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It is in the file manager, but where depends on where your browser put it.

Also, if you have the F-Droid app installed, I would only accept updates from there, and then it is taken care of.
Ignore updates from other appstores for apps you get from F-Droid. (If they are not from F-Droid, the same security measures are not taken with each update.)

If you try to install an older version, you will be prompted to uninstall the current version.
So that would be one you want to delete instead of install.

If you try to install the current or a newer version, then you will be asked if you want to update.

So it will not be an issue.

If you use the installer I linked to above, it will give a list of the apks (and xapks) on the device.
This way you don't need to worry about where the files have been downloaded to.

When you select one, one of the two choices will appear, as well as an option to delete.
Deletion only applies to the apk, not the app.

Even though it will not matter because you can use the above procedure, you asked how to tell what version of an app you have now:

Settings
Apps
Show all
(app name)
Storage
(number underneath name)
 
At this point I' afraid I'm all confused. I know you wrote to download only from F-Droid and that was what I thought I did.

Now I went to F-Droid on my phone and it shows screens of things to download. I selected Settings at the bottom of this screen. Then under About F-Droid I selected Manage Installed apps. That displays a list consisting of F-Droid, Simple Notes, the two apps in my previous post (TalkBack and UnifiedNip) that I don't where they came from, and DuckDuckGo, which I had downloaded a long time ago from google play.

1) Why are these two I didn't knowingly download listed here? 2) Why is F-Droid listed within F-Droid itself? 3) Why is DuckDuckGo listed there when I didn't download it from F-Droid?
4) If I select Simple Notes from this list - it says it's version 6.10.1 - I get a screen with a choice to uninstall or open. Is this the correct version? If yes, I still can't get it to be displayed on the apps screen.

At this point should I un-install Simple Notes and try again to do a fresh download/installation from F-Droid?
 
I will try to answer your questions one at a time, in order.

They are good questions, and they seem to come from an unfamiliarity with F-Droid.
F-Droid is different and can be strange. It took a while for me to adjust to it.

The two you did not knowingly download? They are most likely also available on F-Droid as well. I didn't check, but this can happen often.
How they came to be on the device, I cannot tell, but TalkBack sounds like some built in system app, as does the Unified Nip.
(I did not check any of this, but I remember TalkBack as a system app on an older device. I tried it once, and it was sheer hell to turn it off and I wanted rid of it immediately.)

F-Droid is listed within F-Droid itself, because you can update it that way. I prefer it this way, because it avoids the alpha and beta versions that may come out in other app stores, but be buggy. There is a setting in F-Droid to prevent unstable versions from being offered.

Duckduckgo is (for certain) also available on F-Droid.

If the only options available are uninstall or open, then you have the most recent available version from F-Droid.
Update would be the option instead of open if there was an update available.

Any apps that appear in F-Droid that you got elsewhere, personally I would get the F-Droid version.

I have found multiple apps that seem to be the same, but have added junk (here's looking at Google) if they come from other sources.
 
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Thank you puppykickr for your answers, your time and your patience with whom you correctly described as being unfamiliar with F-Droid.

As you recommended, I deleted DuckDuck that I had downloaded from google play. But I can't find a search screen in F-Droid to search for and download DuckDuck from there. The bottom of the screen has Latest, Categories, Nearby, Updates, Settings - but neither there nor on the top is there a place to enter a name for searching for something to download.

And I also still don't see how to set an icon for Simple Notes in the apps screen. The only way I can find it and see it is when I go to F-Droid (in apps screen) -> Settings -> About F-Droid -> Manage Installed Apps.

I would much appreciate your continued help with this.
 
https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.duckduckgo.mobile.android/

I would like to mention that although I use the Duckduckgo search engine, I do not like the browser they have made.

Personally, due to it's (very!) limited abilities, I choose to use my customized Duckduckgo search engine settings on a better browser, Lightning.

Actually, I use it and a few derivatives of it, but my search engine settings are the same for all.

Try it for yourself, and compare the two.
If I am wrong, please tell me.
Yes, I do go on and on about Lightning- but when people try it they are amazed.
(It has converted at least one Firefox fan that I can verify!)

Use this as the Homepage setting.
(copy/paste the whole link)
Delete what is the homepage first.

https://duckduckgo.com/?kae=t&kg=p&...=b&kv=-1&kak=-1&kax=-1&kaq=-1&kap=-1&kao=-1&k

In fact, you can even save this link as a bookmark, and use it in any browser.

Lightning offers unlimited tabs and unlimited bookmarks.
Also, there are simple but elaborate settings for security, display, and other features.

Not to mention the built in ad-blocker.
 
Please elaborate more on what you want and need with an icon for Simple Notes.

I don't think I understand what you are in need of with this.
 
To find an app in the F-Droid app, open the app and you will see this:

Screenshot_20220213-095005.png


Tap the magnifying glass in the bottom right.
This symbol is universal across most apps and sights as a 'search' icon.
Yes, it does look like it is an app icon for an app down there.
(Messy UI, in my opinion.)
But, if you scroll up, you will see that it remains in position.

