F-Droid: a free Android app store with only open-source apps
F-Droid is a free app store for Android that lists only open-source apps. It says it needs no account and shows no ads.
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F-Droid logo by William Theaker, Robert Martinez and Andrew Nayenko, CC BY-SA 3.0. Unchanged image from the official artwork repository. Independent guide, not affiliated.
Official app screenshot
What it is
F-Droid is an app store for Android phones that only lists free and open-source apps. Its About page says apps on F-Droid are free and open source, "they respect your privacy" and anyone can see their source code. You install the F-Droid app, then browse, search and install apps inside it. It is not an AI tool. We included it because it is a free tool from an official source.
Is it free?
Yes. The About page says "You don't have to pay to use F-Droid and we don't show ads". The Donations page says F-Droid is powered by donations, which are optional. The F-Droid app is licensed under the GNU GPL v3 or later (listing for F-Droid Basic). Individual apps are free to download too, though each app sets its own terms and some may ask for donations.
How it is different from Google Play
- No account needed. The About page says no accounts are needed to download apps and that F-Droid does not track what you install.
- Only free software. The inclusion policy says every app in the main repository must be free, libre and open-source software. It forbids proprietary tracking and advertising libraries such as Google Play Services and Firebase.
- Built from source. The policy says F-Droid builds apps from their public source code. The FAQ says each package is built in a fresh, isolated virtual machine, and that building and signing are separate.
- Warning labels. F-Droid marks apps with "anti-features" such as Ads, Tracking, Known Vulnerability and Non-Free Network Services. The anti-features page says apps marked Tracking are hidden by default in the app and can be shown in settings.
- Updates. The Get F-Droid page says F-Droid notifies you when updates are available, and that Android asks you to confirm each app update.
How to get it
- It is not on Google Play. The FAQ says that is because Google Play is proprietary and because F-Droid, as a competing app store, is against Google's terms.
- The Get F-Droid page says most people should download the official F-Droid APK from f-droid.org and install it. Android will ask you to allow installation from unknown sources for the app you use to open the file.
- Only download it from f-droid.org. The site also has instructions to verify the download.
- The F-Droid Basic listing says version 2.0.2 (added 12 October 2026) needs Android 7.0 or newer. Basic has a reduced feature set, for example no nearby share and no panic feature. Older F-Droid versions exist for older Android versions, listed on the "Running on old Android versions" page.
- F-Droid is for Android. We found no iPhone version.
Privacy and data
- F-Droid says it does not track what you install and needs no account.
- Each app has its own privacy practices. The anti-features labels are meant to warn you, but we did not check any individual app.
- The FAQ itself says F-Droid is a small community project to use at your own risk, and that you should be careful about the permissions apps request, as with apps from anywhere else. If in doubt, do not install.
What to know first
- The choice of apps is smaller than Google Play. The FAQ says apps are left out if they are not free software.
- Google Play Protect may show a warning when you install the F-Droid APK. A forum reply from the F-Droid community says you can tap "More info" and then "Install anyway". That is a community post, not official documentation, so decide for yourself.
- Banking and other apps that rely on Google services may not be on F-Droid. We did not check any specific app.
India
- We found no India-specific restriction on the pages we read.
Frequently asked questions
Is F-Droid free?
Yes. It has no ads and no account. Donations are optional.
Is it on Google Play?
No. You download the APK from f-droid.org.
Is it AI?
No. It is an app store. We included it because it is a free tool from an official source.
Sources: About, FAQ, Get F-Droid, Inclusion Policy, Anti-Features, Donations, Security Model, F-Droid Basic, Old Android versions. Checked 15 October 2026.
Logo: F-Droid logo by William Theaker, Robert Martinez and Andrew Nayenko, CC BY-SA 3.0 or GPLv3+ (Wikimedia Commons, File:F-Droid Logo 4.svg). Independent guide, not affiliated.
Scoped recheck 23 October 2026: official homepage. F-Droid still describes itself as a Free and Open Source (FOSS) Android app repository. Added the project's own store screenshot from the GPL-3.0 client repository as figure and page cover, and repaired the logo slot, which had shown a generic GitLab icon instead of the F-Droid logo. No fact changes. Other claims retain their original source-check date. Original publication date unchanged.