Simple Mobile Tools That Don't Spy On You

[@pilifpec]

i never thought i would watch someone reviewing some basic apps that do just what they supposed to do

[@BigYoshi826]

Stay tuned for his review of ls, rm, cd, and mkdir

[@spacecadet_01]

truly a magical moment

[@kazuhiramiller2121]

The future is now

[@jerycaryy4342]

@@BigYoshi826 funny thing is i'd watch it and probably enjoy it too.

[@macaronivirus5913]

mkdir wants to know your loctation enter credit kard number to allow acecs

[@cbs1710]

IMPORTANT UPDATE, 2023/12: Creator and maintainer of the apps just sold the whole app suite to a scummy company! Get off them ASAP, stay on an earlier version, or find an alternative/replacement! Check Brodie Robertson's latest video (as of writing) on the summary of the situation.

[@hyplayer]

They are still 100% open source tho

[@PhilipMarcYT]

Their calculator app is trash now. Way too slow to open and has ads.

[@roflchopter11]

​​@@hyplayerThey're required to be, but probably aren't.

[@BobSockTwo]

They're paid now (

[@gamagama69]

fossify has good replacements i feel like

[@Matthew-.-]

Would love a ROM that just has all these installed by default.

[@integre23]

I would love a ROM for the vivo y91

[@okamiboi]

There's already AOSP apps that do the same thing, even tho these ones are way mose useful lmao

[@oneironaut2209]

Arrow os

[@dgigantino]

@@integre23 vivo bootloaders aren't unlockable.

[@TheRailroad99]

LineageOS has pretty good stock apps for most things. (Calender, camera, music etc.). I would say they are better than those. However the notes and drawing apps are pretty nice. (Even though the design of them is pretty bad).

[@klwthe3rd]

Awesome video. I work in IT Security and I'm glad to be shown open source alternatives for use by me and my clients.

[@aninstantramen9994]

I'm just waiting for that perfect linux phone to come out man. It feels like it's so close with companies like frameworks popping up, devs caring more about linux after steam deck, and people caring more about their privacy. Sooooo closeeeee

[@ibrasome4492]

@Zelená Žaba Google pixel 6 is the last phone I'd expect to run Linux, since Google owns Android and they showcase the latest features in the pixel phones

[@StellaEFZ]

Companies caring more about linux* Devs usually prefer to do all their work on linux, it's one of the reasons crosscompiling is so popular

[@notafbihoneypot8487]

@@ibrasome4492 the pixel is one of the phone's that has the best support to unlock the bootloader and put other OS on them

[@ibrasome4492]

@@notafbihoneypot8487 Well yeah but that doesn't mean it will have Linux. It will be quite ironic if it did have it because google would definitely prefer it running their own OS 'android' on their own phone

[@namesurname4666]

@Zelená Žaba a chinese tablet distro can already run android apps fine

[@ondrikb]

The apps have been sold. Thankfully, there's a fork available, but I'd still heavily recommend making an update either as a separate video, a community post or just a pinned comment.

[@erc3338]

PLEASE TELL ME THE FORK FOR THE LOVE OF GOD

[@ondrikb]

@@erc3338 It's called Fossify. The name is quite bad but the apps are the same

[@raj18x]

get fossify! its a way better alternative as they are made from the same developer and it offers way more customization...

[@erc3338]

@@raj18x do they have a gallery?

[@Alias_Anybody]

@@raj18x Fossify is the fork and spiritual successor. Though I still recommend to install the version from FDroid, because even though the new guy seems to be upstanding, you never know.

[@N.S.A.]

What open source software allows me to remote access my phone, if my phone belongs to other people in other countries?

[@daklhs6460]

N.S.A. kinda sus

[@archygrey9093]

Hmmmmmmmmmm

[@sohn7767]

Don’t use it. It’s proprietary garbage

[@window.location]

Ask Tim Cook he will give premium access to any phone

[@GreatClickbait]

hold on I thought the overseas stuff was the CIA's job.

[@TheUnkow]

For many of these, there are better alternatives but the fact you can find them all under one group is not to be underestimated. Can recommend Calculator, SMS, Gallery, Files, Contacts. One of the good things is the developer actually takes time to reply to suggestions and messages and keeps it's apps up to date with android versions and this is a huge plus.

