We always talk about cool new Android apps on the Play Store, but here's a statement: open source apps are the coolest because they have the community the code is publicly accessible big boys don't track you in these apps and these apps are mostly free.
So, here are the top 8 open-source Android apps for your phone that aren't very well known, but as I said, they're at the top -
1. Florisboard
The first step is Florisboard, which is an open-source keyboard focused on privacy. With apps like Gboard, you always know that Google is tracking you all the time and that's something no one wants.
Now, this is where open source keyboard apps come in and Florisboard is the best of all.
Mostly it has all the features you see in apps like gboard or even swiftkey like a number line, one-handed mode, typing with gestures, custom height built-in clipboard, etc, it even has teams including a gboard if you feel its lack of it.
I also like the options on the top bar, there is select all cut, copy and paste and you press that and you get the undo, redo, and more buttons, it's amazing now that this is a keyboard app that supports most global languages, but there are no regional languages so this is one thing to know.
2. Tracker Control
So iPhones have this cool 'ask app not to track' feature that even if you're an Android fan, you still have to enjoy it. I mean I know it hurts but let's say thanks now Android doesn't have this feature obviously but you can still stop trackers on apps with traffic control.
This is a great open source app that lets you control the data collection, tracking, and apps.
when you turn this on, it starts working as a VPN tracking what network communication apps they are using and then splits those trackers into essential social networks, etc.,
So if you see a third-party tracker or something weird, you can simply block it.
I also like the fact that you can also completely block internet access for specific apps and there is also a traffic log that shows all apps using the data and what IP addresses they are connecting to so you can see if they are any viewer servers that are connected.
now this will also help you see if any apps are using data or tracking you in the background.
3. Prism
Prism is an app that has been super impressed at first, unlike many open source apps it doesn't have an outdated UI. I mean it looks modern and great and the wallpapers are amazing.
you can see that there are so many categories of wallpaper, be it flat shapes, AMOLED, stock, abstract, etc.
and it's all free, plus I like the resource tool if you tap each wallpaper to get a different color version you can edit wallpapers with different filters including a blur filter which I think many of you will appreciate it. Lastly, it has super cool community home screen settings with wallpaper icon pack and widget apps.
4. Video Transcoder
There are times when we need to convert a video for better compatibility and you know which apps on the Play Store are weird, they have these great in-app purchases, full-page ads, not a great experience.
well, this is an open-source app called video transcoder. it has a generic name and also a very generic UI, but it works well as it uses the open-source program FFmpeg and allows you to change formats like mp4, avi, WebM, and more.
you can also change codec, fps, resolution, and even change audio settings now. I've even experimented with 4k 60fps videos which work fine and one more thing you can also use to extract audio from videos which I think will be very useful for many people.
5. Lawnchair 12
Now I know that Lawnchair is a very popular launcher app that brings all the pixel experience look and feels on any android phone.
now for those who don't know Lawnchair, it's an open-source app and I'm not talking about the Lawnchair 2 launcher which is available in the play store, I'm talking about the Lawnchair 12 which is still in its alpha state, but which brings it all the stuff you experience in pixels looks like it on any Android phone, even phones with older Android versions.
you get the whole material you themed icons the whole Lawnchair UI also changes the accent depending on the wallpaper.
you can just change the wallpaper and see how the accent changes match your app drawer, a pop-up menu on the home screen, folders, etc.
now this is Lawnchair 12 so it's not as fancy as Android 12 but it's nice if you want to get a taste of the pixel stuff and it's free!
6. Material Files
Material Files is open-source, safe, and very clean and this app is very simple and minimalist.
it's great and this supports 'material you' now this is open source for free but along with the usual file manager features my favorite feature in material files is support for multiple windows.
you can open a new window and this will open multiple instances of the application and therefore you can just move files between windows quite easily.
I also like that the app allows you to create shortcuts on your home screen to any files or folders.
7. Aurora Store
Now for people who don't know Aurora Store is an open-source google play store client so that means it's super useful for anyone who wants to do a google or anyone who has a custom rom which does not have the Google services.
Two things I love about this app, it's had a nice update recently and secondly, it's very useful, the UI is now better categorized with proper app sections and there's a new floating search action that's cool, there are also new themes with the pitch-black theme, which is my favorite.
now this new UI is good, but you still get all the useful features of the aurora store, whether it's the app listings that show trackers that the app can download apps without logging in or the ability to change your device to download apps that it might not are available for your phone.
8. Next Track
So I'm going to end this list with a very simple utility application called Next Track. Now, this is an app that lets you do one thing: change tracks via the volume knob.
If you play a song on YouTube when your phone screen is off, you can double click the volume up button to go to the next track, you can also double click the volume down button to go to the previous track.
now, this is something I've seen on many custom ROMs, The next Track app is open source and free to install, but some of its features are blocked by a $2.40 in-app purchase.
Overall this is the list of the coolest open source apps, now all these apps are free and some of them are available on F-droid, but you will find some of them on the play store as well.
if you have any other great open-source apps that you know that we missed out on making sure to comment down below.
