as single developers (and anything in between).   IOW, enough space for
"sketchy third party"s.  :-(
 
And than there is their ad-system infestation of the apps in their app-store
ofcourse.  Blerch!
 
There is a reason I put GrapheneOS on my phone you know - to keep outof the
clutches of Google.

I think you need to separate the *store* from the *apps*.

By searching Reddit/forums/Usenet/whatever I get recommendations from
people, which acts as a primary filter for junk.  Nobody is going to
recommend that $10 flashlight app, and if they do everyone else will point
out something better.

It's a lot of work to astroturf such recommendations compared with just
uploading a shady app to a store and paying for promoted placement.  So
looking outside of stores is a good first line filter for junk.

I do my research and I decide that FooApp is the one I want.  I find out the
long name is com.whatever.fooapp and it's written/signed by bob@whatever.com
The next question is where to get it from.  Some sources might offer
trojaned copies (signed by Mr Malware instead of Bob), and these are
especially easy to stumble upon if you are looking with a browser (anyone
can make a website).

You can search on either of those names in store apps and find that specific
app.  They offer you a way to download it.  In this case there may be
millions of junk apps in the store but by entering the exact name of the
thing you bypass all of that.  By getting it from a store you know it is
signed by Bob and not some shady person, and once it's installed only
updates signed by Bob will install (when you want to update).

While it is possible to get apks from sites like apkmirror they're full
of deceptive ads which are designed to take you to dodgy places, and it's
easy to be misled.

 
As far as I can tell Googles walled garden *is* the dodgy place.   If you're
not hit with malware, crapware or poisonned apps than you are (always?) hit
with their ad-system nuissance and tracking.

Every store has some junk apps - Google's is worse than others.  But Google
is a reputable conduit of good apps too.  That's why you *shouldn't use the
search function*, you should look for recommendations outside of the store
and then only use the store to download apps via their full name, not as a
tool to discover apps.

By using Aurora you *don't need a Google account* to access Google's app
catalogue, so that's the best of both worlds from a privacy perspective.

(TBF I do tend to trust the apps in F-droid a bit more than the ones in
Play, so if I do want a basic flashlight app I'll look in F-droid first and
if there's something suitable I won't look any further.  But the F-droid
catalogue is quite limited)

I normally do not know the name of the app I need, I search for
functionality.  Like in my current case of a TTS app.

I think you are making life difficult for yourself and that's why you can't
find a modern TTS app.

Theo