[@en7998]

does he though

[@TheUnkow]

@@en7998 He did for me at the time, I assume he is still active. He personnaly used to reply both to email and google play reviews.

[@TheUnkow]

@Pink_Joji You should probably ask Google about that. :) In any case the process if possible, is not simple. Many would have caught them in the act if it was obvious. The biggest problem with Big Tech spying, is when you allow or accept terms and conditions that you are unaware of what they are doing. That is why many people love free and open source licences like the ones accepted by the free software foundation. In many cases, the Big Tech puts small lines in the terms and conditions, which allow them to process your data (text, audio, video etc). So if you don't allow them, it's very hard for them to track you, however, if you allow them or if they have serious security bugs, they or someone else would gain access. Samsung for example, has Galaxy Store (which you cannot remove unless you install another OS) to install whatever apps they want all the Samsung users to have, kinda like Google Play can update itself whether you like it or not. These updates often cripple the phones, so once fast and performace ready devices, become bloated, slowed etc. That is why many people install Lineage OS on devices like Xiaomi, Samsung etc.

[@ArchiveWatchman]

Completely unrelated, but is no one gonna talk about how our man listens to Jedi Mind Tricks? You have my upmost respect, anyone who likes Underground Hip Hop has the best taste in Rap.

[@folksurvival]

That's still a low standard.

[@ArchiveWatchman]

@@folksurvival How exactly? Elaborate...

[@AgentChaseSK]

Considering recent events, this recommendation aged like milk

[@raj18x]

lmao really istg

[@bustercasey3806]

Pretty based music choices. I got jumped at a jmt/nonphixion show when I was 15, but it was a good show.

[@foggs2275]

You missed an opportunity with the contacts app having Luke Smith #1- #22

[@juanandrescastillofuenmayo6619]

Hahahahahaha Luke Smith Distrotube Just "Linus" and let people piece together if it's Tech Tips or Torvalds

[@Winnetou17]

He didn't missed the opportunity. It has all those contacts... on the SIM.

[@mataznuiz]

I've been using a lot of these for close to a year now. IMO, many of the Simple Mobile Tools apps aren't the best option (e.g. the notes app and file manager; compared to other FOSS apps obviously), though I haven't tried all of them in a while (voice recorder seems improved now as you've shown). Obviously the point of these apps is to be simple so I'm just biased against the specific applications where I need a bit of additional functionality. For my purposes, the gallery, messages, contacts, flashlight and draw apps are great.

[@terrydaktyllus1320]

The apps purely follow the "traditional" UNIX philosophy of doing one simple job but (hopefully) doing it well.

[@newblue3256]

what's a good file manager?

[@myfavouritecolorisgreen]

@@newblue3256 material files. it's foss and supports material you.

[@johng.4959]

Gee, imagine that!!! No Spyware and basic (Needed) permissions! Been a fan of this developer for a long time. What a concept!

[@avcat1209]

I have used some of these. After trying them to see if they work for my needs (they do), I bought the pro versions. The dev seems like a good person, and someone else commented on here that the dev is also a sponsor of Linux Mint. That would make him an even more awesome person.

[@drumetul_dacic]

The apps just got sold to an ad-ware company...

[@dripfeeder]

Why does this sound like an ad spot

[@goawqebt6931]

Aaaand they have sold out to a crappy company

[@MrGohan8000]

Not sure if you'd care to review, but quill note on F-Droid is a pretty nice one for phone note taking

[@InvisibleManCZ]

I already use half of them and can say that they're awesome. Anyone who loves customization will fall in love.

[@ozzieggg]

rip, these tools have been hijacked. You shouls pin a top comment saying to avoid them until forked, or go for f-droid versions

[@minecrafter023]

Using standard notes and the calendar from simple mobile tools. Works mighty fine!

[@whydoyouaskdude]

Unrelated to the video, but how can normies best support Linux aside from donating? And if donating, where is the money most effective? To the kernel team? The [your favorite Distro] team? Love your vids. Been binge watching most of them. Keep up the excellent work

[@derekschmidt8995]

Honestly donating to open source software like office suites, video editors, Daws, art software, and other stuff like that is the best way to support getting people on Linux since right now the main barrier of entry is the lack of professional/high end tools of open source nature right now

[@gaurabgain2782]

what normies can do is to spread linux, by telling their friends or family members to use foss instead of proprietary binaries...