Screenshot_20220213-095005_1.png


Once you tap the search icon, you will see this:

Screenshot_20220213-095453.png


Tap the search bar at the top, and your keyboard will appear.

My issue with F-Droid at this point is that the name you search for must be exact.
(The F-Droid site gives a little leyway here, but the app does not. More messy UI.)

To be fair, if you type slow enough, F-Droid will start predicting apps from what you have typed.
This can be (very) helpful if you are unsure about nanes or spelling of apps.
 
On the F-Droid website, to search for apps, once you have opened the homepage, scoll down untill you see this:

Screenshot_20220213-100248.png


Tap the empty search bar and enter what you are looking for.

A list of apps that 'match' will appear, and select the one you want.

That is exactly how I got the link for Duckduckgo for you above.

Unfortunately, the F-Droid app has been made to make it difficult to share links for apps.

That is why you will notice that I use the website when sharing links to apps.

To make matters worse, some apps are not available (on the site or the app) unless you have certain app repositories installed, so then I must search GitHub and get a direct download link.
(Did I mention anything about a messy UI?)

These can seem scary to someone that doesn't know me, because as soon as the link is tapped, it immediately opens your browser and asks if you want to download the app.
 
Thank you puppykickr for the detailed "hand-holding" instructions ;)
I understand now about the magnifying glass - yes, before I thought it was an app - and was able to download DuckDuck. I tried to download Simple Notes again but it saw that I had it and it asked if I wanted to update it to 6.10.2. I said update, it says it was doing that but F-Droid keeps showing that 6.10.2 update is available. Yet when I open Simple Notes it's showing what is new in 6.10.2, which means that it is updated. So something is amiss in F-Droid that it did the update but still thinks I need to do that update. And yes, the UI is pretty bad - had you not said that F-Droid is safe and good that UI would have chased me away from it. Good part is that Simple Notes now shows up as an icon on the apps screen so I can use it.

Perhaps when I'm more comfortable with things being all right I'll try playing with Lightning.

On a separate issue, how do I turn off Google play protect so that it doesn't keep getting in the middle when I install things from F-Droid? I tell it its OK but I'd rather it wasn't interfering at all.
 
If I remember right, Play Protect is a setting inside the PlayStore app.

I hate Google so much, that I disable this app (among many others) immediately upon getting a new device.

I think now you have to tap your avatar in the upper right to find the settings.

Also be sure to turn off auto update, as it may very well interfere with apps from F-Droid.

F-Droid may need to be closed and reopened for the update thingy to show properly.

Also messy are the notifications from the F-Droid app- they are very busy, and so I only have the downloading notification on and the rest are off.

Here is a link that will add some 800 apps to F-Droid for you.

When you tap the link, an open with menu should open, and F-Droid will be an option.
Select that, and then you will be asked if you want to add that repository to F-Droid.
Tap yes, and then wait for the repositories to update- it will take a few minutes at most.

This is where many cool apps are hiding!

https://apt.izzysoft.de/fdroid/repo...7B6D966BE743BF0EEE49C2561B9BA39073711F628937A
 
Also, when inside the F-Droid app, you can always swipe down on the screen and refresh the repositories.

This can also fix an update notification gone awry.

If this continues, be sure that Google PlayStore has not updated the app behind your back.
 
Do these repositories reside on the phone, taking up storage? Or does F-Droid on the phone simply link to them so that they can be looked through but they're not downloaded?
 
startac4 said:
Do these repositories reside on the phone, taking up storage? Or does F-Droid on the phone simply link to them so that they can be looked through but they're not downloaded?
Click to expand...

Actually, I think it can go either way.
The apps are not placed onto the device unless you download them, but the info may well be.

I know that when I have a small memory device, F-Droid remains small, but if it has the space, it can grow to be fairly large.

I have seen a cache of ~500MB.

That is why after I update apps (once a week) I use LTE Cleaner.

Be sure to go through the settings, and it is vital that you select Auto Whitelist!
Also, it is good practice to sort and move wanted files onto the SD card before any cleaning is done.

https://f-droid.org/en/packages/theredspy15.ltecleanerfoss/
 
I expect the Auto whitelist is an LTE setting. As for moving the files to SD card to protect them, I expect you are referring only to apps, not to music, pictures, contacts etc. How do you move the apps? I don't see them as files, not even when the phone is connected to my computer and I look at the folders there.
 
Yes, the auto whitelist is a setting in LTE Cleaner.

No, I am saying to move all pictures, books, PDFs, videos, and any other media on the SD card.
(I refer to that all as a whole by files, and/or data. Sorry for any confusion.)

You should not ever move apps to the SD card, unless it is mearly the apk of the apps- this is just the core of an app, used to install it onto the device.

Apps on a SD card causes multiple issues, and so the feature was depricated years ago.

Is it still possible?
Yes.
Is it worth it?
Generally, no.
 
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