Torsten Grote

#FreeSoftware activist interested in topics of technology-enabled social and political change.

Email + XMPP: t at grobox dot de
Blog: https://blog.grobox.de/
Gitlab: https://gitlab.com/grote
pronouns: he/him

Public Key

npub1a50hz9f7fryc6z6mvdd86xzgpfamhaphw2kts9ke5r4r02up546qgsevl6

NIP-05 Address

[email protected]

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsw68m3z5ly3jvdpddkxknarpyq57am7smh9t9czmv6p63h4wq62aqprpmhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuumwdae8gtnnda3kjctvqy28wumn8ghj7un9d3shjtnyv9kh2uewd9hsqp9uc6

Publishing to

relay.snort.social

relay.damus.io

nos.lol

Author Public Key

npub1a50hz9f7fryc6z6mvdd86xzgpfamhaphw2kts9ke5r4r02up546qgsevl6

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Last Notes

2026-04-13 17:01:59 UTC

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I'd say use the new app for a week and then let me know how much you are really missing it.

2026-04-13 16:58:07 UTC

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It sure felt good, but is doom scrolling F-Droid maybe also an addictive anti-pattern that gave you endorphins when suddenly something new popped up? Maybe we need to build more chilled tech that just does its job. You can still force-update individual repos, if you really need to.

2026-04-13 16:30:21 UTC

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yes, it does more reliable auto-updates now: https://gitlab.com/fdroid/fdroidclient/-/work_items/3171

2026-04-10 18:25:02 UTC

Big news: F-Droid 2.0 is now also available as an alpha for users of regular #fdroid. You can opt-in to receiving those updates:
https://assets.chaos.social/media_attachments/files/116/381/806/080/477/952/original/a1aab20f91ec8835.mp4

2026-04-01 16:20:55 UTC

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do you really think we would hide something as essential as updates from the new version? Updates for your apps will be shown in "My Apps" if available.

2026-03-19 17:24:40 UTC

Google has news on what you will need to do for still being able to sideload apps:
* enable developer options
* confirm that you are not tricked
* restart phone and re-authenticate
* wait one day
* confirm with biometrics that you know what you are doing
* decide if you only want unrestricted installs for 1 week or forever
* confirm that you accept the risks
* enjoy the few apps that still have developers motivated to develop for a user-base willing to put up with this
https://goo.gle/advance-flow
https://assets.chaos.social/media_attachments/files/116/257/013/453/251/722/original/96cc009e66012b03.png

2026-02-26 23:36:56 UTC

The @npub1vwv…cqgs VPN app for Android is now available in @npub1mtr…trt0 and therefore guaranteed to be fully Free Software, rebuilt from source.
https://assets.chaos.social/media_attachments/files/116/139/557/933/135/369/original/15cadc8cb9655a98.png

2026-02-22 21:28:30 UTC

I made a (ugly) page showing the most downloaded apps from @npub1mtr…trt0 servers: https://grote.gitlab.io/fdroid-metrics-distilled/
It exposes some JSON endpoints as well.

2026-01-25 18:17:00 UTC

F-Droid Basic 2.0 alpha is now available for early testing. Feedback is encouraged and appreciated. More information in the blog post: https://f-droid.org/2026/01/24/fdroid-basic-2.0-alpha.html
#fdroid
https://assets.chaos.social/media_attachments/files/115/957/181/604/147/596/original/c53141e7b912424e.jpeg

2026-01-21 11:10:48 UTC

The merge request for @npub1mtr…trt0 2.0 is in. The goal is a first alpha for F-Droid Basic in time for @npub1yau…atjv
https://gitlab.com/fdroid/fdroidclient/-/merge_requests/1607

2025-10-08 10:09:46 UTC

"Google is supposed to begin distributing third-party app stores inside the Play Store and mirror Play Store content in other stores."
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/10/supreme-court-refuses-to-pause-play-store-changes-while-google-appeals-antitrust-case/
Should @npub1mtr…trt0 be added to Google Play?

