Spyke

What alternative Android apps do you use for online platforms that are currently in the enshittification phase?

Obviously the ideal thing to do would be to stop using them entirely, but if you're like me and you still have that one subreddit you still need to check on, some of your friends are still there, or you can't find alternatives to YouTube's content, then maybe you're also looking for alternative front-ends that would at least remove the ads and trackers while you look at those sites.

So I was wondering, what alternative apps do you use on Android for those services?

As for me, here's my small list (all of these are FOSS apps, and with the exception of OldLander, it is better to install them from F-Droid to have the automatic updates):

  • Reddit:

    • Geddit: native Android client for Reddit that allows you only to browse it anonymously, ie no account is needed;

    • RedReader: another native Android client that I discovered recently, and it's surprisingly good. Its UI is simple and sleek (though you might want to disable "link buttons" in the settings), and you can log in to post and comment;

    • OldLander: this one is not really a standalone app. Before RedReader, whenever I needed to comment, I used this userscript together with Tampermonkey on Firefox Android. It basically makes old.reddit.com mobile-friendly. There's also a Firefox extension version of it which should be even better when Firefox Android supports desktop extensions;

  • Twitter X:

    • Squawker: very good app to look at tweets without needing an account. You basically manage your followings locally on your phone, and you can even group them however you want. Overall it gives you an experience that is very similar to that of an RSS reader. (EDIT 2023-08-17: looks like another Elon change took place and Squawker is no longer able to load tweets, hope the dev can find a way around this ๐Ÿ™)
  • Youtube:

    • NewPipe: I probably don't need to present this one. No account needed.

(enshittification pic from The Hustle)

View original on lemmy.world
lemmy.world

Google Playstore is also in the shittification phase. The amount of ads and sponsored apps is an eye sore. I use F-Droid as an alternative but most mainstream apps are not there.

63

Worth mentioning that this is just a different (better) front for the Play Store. It is not like f-droid a completely different store.

4

If went downhill from the moment Google disallow system-wide ad blockers on Google Play. They still allow 3rd party web browser to include ad blockers as long as the ad blockers only work on that 3rd party web browsers, but how long until they decide to disallow that as well?

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Not wrong. If I search for a particular app it gives me an advert based on that search at the top of my screen that looks mostly like the first search result. It's begining to remind me of schetchy warez websites I use to not use as a teenager.

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lukzakreply

It's really insane. The sponsored app even has a big fat "Install" button next to it! I've never actually clicked it, but I ALMOST click it every time.

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lemmy.world

YouTube ReVanced

A bit of work to get set up, but pretty damn good once it is.

I can't remember the last time I saw an ad.

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Surdonreply
lemm.ee

I thought the devs no longer supported the project?

6

The code for Vanced was never open source, so Revanced isn't technically a fork. They had to recreate all of Vanced's features manually.

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a1_15reply

and contrary to Vanced, if I recall correctly, ReVanced is open source

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glorious_albusreply
lemmy.world

ReVanced Extended is the shit. Unfortunately the dev seems to have stopped work on it, so might have to switch back to ReVanced at some point.

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Justicereply
lemmygrad.ml

I see updates from as recent as last week on github?

On that note, if anyone sees this comment or another and wants to try YouTube revanced (or extended) DO NOT JUST BLINDLY GOOGLE AND CLICK THE WEBSITE THAT COMES UP FIRST

I have no idea if that site is owned by a legit dev or not. What I do know is the legit devs directly say on github, where the source code can be reviewed, to NOT download from any other place than github.

Sorry for the PSA but I just donโ€™t want people downloading possibly malicious code from random sites. Itโ€™s easy to fall into the blindly search, blindly install hole.

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lemmy.world

SmartTubeNext is an excellent alternative to the default YouTube app, especially on Android TV.

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godlessreply
lemmy.world

You mean, only on Android TV. They don't have a phone app, and explicitly stated they are not interested in developing one.

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redcalciumreply
lemmy.institute

It pairs well with YouTube revanced though. YouTube revanced can cast to SmartTube, so the cast button is functional again.

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Justicereply
lemmygrad.ml

Which is annoying tbh.

Would be nice if the smart whatever (see I forgot their app name already while typing) team wouldโ€ฆ team up somehow with the revanced team and they agree on one name, one app. Having two apps for what is essentially the same OS with a different skin isโ€ฆ silly. Like an app for Apple TV and a different app that does essentially the same thing for iOS.

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godlessreply
lemmy.world

I'm pretty sure they do it to fly under the radar, since mobile clients are far more dominant than smart TV applications.

And there's also newpipe as an alternative to Vanced (or rather the other way around, I believe newpipe came earlier), and even a fork with sponsorblock integration. I personally vastly prefer them over vanced/revanced.

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eroc1990reply
lemmy.parastor.net

You can still install it on phones. It's janky though because it's designed (obviously) with the expectation of remote navigation, not touch.

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kratoz29reply

I agree with you, whether we can does not mean we should, that's what Revanced is for.

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Yes, as far as I understand. I also like the interface more, but that's just personal preference.

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a1_15reply

yeah, you can use your own api incase the developer's grace period ends

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Bebo
sffa.community

I watch youtube on Mozilla with u block origin, on newpipe with sponsor block and also on freetube on pc

8

I still use Friendly for Facebook rather than the app but bits keep breaking which I understand is Facebook's intention.

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victron
programming.dev

I can't for the life of me add a single account to follow on squawker

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victronreply
programming.dev

Thanks, I don't even have a Twitter account anymore, but there are some accounts I'd like to follow

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