[@NuryPPanaligan]

Reporting bugs or requesting features. Just say what is the problem, that's it.

[@Bagginsess]

@@gaurabgain2782 this, the more people that use it the more will donate.

[@Vysair]

@@gaurabgain2782 high entry barrier

[@knghtbrd]

Before I started using Graphene, I used a lot of Simple tools. Some of them are too simplistic … but a lot of them were just right. I still use a few of them.

[@MGAWorkouts]

I have bought them all, great set of simplistic, no bs apps.

[@bvbianca]

Have a nice day, Kenny :)

[@azatecas]

the simple clock app can be unreliable when you set alarms, i gave it all permissions and there were a few instances where the phone killed the app and never sounded

[@zecmikoko1172]

I am really proud that the creator of this suite is from my country

[@nischalofchrist]

I've been using simple mobile tools for years now. They get better and better with updates.

[@fawzanfawzi9993]

I've been using these tools since I was in Middle School. Great tools

[@hellomine2849]

me too. I used Simple Calendar because the stock one didn't allow me to set events that repeat for a specified number of weeks

[@feisaljauharitufail]

For camera, i still stick with opencamera. Besides that, thanks for the heads up.

[@crusaderanimation6967]

Well, that one aged like fine milk.

[@lucamateipintilie7006]

Great video and apps no doubt, but lineage OS already comes with a dialer and contracts apps. Is there any significant difference between using the preinstalled ones and the simple suit?

[@NicholasHenkey]

He's reviewing specifically F-Droid apps in this video. LineageOS uses standard "Google Contacts" it's OSS but possibly spooky

[@Ozzymand]

Been using these for years now. The gallery is simply better than the built in one.

[@ariahiroshi64]

unfortunately with the rights being sold this video aged poorly

[@ariahiroshi64]

time to fork

[@j.k.4479]

Fossify is a fork of these apps. You Apps are also a good alternative.

[@ivano5079]

I know that it's completely unrelated to the subject of the video but... Everyone these days makes videos about how monero is technically and practically more secure than other crypto but only a few shows a way to buy the actual coin preserving that anonymity. Would be cool to know how you get your monero outside of donations ( if you actually buy it time to time )

[@6ix157]

You can always mine it, also they're trying to add atomic swaps to deal with that issue.

[@egtegs]

Monero ATMs, if you have one available near you? Or if you have a Bitcoin ATM, buy Bitcoin through it and do an atomic swap to Monero.

[@Cookiekeks]

Just buy it from normal KYI requiring exchanges. They can't link your wallet to your ID

[@6ix157]

@@Cookiekeks They can't link it to your ID, however with the US governments stance on privacy coins right now I wouldn't be surprised if the feds put you on some type of list

[@Cookiekeks]

@@6ix157 Hm yes, but lets be honest that's very paranoid. You could maybe buy a normal coin, mix it, and then exchange it to monero on a crypto only exchange, if you want to avoid that the exchange knows you bought monero

[@radekt.7843]

I already use those... 10/10 not only are they opensource, but with way better ui

[@KaedeDaKae]

Wish Simple Music Player had a folder view option, same with the gallery.

[@CyrusBluebird]

There's a bug with the suite where it thinks f-droid installs think they are Google play installs and bugs you for ratings

[@Akab]

@@AnonymousGentooman Well, tell someone who just wants simple mobile tools to compile stuff from github...

[@hooregi4500]

A "what's on my phone" video would be great

[@Triples1480]

I came across these apps in the past and I still recommend these apps.

[@sherib5752]

If only a debloated iOS existed. That would be very cool.

[@lifebarier]

As far as I recall simple music player does not let you choose your music folder and instead just scans your whole memory which makes it useless.

[@slonkazoid]

Yes! I discovered these apps 3 days ago and they are actually really useful.

[@ducky1681]

LineageOS already has a lot of free and open source tools installed by default, so in my opinion most of these are obsolete. Still great for non-foss roms though!

[@penguingalorigin6341]

I used these for a while, but the lack of customisation made me search for alternatives.

[@luigimaster111]

It's a good suite to reduce bloat, they are pretty lightweight and zippy compared to what's loaded on factory phones.

