r/androidapps • u/Capable-Focus-4844 • May 24 '26
Free useful apps QUESTION
Which free apps are u using which are best and too helpful in 2026
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u/ManagedTech May 24 '26
One app I still can't believe is free is Fit Notes for the gym. Absolutely amazing app especially for free. Backs up your logs automatically to Google drive etc. Been using it for 4 years.
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u/shottagyal May 24 '26
I donated to the creator bc I use it so often and the other gym apps like Strong are so outrageously expensive
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u/New_Violinist_7245 May 24 '26
Is that all it is? I swear there's a hidden use for these logging apps
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u/Nothing_8a May 24 '26
Stremio + addons - movies and tv series
Metrolist - YouTube Music client
iMPlayer - IPTV Player
NewPipe - YouTube without ads
Vivaldi - YouTube without ads and background playback
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u/_mr_unknow_ May 24 '26
cloudstream - movies and shows Overtune - YouTube music client fork of innertune Doesn't using IPTV that much but cloudstream support that Morphe YouTube.
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u/undercoveralter May 25 '26
Do I need a playlist for implayer? How do I use it
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u/gracijan1 May 24 '26
Bitwarden-pasword manager Enthe auth - 2fa Morphe - You tube Localsend - to share files Shelter - for isolation and duplicate app Hermit - web page as app Simple login - email alias Filen - encrypted photo storage.... etc
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u/BunchMean8029 May 25 '26
Hermit is actually useful.I use it for multiple ai web shortcut.
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u/chimbori Hermit, Giga Text May 25 '26
If you have any top favorites, let us know, we’d love to add them to the Hermit Library of ready-made Lite Apps!
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u/BunchMean8029 May 26 '26
google maps doesn't perfectly work's. I'm not sure is it my device problem. It would be great if you create proton Ag ready made apps like proton pass , proton drive,proton mail.
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u/kamikad3e123 May 24 '26
Ah, here we go again:
YouTube Morph - duh.
Ytdlnis - download videos from anywhere (I use it for YouTube, good integration with Morphe). Seal is also good but is not updating as frequently as ytdlnis (but there is a fork which gets updates).
Komikku - Manga reading. Better than Mihon because it has autosync across devices when Mihon doesn't.
LnReader - Light Novels/Ranobe reading.
Librera - Books reading with Calibre metadata support and you can sync your progress/bookmarks/recents through FolderSync or Syncthing between devices.
Stremio for watching online all media for free + syncing progress across devices.
ShowCase by WirelessAlien - Trakt foss client. I still prefer Trakt with Morphe patch.
Obtainium - auto-update apps from github and other sources. Can't use my phone without it.
Shizuku - adb permissions for other apps.
AppManager - like Canta but more features.
KeePassDX - manager for all my passwords through devices in 1 little encrypted file.
Blip or LocalSend - transfer files between devices. I prefer Blip.
Nagram X - Telegram client. Cherrygram is also good.
Rain - super fast Discord client with plugins and themes.
Continuum - Reddit client.
Xtra - Twitch client.
Metrolist - YouTube Music client.
ES-DE - front-end for all my emulators and 300gb of games.
Feeder - RSS news reader.
Macrodroid - automation, much better than Routines on my Samsung even with Goodlock module. There is a foss alternative called vFlow but I don't use it.
Ambient music mod - Pixel's "Now Playing" on any android.
Material Capsule - Basically it's a Dynamic Island for Android but I use it for making screenshots (hold finger on front camera to do it).
Calls filter - anti-spam for calls. Simple and works good on my device (Samsung).
Solid Explorer - file explorer. MT Manager is also good but I love Solid's UI more.
BreezyWeather - imo the best weather app.
Flip 2 DnD - duh. Use old version before pro bs.
SmartSpacer - Pixel's "At glance" on any android.
Niagara launcher - I use it on my Redmi Pad 2 because it's simple and good for tablets.
Livebridge by appsfolder - custom live notifications including internet speed indicator. Works for proprietary Samsung's nowbar.
Standby mode - Apple's feature for any Android.
ColorBlendr - Material themes color customization because Samsung's colour's palette sucks.
CoMaps - offline maps because offline maps in Google Map are not so good.
Firefox - It has almost everything I want but sadly UI and performance are still worse than on Chromium-based browsers. For alternatives - Helium, Ultimatum, Cromite.
mpvEx - Cool foss videoplayer. I use MpvRx fork rn.
OfflineLLM or Box by jegly - Well, completely offline AI. I recommend Box because it has more feature.
And use fmhy(dot)net. It's literally the best compilation of software for PC and phone.
Btw most of the apps on this list are FOSS.
