The reason why people are starting to consider open source alternatives is mostly because of the transparent privacy and security benefits they provide. While everyone isn’t able to look through the source code, programmers who are capable can access the code any time. Open source software can be shared and modified because its design can be accessed publicly. Source code is the code that computer programmers can manipulate to change that how a piece of software (an application or a program) works. If a programmer has access to the source code of the application, he can improve that program by inserting features to it or by fixing components that don’t always work in an appropriate manner.
Why do people prefer using open source android apps?
Nowadays, open source applications have become critical for almost every organization and today everything needs open source apps, be it operating or contact management systems, telecommunication systems, personal productivity applications, inventory and accounting. Here is a list of the benefits of opting for open source android apps.
- Open source software enables you to use it from any location. There is no need to monitor or track license compliance.
- Using open source apps can help you minimize your expenses. You can save on maintenance fees as well as on licensing fees.
- Open source support is available for free and can be easily accessed via online communities.
- Open source apps can be easily scaled because the source are public
- Security and privacy are more transparent on open source apps
What is Fossdroid?
On the Google Play Store and other communities where android apps are launched, it’s difficult to know which games and apps are free/open source apps. The aim of Fossdroid is to provide open source and free apps on the Android platform. On the right side of the main page, Fossdroid has assigned a separate page for each app, containing download count, description and links to the main site
Pros:
- This platform is the best place to find FOSS apps.
- The interface is highly usable and very sleek, and as attractive as the iPhone app store and Google Play Store.
- In fact, Fossdroid is a well-implemented index of a directory of open source Android apps, Featuring bug trackers, source links and compiled APK downloads.
- This community is aimed at satisfying all your requests for source code across a wide category of apps.
- It also has a comment section, which is powered by Disqus, providing users the ability to review the app.
Cons:
- The most important thing that is missing in Fossdroid is the app’s preview screenshots.
- Beside this, the comment section of Fossdroid is empty for most apps because the dominant app reviews and rating still happen on Google Play Store.
If you are an Android and oepn source enthusiast then you have to go through and consider alternative to your current applications. And as they are open source you can get more involved in their development and support better features and security.
