Android Configuration - 2015
This is a list of Android applications that I have installed on my Android device which I recommend.
Note: If an application doesn’t have a URL attached to its name, then it doesn’t have an actual website dedicated to it.
Name | Description | License | Download |
---|---|---|---|
AcDisplay | Minimalistic lock screen which lets you view notifications directly on the screen. | GPLv2 | F-Droid / Google |
AdAway | An excellent ad blocker with multiple source lists that uses the hosts file. Root required. | GPLv3 | F-Droid |
AFWall+ | Front-end to iptables and an overall excellent firewall application. Restrict what applications can connect to the Internet. Root required. | GPLv3 | F-Droid / Google |
Amaze File Manager | A nice file manager. | GPLv3 | F-Droid / Google |
AndStatus | A social networking client which supports GNU social, Pump.io, and Twitter. I personally use it for connecting to a Pump.io instance. | Apache 2.0 | F-Droid / Google |
AntennaPod | A podcast manager. | MIT | F-Droid / Google |
Atomic | An IRC client which was forked from Yaaic. | GPLv3 | F-Droid |
Autostarts | Shows you what applications are set to start at boot and other Android event triggers they use as well. Root required to make changes. | GPLv3 | F-Droid / Google |
BusyBox Pro | Installs and maintains BusyBox on Android. This is the donation version; there is a free version as well. Root required. | Apache 2.0 | |
Cache Cleaner | Light-weight cache cleaning tool. It is essentially a front-end to Android’s cache manager. | MIT | F-Droid / Google |
CatLog | A graphical system log reader. | WTFPL | F-Droid / Google |
Clip Stack | A clipboard history manager which follows the Material design guidelines. | MIT | F-Droid / Google |
ConnectBot | SSH and local shell client. Note: The F-Droid version is much newer than the one in the Google Play store. |
Apache 2.0 | F-Droid / Google |
Conversations | An excellent XMPP/Jabber client with Off-the-Record (OTR) and OpenPGP support. | GPLv3 | F-Droid / Google |
Dimmer | Lowers the brightness of your Android device past what is normally available via a filter. It can also be set to activate/deactivate at specific times. | Apache 2.0 | F-Droid / Google |
DuckDuckGo Search & Stories | Search the web using DDG (An excellent search engine focused on privacy). It also works as a news reader upon initial launch to show you popular stories from across the web until you type in a search query. Includes a search bar widget as well. | Apache 2.0 | F-Droid / Google |
F-Droid | An excellent application manager and repository of open source software. | GPLv3 | F-Droid |
Firefox | The mobile version of the Mozilla Firefox web browser. | MPL 2.0 | F-Droid / Google |
Flym | A very nice RSS/Atom feed reader. | GPLv3 | F-Droid / Google |
FreeOTP | A two-factor authentication application utilizing one-time password protocols. A good open source replacement for the aging Google Authenticator application. | Apache 2.0 | F-Droid / Google |
Gear Shift | Allows you to remotely and easily control the Transmission BitTorrent client from your Android device. | MIT | F-Droid / Google |
Hacker’s Keyboard | I highly recommend this keyboard if you use SSH clients or the terminal in general on Android. It provides Alt, Ctrl, Tab, Esc, & Arrow keys. | Apache 2.0 | F-Droid / Google |
HN - Hacker News Reader | A nice looking client for the Hacker News website. | MIT | F-Droid / Google |
Hangar | A customizable shortcut launcher which resides in your notification drawer. Allows you to quickly access your most recent and top applications. | GPLv3 | F-Droid / Google |
K-9 Mail | Full featured email client which can also do encryption using OpenKeychain. | Apache 2.0 | F-Droid / Google |
KDE Connect | Integrates Android with KDE’s Plasma Desktop in order to sync notifications clipboards, and more. | GPLv2 | F-Droid / Google |
KeePassDroid | An implementation of the KeePass password safe for Android. | GPLv3 | F-Droid / Google |
MPDroid | Client that allows you to control your Music Player Daemon (MPD) server. Can fetch and display album artwork as well. | Apache 2.0 | F-Droid / Google |
Muzei Live Wallpaper | A live wallpaper that changes the background every few hours. It blurs and dims the background so that your widgets and icons stand out. Double tapping the screen will focus the image so that you can enjoy it. I personally alternate between the Wikimedia Commons and Unsplash sources (both plugins are available in F-Droid.) |
Apache 2.0 | F-Droid / Google |
oandbackup | A backup manager. Backup and restore applications and their data to any user-accessible location. Root and BusyBox required. | MIT | F-Droid |
OpenKeychain | Encrypt files and communications with OpenPGP. | GPLv3 | F-Droid / Google |
OS Monitor | As the name implies it is an application that monitors the operating system. It can show processes, network connections, real-time logs, processor/battery usage, and more. | Apache 2.0 | F-Droid / Google |
Piwik Mobile 2 | Mobile application for viewing your website’s Piwik-based user analytic data. | GPLv3 | |
Plumble | This is probably the best Mumble VoIP client available for Android. | GPLv3 | F-Droid / Google |
Port Authority | A very fast port scanner. Useful for pinging machines on your network and seeing what services are running. | GPLv3 | F-Droid |
RedReader Beta | A Reddit client. | GPLv3 | F-Droid / Google |
VLC | An excellent video and audio player which supports a large array of formats. | GPLv3 | F-Droid / Google |
wallabag | A read-it-later client. | GPLv3 | F-Droid / Google |
Wi-Fi Privacy Police | Attempts to prevent your Android device from leaking information via wifi networks. | GPLv2 | F-Droid / Google |
WPGen | Generates solid color or diagonal gradient wallpapers. I use this when I don’t want to use a live wallpaper like Muzei. | GPLv3 | F-Droid |
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