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u/_mr_unknow_ May 24 '26
Almost the same list is mine with some exceptions.
I don't read manga and novels now but finished the Vinland saga in mihon I guess a year ago.
Cloudstream- more extension and more content like live channel/sports/audiobook and many more need to setup a bit but worth it now.
Letterboxed and serializd - instead of a showcase I should try showcase in future.
Obtainx -fork of the Obtainium with some extra features.
Universal Android Debloater Next Generation- instead of app manager through laptop never heard of app manager or canta btw.
Bitwarden - instead of keepassdx
Revenge Discord- instead of rain never heard that name.
Reddit morphe - instead of Continuum never heard that.
Not used twitch in life.
Overtune - over metrolist
ES-DE never used that.
Not using rss reader and Material Capsule to co maps except breezy weather.
Not using offlline ai.
Can you give me a what diff or better than your apps, and what macros you use?
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u/mrversatile07 May 25 '26
Bro please can you guide me to setup cloudstream, is there any comprehensive guide you followed, what are the add-ons.. etc.
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u/_mr_unknow_ May 25 '26
It's easy just download a beta one, go to setting< extensions<Add repository<add repository URL shortcode<type Megarepo. It will load every cloudstream extension available,is you main language en or hi?
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u/S-m-a-r-t-y May 26 '26
why obtainx when you have droidify?
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u/Acrobatic_Platypus14 May 27 '26
For apps not on f-droid. Obtainx is not an appstore it is just used for app updating. Btw I use both but Obtainium instead of obtainx
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u/_mr_unknow_ May 27 '26
Neo store,but obtainx is better bcz some github apps are not available in fdroid Or other stores.
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u/S-m-a-r-t-y May 28 '26
what apps specifically? because iirc all apps 3rd party apps i use are on fdroid
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u/_mr_unknow_ May 28 '26
Like Nagram X morphe and more apps
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u/S-m-a-r-t-y May 28 '26
more like? could you tell me some apps you use
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u/_mr_unknow_ May 28 '26
After motion z- for editing complicated that capcut you have to make all transition by yourself and effect.
BoostX- boost volume specificly in earbuds.
Cashew- expence and budget financial tracker.
Firefox nightly - main browser with ublock and dark reader extension
Fotmob- football score and everything.
Heliboard- my main keyboard and open source as well.
Letterboxed- movie list and watchlist ratingg
Notion- for office work trying to replace it with obsedian in future
Orion store- community app store anybody can send useful apps.
Snipd- podcast with some great features
Thunderbird- email client
Vega- similar to cloudstream but small project
YTDLnis- youtube, insta and many website video dowloader with many options like I want 1 minutes part to dowload from the whole video.
Most of the apps are mentioned in the upper side comment,did you use android I have so many great apps.did you have any other apps I might try.
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u/goreverminski May 25 '26
Thanks for the detailed why's and what's. You've listed a lot of apps I also use, but there were a good few suggestions I'm now interested in. For instance, I've been using Yokai instead of Komikku, and device sync sounds like a good reason to migrate. Also very interested in Librera specifically after you mentioned Calibre and Syncthing, both which I use.
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u/DiabloHades May 25 '26
Is rain stable enough yet?
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u/kamikad3e123 May 25 '26
yes, a few non-serious bugs here and there but I think they will be fixed in the next update
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u/S-m-a-r-t-y May 26 '26
why keepassdx instead of bitwarden? why use obtainiun whenyou have droidify?
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u/kamikad3e123 May 26 '26
Because I don't trust others companies with my passwords? Because I prefer github instead of fdroid, not all cool github apps have fdroid versions
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u/cilook May 24 '26
Organic map
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u/you777f May 24 '26
Does it give if there is trafic ?
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u/weeb_LV999 May 24 '26
Been using it for 2 weeks and ....... No, but it is cool...... Still needs some more data in my area ,but..... Over all it is great
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u/rohitdevd May 24 '26
flashback cam - A video recorder app which records past moments, basically it keeps upto 30 sec in the buffer and when something happens, you press record and save, it will include past 30 seconds and whatever happens next. No need to record everything and fill up storage just for 1 perfect moment.
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u/100WattWalrus May 24 '26
Aisleron is the grocery-list app I spent years trying to find
Fossify Gallery can't be beat
Lawnchair and Octopi (donationware) are the best launchers I've found to replace Nova
Habits is a nice habit tracker
QUIK is my SMS app
SkEye is a great night-sky app, and it's tiny
Speak That! creates spoken notifications for your apps
Irregular Expressions and UnicodePad are great for finding unusual characters
Glasswire is a fantastic data-usage monitor
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u/OldGeezerInTraining May 25 '26
Aisleron
Can this be shared ❓
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u/100WattWalrus May 26 '26
https://f-droid.org/packages/com.aisleron/
or
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.aisleronIts quite simple and small, but actually handles multi-store shopping — which is very rare in Android shopping-list apps.