[@zdanee]

6:30 - and now the FBI has a face to go with the voice :)

[@mrdoognoog]

Used these for a while on my old Kindle Fire, great stuff 👍

[@zukiair3760]

Unrelated to the video but thanks for your videos, I now a happy arch user with a Google pixel with calix os Really enjoy your videos hope you have a good day

[@godarayudhvir]

Musicolet is the best audio player for me so far. and it doesnt spy.

[@nyaasar]

Agreed, yeah.

[@claudiaclaudia7049]

Yessss

[@ThatMfTaika]

Already using these, but its nice to see these getting light shed on them

[@TheMinecraftACMan]

Heya. Do you think you could look into the various options for Linux phones?

[@breinstein519]

Actually, that calculator needs phone access isn't unusual. Some phones have a hidden debug menus when you enter a specific code in the calculator. I had to use it myself some time ago and there are some debug functions that use phonecall capabilities

[@madokalover]

>leftover debug code in final release requires additional privacy permissions The absolute state of proprietary software.

[@plaguis1391]

That doesn't make me feel any better about it

[@nxs_neo]

aged like fine milk

[@LiftedStarfish]

I've been using these for over a year!

[@ladvargleinad7566]

While on the topic, check your current permission settings for Messages, Google Play Music and Google Play Movies.

[@jimmyhopkins1]

Heya mr outlaw are you going to be doing some more lets play on Linux shit , wouldn't mind seeing some more of that .

[@MentalOutlaw]

ya, probably gonna play some more hitman when I have down time.

[@IndifferentBookWorm]

Sadly some of these Simple apps are lacking basic functions and features that the intrusive apps contain (prime example SImple Contacts lack fields like Company/Department and don't support a video call quick action).

[@shotgunmasterQL]

I'll say that I'm one of those weirdos who uses AAC for my music rips, and Android in general isn't great with AAC support. Most songs play okay with stock music players on different phones, and sometimes song length is displayed incorrectly (off by some seconds). But easily the worst thing about AAC on stock Android players is that the players often forget where the song was paused, if you keep it paused for even half a minute, so they restart the song or skip to next song. Even worse, with some longer songs, if you try to go to a specific spot in the song, the player gets confused and just skips the song, or in some extreme cases with really long songs, doesn't even play it at all (as has happened to me with Stratovarius - Elysium. ~18m long, player says 45m, stock Android player skips it, Sony Walkman Android music player app can play it but not fast forward it). And to get to the point, while I use VLC for the more sophisticated EQ settings, the simple music player handles AAC files like a champ. All song lengths are correct, it remembers the spot where I paused the song even for days, and it has no issues with fast forward/selecting a spot in the song (even Elysium works perfectly).

[@Kevin_Anderson]

Is there any particular reason you use AAC over mp3 or FLAC? Also, I'm curious if you would be able to play the files better streaming them from a self-hosted server using a service like Jellyfin. Obviously that requires an internet connection, so it's not the same thing, but it would also save you on storage space.

[@shotgunmasterQL]

@@Kevin_Anderson None really. It started from the Nokia days. My first rips were obviously some 128kbps MP3 files, but Nokia was pushing AAC around that time IIRC (I think the phones had a hardware level decoding support for that), because it was a better and more "efficient" codec, so I ripped newer songs to AAC and noticed a definite increase in sound quality. Since then, it's been mostly a habit and trying to keep all my on the go music in the same format. The new LAME MP3 codec is awesome and sounds great, but I have understood AAC is still "more efficient" and saves space. I don't drag any high quality headphones with me, so I'm not going to hear a difference with FLAC most likely. I do have almost all of my music in FLAC on a USB stick connected to my TV, so I can listen lossless tracks on my receiver and speakers, because there I do notice a difference in sound quality, and secondly my TV also has issues with AAC files (skipping some tracks claiming that they are unsupported, despite being from the same album, from the same batch of rips, long or short doesn't matter, and neither does the naming/odd characters). So yeah, mostly a habit. VLC plays them well enough, as does simple music player. My older phone, which I now use mostly for music, isn't connected to the internet outside of home, so I can't really do streaming with it.

[@timothyhayes9724]

They've been acquired by a company and apparently they're slated to get bad. Anyone have any alternatives?

