Having used iOS my entire life, the switch to GrapheneOS will be a big change. I have learned over the past year about Android, GrapheneOS, and apps to use. I managed to find most of the apps I was looking for, but there are some I struggled with. I had trouble finding privacy respecting, open source apps for the following categories (I’ve listed what apps I did find, but want to see if there are better alternatives.)

  • Local AI: For AI I was able to find MLC LLM, but the iOS version is a bit broken so I’m unable to confirm if it’s what I’m looking for. I want something capable of running Llama 3. This was by far the hardest category to find an app for.

  • Backup: I found Neo Backup and Seedvault. I want to be able to backup files, photos, app data, etc.

  • IDE: I was only able to find Neovim (which I’m not even sure is an IDE). I primarily code with Python (but also code in Java as well as others), and I want to be able to run quick scripts when I’m out and about.

  • Torrent: While torrenting on a phone isn’t necessary, it has certain scenarios when it’s useful. If this is a major hole in privacy and security, I don’t mind leaving this off my list. I found LibreTorrent as an option.

  • Local file sharing: This is one I’m most curious about. I want a way to share files between my Linux computer and phone. LocalSend and Warpinator seem to be tied as far as popularity, maybe I can get some insight here. I want it to be strictly over the local network.

  • Network monitoring: This is nice to have for a variety of reasons. I want something like Wireshark for Android. I couldn’t find many great options, but I found Vernet.

  • eBook reader: I’m sure the option I picked here is fine, but I wanted a second opinion about Libera Reader.

  • Terminal: I’ve heard a lot of different opinions for terminal emulators for Android, so please put up a good case for whichever one I should go with. Neovim is apparently (technically?) a terminal emulator. I’m increasingly confused about what Neovim actually is. I also found Termux and I eventually found too many options to find a clear choice.

  • Movies: Because many movie streaming services are privacy invasive, I’m looking for an ethical way to watch movies. I found Stremio which I have never heard of before. This isn’t a topic that gets covered very often.

I am aware of AlternativeTo, and it’s what I used to find some of these trickier apps, but nothing beats hearing first hand experiences. Thank you all for your help!

  • @[email protected]
    3•6 months ago

    IDE and Terminal

    Neovim is an program that runs in a terminal. You can use it to edit text files and through plugins it can become a fully fledged IDE. The site you linked actually tells you to install Neovim as a package in Termux.

    To be clear: Neovim is not a Terminal Emulator. It is not even an Android App. It runs on Android in Termux (and probably other apps), but not on its own.

    Termux is afaik the best Terminal Emulator for Android, it includes a package manager with a lot of Linux CLI utilities (like Neovim) available.

    For Java there is an apparently fully Fledged IDE available in F-Droid. For Python I’d suggest installing python in Termux and developing and running python scripts from there.

    Torrent

    I use Torrent Client. It works, but it hasn’t been updated in 2 years and I don’t know how secure it is. I mostly Torrent on my Linux Desktop PC.

    E-Book Reader

    I use KOReader which is more optimized for E-Readers, but it has a very clean UI and works great for me. It is also actively developed.