Android mobiles come with a good stock of Google applications and probably many others from the manufacturer, but their privacy management does not stand out among their features. A good practice is therefore to replace some of these applications with open source alternatives that are more careful with your personal data, in addition there are open source apps as good as the ones we list below that won’t cost you a single dollar either.
Organic Maps
Organic Maps is one of those navigation apps which we have previously recommended for its quality: you will be able to see where you are, how to get to your destination by car, on foot, by public transport and even by bicycle. So you don’t need to be aware, it offers voice guidance and even fixed speed cameras.
Also, if you choose to travel abroad without roaming or don’t want to spend data, also you can download maps. The icing on the cake is that it doesn’t track who uses it and there are no ads.
- Free download from Google Play Store.
Brave
The Brave browser is free, open source, feature rich and very privacy conscious. One of its most interesting utilities is that blocks ads and trackers and comes standard with VPN and firewall, ideal for those who travel and use public networks.
For those who are simply looking for a good experience, this is easy to use and very light when browsing.
- Download for free (with in-app purchases) from the Google Play Store.
OsmAnd
If you are looking for a simple navigator, OsmAnd is based on OpenStreetMap, an excellent free and editable online map, and will allow you to use it both online and offline. At first glance, this app looks like a simplified version of Google Maps, but if you dig a little deeper, you’ll find that it comes with some useful features.
So you can learn about points of interest, navigate to different points, it has voice guidance and even some sort of street view. In case you are planning a trip, you can embed notes, audios and even photos in your bookmarks.
- Download for free (with in-app purchases) from the Google Play Store.
K-9 Mail
If you want to quit Gmail, K-9 Mail is an email client that supports different accounts and supports high customization. Free and ad-free, it lets you set up notifications for each account to know where they come from and also show them in different inboxes.
The most interesting thing about this app is how do you take care of privacy, since it does not perform tracking, it supports email encryption and signing. Of course, its design is not the most refined in the world.
- Free download from Google Play Store.
VLC
Few presentations need VLC, a most versatile media player and that you will find available on multiple platforms, whether desktop or mobile. The best thing about this application is the wide range of compatible audio and video formats and its customization options, without neglecting its intuitive use. Also, you can use it to stream to other devices, play videos as if it were audio, or embed subtitles.
- Free download from Google Play Store.
SimpleNote
Say goodbye to Google Keep with SimpleNotean alternative for taking notes that does much the same thing: store your writings in the cloud and that you can pin, tag, share, edit, make lists…
Probably the most remarkable function is that of aadd people to collaborate using their addresses and, since it is synchronized in real time, you can access it from different devices without having to back up.
- Download for free (with in-app purchases) from the Google Play Store.
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In Xataka Android | The 15 Best Open Source Android Apps
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