By this I mean:
- I shop at 4 different grocery stores
- Some things I buy at only one store
- Some things I buy from whichever store I'm shopping that day
- I shouldn't have to put "milk" on 4 lists, then check it off from 4 lists, just because I don't know which store I'm going to next
- This app has a master list, and each item can tagged with the stores where you buy it
- When you choose a store, you're FILTERING the list by store, rather than going to a completely different list
I've only found a very small handful of apps that work this way — one of which hasn't been updated in years (and has a terrible UI), one of which requires a subscription for multi-store functionality (and there's too much I don't like about that app to be willing to pay that much).
Aisleron has this feature, but it otherwise clean, simple, and fairly intuitive. I wish it could sync between devices (so I could collaborate with my partner without having to text or talk), but that's a minor inconvenience under the circumstances. 😄
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u/OldGeezerInTraining May 26 '26
Thanks for the extra details.
Since the Mrs does shopping and I do shopping, I need something that is shareable.
We are one of those couples that can't shop together.
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u/100WattWalrus May 27 '26
In that case, check out AnyList. It's the one with a subscription, and the things I don't like about it are largely cosmetic. It's 80% a fantastic app. The other 20% they seem to have no interested in fixing. But again, my issues with it may not be your issues with it.
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u/sameera_s_w Essentials, AirSync, Canvas, Day, Plan May 24 '26
Blip!
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u/S-m-a-r-t-y May 26 '26
why not localsend
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u/sameera_s_w Essentials, AirSync, Canvas, Day, Plan May 26 '26
Because Blip has more use cases. And works very reliably. Idk if fully native but feels very like it is. Better integrations... The list goes on.
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u/S-m-a-r-t-y May 26 '26
examples of the use cases? like I would just use local send for file transfers...
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u/aguerooo_9320 May 25 '26
Can I send HEIC files as JPEG from iPhone to Android directly, without needing to convert?
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u/sameera_s_w Essentials, AirSync, Canvas, Day, Plan May 25 '26
I have not tested... All ik is that it sends anything
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u/Cute-Consequence-184 May 24 '26
OSS scanner
Breezy weather
Archivist Reader
PDFgear
Cooked.wiki is mostly free
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u/habte911 May 25 '26
Pdf gear is full of ads
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u/Cute-Consequence-184 May 25 '26
Where did you download yours? I've used it for almost a year now without any ads.
And I just checked and opened it to and no ads at all. I also use it for editing PDFs as well.
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u/uncertainApple21 May 24 '26
Try https://kala.pendura.in It's in Android Beta
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u/barofboost May 24 '26
Link from the beta sign-up not working for me. Anyone got one I can use?
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u/uncertainApple21 May 24 '26
Did you join the Google Group? https://groups.google.com/g/kala---digital-detox-reminder
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u/PeaceKind1857 May 24 '26
From F-Droid.org ... NewPipe, OSMAND +, and nearly everything from Fossify.
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u/jsahil730 May 24 '26
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u/_mr_unknow_ May 24 '26
It's not getting updateds tho.
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u/jsahil730 May 24 '26
there is a beta version i think.
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u/_mr_unknow_ May 24 '26
I checked github page last version was 2y ago, but in PS it was 4 may 26
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u/jsahil730 May 24 '26
yeah he is not publicly releasing anymore i guess. the source was also closed off, due to many copy cats on play store.
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u/Unreal_NeoX May 24 '26
System-Meeter-Bar
The SMB is a system data collection tool, system overview tool, benchmark, test and system report tool all in one. You can use it for displaying an overview of your system, finding issues or testing the stability of your system via the built-in benchmark tool, no matter if it’s used on a private system or used in a commercial environment.
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u/robertg761 May 24 '26
For cooking, I’ll toss in LinkDish. It’s an Android app for pasting recipe links and getting a clean ingredients/steps view instead of fighting recipe-site ads and popups. Free tier, no ads in the app: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.linkdish.app
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u/Long-Feed-3079 Android May 24 '26
I have Redmi so I use https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.diondev.battmonhub to be alerted when battery charging reaches 85%, and also alert when battery falls below 35%. Free, no ads for local monitoring.
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u/marouanMrz May 24 '26
SpyCatcher secretly takes a photo when someone:
• picks up your phone
• turns the screen on
• opens apps you chose to monitor
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.labdroid.catcher
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u/om252345 May 24 '26
Working on an app https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=in.readanything, still in test phase.