[@anguswett]

I got a Poco F3 (made by Xiaomi) and the stock calculator app asked me for permission to share my data 😭

[@CCSleep_]

@@Vondra666 their roms are shit, but yeah considering prices of machine I would not regret buying it

[@hikaritsumi2123]

I really like these simple app It's hilarious that some file manager even have ads in it.

[@mical-9066]

This video is obsolete, the apps are now full of ads, and to remove them they're asking OUTRAGEOUS prices 14.99 euro PER WEEK to get the premium version of the SMS app.

More of this type of videos please. I really love this.

[@mrlotus5181]

LineageOS AND Kali nethunter? A man of culture I see...

[@ledgeri]

I hope some - what reasonably should - have a built in backup function... E.g. the notes, calendar, and SMS thingy...

[@phonewithoutquestion80]

I use these. I swear by them. Closest thing to the 4x and below stock apps.

[@ggLP42]

This is clutch I need a non sus voice app

[@CrimeMinister1]

A lot of free ones are paid now

[@kumar_prabhat]

8:18 google's clock app has that functionality, and it does update.

[@yeahgirl11]

7:13-7:19 Hahaha your sense of humor is another reason why we watch this channel lol

[@F76986jhg]

boa noite amigos🇧🇷ツ

[@SrIgort]

Salve compadre ancap 🇧🇷

[@F76986jhg]

@@SrIgort Salve, compatriota otaku🇧🇷

[@leonardoguandalini9977]

Salve

[@gitshell]

Oloko, vai dizer que assiste ancapsu tbm?

[@F76986jhg]

@@gitshell sim, também vejo visão libertária, marco batalha e derivados.

[@ocsanik502]

Mental, since you are a chad termux user, please make a video showing off anlinux's proot distros with desktop environments and window managers.

[@yourfellowhumanbeing2323]

I hope I can make apps and programs for the security and privacy of the masses. It is an distant dream rn, but I hope I can do it

[@MarlowPreston]

Hey, can you check the hidden comments for this video? I posted one about how the dev for simple tools has some really bizarre feature prioritization like when they took the gallery off f-droid to add a proprietary image editor, but it seems to have gotten shadow-banned.

[@MarlowPreston]

It's past tense by the way for the simple gallery, people complained enough that they reversed their choice.

[@macaronivirus5913]

Do you mean deleted comments?

[@MarlowPreston]

@@macaronivirus5913 - Yeah pretty much. I also got a notification for your second comment but it isn't here. It probably is what you said yeah.

[@MentalOutlaw]

There's no comments held for review on this video, KZbin must have deleted your comment.

[@TROY-MCCLURE-1991]

Trying to switch from iPhone to Android. Have a One Plus 7 Pro. I'm not shilling for Apple, I'm trying my best to get used to Android. One thing I do appreciate about the iPhone is the user interface on a myriad of applications. For viewing videos on a browser, the timeline is easier to scrub, and not to mention the 15 sec forward and backward is nice. Using different music apps, VLC comes close to Apple Music in terms of UI, there are some caveats to customizing album art when some music files don't display the appropriate album artwork. The control panel, on my iPhone it has it all displayed in necessary spots so I don't have to swipe down again for additional utilities. Really wished there was a way to have on screen controls for volume control, I've only been able to access volume control from the volume rocker (wished that was for most music focused applications and video applications as well). Is there a ROM that has a similar UI and features to an iPhone? I might be the minority here but the learning curve for an Android from an iPhone user is gonna take a while.

[@avcat1209]

No you are not the minority. I cannot speak to the Apple thing as I am a non-Apple user (I don't hate Apple, just never used it). However, three years ago I switched to Android from Windows phone (Win 8.1 mobile). There was a definite learning curve. It is not too rough. Keep at it, you get onto Android fairly soon. Once learned, I found the Android OS to be pretty awesome.

[@mateuspokemon01]

Can the calendar app be synced to a desktop or web aplication? To me it's a pain to do any productive tasks, such as adjusting my schedule, on the phone

[@terrydaktyllus1320]

DuckDuckGo is your friend.

[@quarterpounderwithcheese3178]

I unironically use these, but the camera sucks and the gallery options and draw apps could use some work.