2025-09-18 23:46:05 UTC

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Android published new APIs that seem to confirm that your phone will phone home when you install apps. It will refuse installation when you are offline or developer got blocked by Google:
https://developer.android.com/reference/android/content/pm/PackageInstaller#DEVELOPER_VERIFICATION_FAILED_REASON_NETWORK_UNAVAILABLE

2025-08-26 23:59:17 UTC

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The @npub12zw…c76f has some uncomfortable Questions About Android Developer Verification for Google: https://commonsware.com/blog/2025/08/26/uncomfortable-questions-android-developer-verification.html

2025-08-26 13:43:45 UTC

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Google asks what we think of their plans to block Android app installs outside of Google Play (unless the developers let Google verify their identity and pay a fee).
Want to tell them your opinion, just submit this form:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfN3UQeNspQsZCO2ITkdzMxv81rJDEGGjO-UIDDY28Rz_GEVA/viewform?usp=dialog

2025-08-26 13:29:09 UTC

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Under-reported detail: If you don't pay a fee to Google, they limit how many people can install your apps and how many apps you are allowed to have.
Source: https://developer.android.com/developer-verification/guides/android-developer-console

2025-08-26 10:22:15 UTC

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In the past, when books were censored and forbidden, people could still print them in their basements and spread them. Everybody who got their hands on one, could read it. This won't be possible anymore in our new digital age.

2025-08-26 10:17:54 UTC

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People saying "But I use a degoogled custom ROM, so I won't be affected" are missing the point. Apps not on Google Play are already a niche. Banning them on most people's devices is a big issue, even if some people can still escape.
Also the general trend of Google becoming more closed may make even custom ROMs impossible eventually.

2025-08-26 10:08:46 UTC

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Unfortunately, developers on Google Play are already used to this system and people have accepted Apple, so I this will be a hard fight. Digital ecosystems being closed "to keep us safe" isn't seen as a bad thing.

2025-08-26 10:05:16 UTC

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We need to fight Google's new ID requirement for app developers. It isn't like showing ID at the airport. More like showing it at the printing press and only IDed authors are allowed to print books.
What Google doesn't talk about is that they build this ID system to ban developers and their apps.

2025-08-25 17:28:54 UTC

Google won't allow you to install Android apps whose developers' identity Google hasn't verified. Starting in 2026 in some countries and in 2027 everywhere: https://www.androidauthority.com/android-developer-verification-requirements-3590911/

2025-08-14 19:56:19 UTC

Check out my progress on the new @npub1mtr…trt0 app and let me know what you think of this early prototype.
Thanks to @npub1n8y…l96n and @npub1dk0…k0wd for supporting this work! https://f-droid.org/en/2025/04/29/mobifree-client-funding.html #fdroid
https://assets.chaos.social/media_attachments/files/115/028/861/981/392/752/original/448ef158d700b961.mp4

2025-06-12 12:44:55 UTC

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Congrats! Why does it need native code? Is this a Flutter/React thing?

2025-04-26 23:35:09 UTC

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About and maybe even Account could go into the top right overflow menu.

2025-01-18 12:00:02 UTC

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I ran first mailbox setup in xterm instead of my default terminal and its font worked well for scanning. May need delete current account if yours is already set up.
@npub1sh9…r3ez

2025-01-18 00:45:34 UTC

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Showing the qrcode with xterm allowed me to scan it with
@npub1sh9…r3ez

2024-10-19 14:32:35 UTC

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Note that @npub1mtr…trt0 can't build apps hosted on codeberg anymore due to this. Its buildserver clones the repo for each app and soon gets 429.

2024-09-24 20:06:00 UTC

Thanks to support from @npub1dk0…k0wd and @npub1xwa…75q9, I was able to improve Seedvault's app backup. Taking inspiration from @npub18j3…w0c9 and @npub1aey…y08m 2, backups now use de-duplication, compression and chunking - resulting in smaller and faster backups. Snapshots allow you to restore previous states of your device. Available on free Androids soon.
Docs: https://github.com/grote/seedvault/blob/app-dedup-research/doc/README.md#seedvault-app-backup-repository-documentation
PR: https://github.com/seedvault-app/seedvault/pull/750