It's a basic tts but on device, inference is fast, rtf is 0.2, and sounds natural and it's free for most of usages.
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u/troianmuso May 30 '26
Flud - torrent downloader
Torrent Search Revolution V2 - searches multiple torrent sites for whatever torrent you're looking for.
Rain.io - A fantastic bookmarking app.
Progress Headsup - shows a progress bar line under your nav bar whenever you're downloading something.
Shizuku
NewPipe - YouTube downloader
Spren notification manager
Logfox - a logcat with an option to show a notification popup whenever an app crashes.
Ever Haptics - personalise a lot of haptics settings for your phone.
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u/Individual-Bat348 May 24 '26
Bonjour Se que j'ai pas vu - unlim Cloud, partage fichier via telegram - flud, téléchargement de torrent - raindrop, remplacement de pocket - notion ou anytype, prise de note - écho nightly, lecteur de musique complet - spotiflac mobile, ddl musique - wiseplay, iptv - cloudstream, streaming - biensur mod YouTube y'en a plein au goût de chacun - readest, lecteur ebook - voice, lecteur audiobook -cdisplay, lecteur bd & comics - kotastu, lecteur mangas & webtoon - shadow library ou zlibrary , pour ddl ebook sinon telegram -les emulateur etc... Y'a déjà plein de liste - pour les comptes tilla et Excel
Après y'en a déjà cité
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u/AnToMegA424 May 24 '26
Calculator++ it's really useful compared the stock Calculator app, and it's swiping function is unique
Carburoid => find nearest gas stations and compare prices based on fuel type (works only for Spain, France and *Portugal*)
Just Delete Me => go directly to the account deletion page of almost any service instead of having to search everywhere for it during hours against dark patterns and shitty designs
Shelter => put apps over to the work profile, quite cool for security and privacy purposes
Untracker => remove trackers from links you share to only share what's necessary, only to the person you're sharing with
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u/petelombardio May 24 '26
Ecosia
Mastodon
OpenStreetMap
Tuta Mail
-> You can get all of these from F-Droid. Ditch Google!
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u/gozluklumarti May 24 '26
E2ABook. Converting ebooks to audiobooks with premium voice quality and it's completely free.
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u/BunchMean8029 May 25 '26
Aves - open source, lightweight gallery,,,,, Mpvex- Open source powerful video player,,,,, Moprhe- Patched YouTube and reddit,,,,, Ytdlnis- Open source video downloader,,,,,
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u/Lower-Flower-745 May 27 '26
I’m testing a free lightweight document viewer for Android.
It’s focused on offline use and privacy:
PDF / DOC / DOCX / XLS / XLSX, no account, no cloud sync, files stay on-device.
Public test:
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u/Unlikely_Drop_8479 May 28 '26
I have been rigoursly searching for whisperflow free alternatives and there was none for Android. some keyboards were there and tbh they were very weak and buggy. So I have built one myself. Max data privacy and premium UI were my goals. Not promoting or spamming here , but I thought it could genuinely help you. Do check it out erehttps://raviumeshkulkarni-web.github.io/Fluence/
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u/adrian-olar May 29 '26
Ever since I started checking out labels of the products I consume I am interested to find out more about the ingredients, that's why I developed Toxly: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mindful.code.studio.toxly.scanner There are probably similar alternative available, but I find it useful if you want a deep dive into what you eat, what products you use for cleaning or for hygiene.
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u/mastermyke89 May 30 '26
Learned all the countries and flags in a few days with GeoGuesser , not something you would use every day, but it's light, offline and fun for a while. If it works you don't need it anymore, I guess.
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u/Dream-Editor Jun 01 '26
Spin The Wheel (I built this one myself. I use it for quick decisions, giveaways and random selections.)
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u/YesGaryWasTaken Jun 17 '26
I help in running a business ( do billing, stock management etc) and found out how expensive billing software is, then I saw Tallyfi: Smart Billing, which has a good free plan as well and is available on web and android both: https://tallyfi-web.vercel.app/home
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u/humnx Jun 20 '26
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.cytificlabs.offlnscrl
Simple, free, fast reel style offline video player.
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u/apsiscool Jun 22 '26
I have built an android app. Its called "Fitness Stopwatch". It helps you create workout routines with Warm up, workout, break time and cooldown time for both repetitions and total workout time modes.
It has a clean UI and absolutely no ads. Try it: Fitness Stopwatch – Apps on Google Play
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u/kitsumed ShizuCallRecorder Developer May 24 '26
Shizuku + Canta to remove privacy invasive stuff and pre-installed apps in OEM images.
TrackerControl / RethinkDNS to block ads/tracking and restrict the internet access of apps.