[@clarahill326]

I I don't prefer backing up all my doubts and privacy red alerts by a single argument. So even though the apps are all opensource, they are under a single head, ( Tibor Kaputa, don't know if it's an individual or organisation). The very fundamentals of privacy communities: Not to put all your eggs in the same basket...

[@lyric5615]

This didn't age well😂

[@captaink5484]

?

[@fernandohg225]

Wow i never saw mental outlaw, i was surprised !!!

[@jorgeher8238]

Utilizo mucho algunas de las apps de esta suite, la verdad es que me son muy útiles, debemos apoyar más estos proyectos, gracias por la recomendación

[@l0lLorenzol0l]

As I watch your channel I keep getting the feeling I know your voice from somewhere else. I figured it out. You sound exactly like Emperor Tigerstar!

[@thefrogge]

He sounds like older Emperor Tigerstar.

[@oplkfdhgk]

You always suprice me with your knowledge :D i had no idea these apps ecisted :o

[@talkingnart1563]

9:01 You can change your colour... Phone: CUSTOM COLORS LOCKED

[@FGj-xj7rd]

0:00 My bois, jQuery and PHP together.

[@nikoraasu6929]

PHP, the shittiest language ever made

[@Dziedzic95]

@@nikoraasu6929 you must be a very experienced programmer. Have you tried writing something more than hello world?

[@paimonbutter]

Flash light apps are useless now since most phones have that functionality in the control panel

[@forgettablePyromaniac]

Worst part is that most Android pre-installed apps can't be disabled (file manager, camera, ect) You can disable cancer like Facebook but you can't replace the Samsung camera app.

[@MrEdrftgyuji]

Remember. If you don't pay for the product, you are the product.

[@chuck_norris]

6:26 dam.. i though you were looking like Luke Smith

[@linkng7665]

I've been using their gallery app and file manager app for years. Works exactly how I wanted. I recall trying the music app, but it cannot handle my 40000+ songs collection (please don't ask...) I also dislike the camera app not able to take RAW photos. Not that I have any needs not possible with JPEG photos, but if Open Camera can do more than Simple Camera and is also open source, I don't see their advantage here.

[@coler154]

My gripe with Open Camera is that it doesn't recognize the Simple Gallery app as a gallery, so if you tap on the photo you just took, it always says no gallery app found

[@glitchy_weasel]

I've been using them for a while. They're great, specially because of their simplicity and no nonsense features. Plus, I think the developer is a sponsor of the Linux Mint team.

[@Your_Degenerate]

I didn't expect to get flashed by a dude today.

[@awesomeferret]

Sorta funny that they are bothering with a flashlight app. The vast majority of people have no use for that since it's baked into most phones made in the past six years and in a more convenient way too.

[@pacman_pol_pl_polska]

Hey! I paid for this! ;) Worth it though.

[@Rugg-qk4pl]

2:58 Is this 2010 again? Why does anyone need an app for flashlight lmao

[@frds_skce]

Because some phone does not came with flashlight app pre-installed. I know cuz i got a Samsung phone that doesn't have flashlight app but could do it in camera however. Also spyware

[@tibbi01]

You have a Bright Display feature there too with customizable colors, that can be useful in quite a few cases.

[@milesbryant5441]

You have to get to the point of believing that Crypto is where finance/currency /money is headed. It is that strong believe that keeps you holding when the price take a dive. Knowing what you do about the internet or mobile phones, there are may companies whose price took dives that you would have no problem hodling through.

[@marthaappling2856]

Crypto is the future, trading crypto has become a lucrative way of making money

[@billbennett6261]

Bitcoin trading right now will be at every wise individuals list. In few minutes you'll be ecstatic with the decision you made today

[@theodoreapplebaum4733]

Growing an account requires dedication and patience.

[@chellehammond4019]

If you are not well informed about bitcoin trading, instead of blowing up your account you can seek the mentorship of an expert or even allow them manage your trade, that way you won't have to lose your money.

[@philiplevy5689]

@@chellehammond4019 That's why I let expert Lark Davis handle all my trading. Earning my first $47000 was possible after I got recommended to him.

[@DryPaperHammerBro]

There are 2 versions on Google Play: One with ads, and one without

[@smailh.k2635]

I used it sometimes but I switched because the lack of support for my language. I really like the contacts app tho.