Built a private, offline Android launcher to simplify phones for my parents ❤️

Apps
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Hi everyone,

A while ago, I made a small Android launcher for my parents. They found regular home screens overwhelming too many icons, gestures, and background data running all the time.

So I built something calm and privacy-friendly:

Big buttons & readable text

One-tap calls and messages

Works completely offline

No ads, no analytics, no background connections

It started as a weekend project, but I was surprised how many older users and minimalists found it helpful. It made me realize how much people value simple + private Android experiences.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on:

what features matter most for a privacy-respecting launcher, and

whether you think something like this would fit the spirit of F-Droid.

Thanks for reading happy to share more details or get feedback if anyone’s interested! :folded_hands:

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Great to hear. Kindly share the source code repo so that people can see and give you feedback.

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Thanks a lot! :folded_hands:

The source code isn’t public yet I plan to clean it up before sharing.

For now, if you’d like to try it and share feedback, the app is available on the Play Store here:

MOD: PS link removed

It’s completely offline, has no ads or trackers, and was built mainly for seniors who find regular launchers overwhelming. Would love to hear your thoughts after trying it!

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I appreciate you sharing this, but over here, we believe in FOSS/FLOSS. Hence, when you are ready with your source code, do respond again. Meanwhile to keep things cleaner, I have removed the playstore link.

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As a Layman F-Droid user, all I can do is provide my untechnical opinion to your question:

what features matter most for a privacy-respecting launcher

  • No continuous meta (other wise) data export to mother ship.
  • Sensors control, e.g. turn off/on camera, mic, etc.
  • Call record (I see this being helpful for older folks since they forget a lot of what they said, and they could relisten to a call to remember; I do it all the time and I’m a a whipper snapper).
  • Camera overlay on phone lock.

After the FOSS Lords approve, be sure come back and provide a purchase link (with a Holiday Discount no doubt :wink: ).

I need a contingency plan for my soon to be sunsetted GOS :confused:

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Ultimately your launcher sounds very promising! I actually have strong appreciation for launchers like these as I too get overwhelmed and overstimulated easy depending on the launcher.

My two cents on what I think matters most

  1. Never do too much of anything or too little of anything. Always strike a balance. I have found this to be really important with home screens cause if you give the user too little to work with when it comes to visuals and features they may not enjoy and get tired of the launcher. Likewise if you apply too much it may overwhelm a user. You should also apply this practice to how fast the launcher is too. I know that probably sounds weird cause usually in the digital world faster is almost always better which still holds true! However in cases of things like Homescreens sometimes to make them faster you may have to design them in ways some users don’t like. Remember it only has to be usably fast and fluid. Doesn’t have to win any records.
  2. This is something most minimal or unique launchers miss but try to keep basic system feature parity available. Like so many launchers miss over things like shortcuts, work profiles and even the private space feature which has been out for over a year now. A launcher no matter how minimal or not it’s meant to be should support these. I didn’t mention widgets as I find those very valid for more minimal launchers to remove.

I wish you luck and thank you for considering contributing to a more open and accessible android environment!

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What I’m about to ask is definitely off topic but I am genuinely curious what do you plan to do after sunsetting it? Like anything you plan to do in particular?

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Weeeeeeeeeeeellllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll, about that.

So I recently heard David Bombals interview with GOS Owner and it * SOUNDS * like there is light at the end of this tunnel, since the news (at least its news to me) is that GOS is, and will be, available on and supported on Pixel 7, 8, 10, +?.

But he also said that all depends on how much google decides to behave with those platforms. And (“but wait, theres more”) that he still has * Intentions * to make it compatible with other brands, e.g. Samsung, etc. but that that is still down the road

} quick psa: I personally dont like the pixel platform, but I hate not being able to rip out google’s meta mining, privacy graping, embedded OS on a product that BELONGS to ME the day I paid FULL PRICE for it at the store, more; so I go with whats available.{

For now, I am going to dig my head in the sand like a good ostrich, and hope for a bright GOS future…BUT, since we all know there are no happy endings, I am still going to look into what another helpful and decent user here showed me on one of my belligerent posts a few months ago, as an alternative:

Truth is: I dont know what I am going to do if GOS crash & burns in the future because honestly: I am sooo tired of always having to try and come up with the next counter move just to use a product however I want to, even after being a good consumer by following the rules and purchasing it full price at a retail store.

I’m not getting any younger and every day is FACTUALLY a new day of tech. The only way to keep up is to almost work at tech company or something.

I also apologize for hijacking this thread, but that is my very long attempt to answer to your question; Hopefully, it did, even if just a little.

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Hopefully all turns out well. Regardless of how one may feel about GOS it is a absolutely phenomenal OS and it would be a shame to just see it die out.

I couldn’t agree more. To be honest pixels have probably been one of my least favorite devices I have ever used and that’s awful funny and ironic considering it’s also the most premium phone I have ever used. Maybe it’s just me living up to my name but something just irks me about having to use something that is literally made by a company I honestly despise. With GOS it’s different cause while AOSP is made by Google. GOS is at least further distanced due to it inherently not being related to Google at all. The pixel however?.. There’s no way I can spin that in any positive light it was manufactured directly by Google even having Google’s own special tensor chip. Even if the hardware is tamed I still am feeding the machine to an extent. This phone is poison to me. Having said that though that just shows how good GOS really is. Good enough to literally make me stomach something I really do not like just to use it.

It never hurts. To be knowledgeable of a possible solution or escape when freedom is at stake so I agree. Hopefully that alternative will grow and turn out well.

Aye… I know this feeling all too well. There are a lot of times where I just find myself just putting in so much effort to keep my beliefs going as stacked as everything is against me. Only to keep having to keep up with everything and basically playing a eternal game of Cat & Mouse and Whack a Mole. It’s tiring it really is. And often times it hits you at the worst times just how much time you had to sink into it… Time that could have been spent doing other things that are valuable and important to you.

It also doesn’t help to see what could be if you don’t fight the fight and give in.

Like for example Perplexity’s new comet browser. Regardless of how one feels about AI one cannot deny the benefits of this browser for the average person are absolutely incredible. Like literally having AI help you with day to day browsing like your own browsing assistant even going as far as to help you find sections on sites you may normally have trouble finding which can get really tedious at times. That kind of help really does go a long way. But obviously the browser is both Proprietary and most likely Privacy invasive. Not to mention it also forces Google as the default search engine with no way to change it.

I can’t stand to use something like that. I hope maybe someone will make something similar but private, user respecting and open. I imagine this could be done by patching in a local AI model. Either way I’m getting side tracked point being often times we have to settle for significantly less because of us fighting the good fight.

If I’m being honest I don’t know how I keep going myself. It seems like anytime I just burn out I push myself higher and beyond. Like my instincts to continue fighting for what I believe in overpower my own sense of self preservation. It’s not a pretty sight but it’s what has become of me. I’m tired. But still I keep going.

No worries that was a very informative answer thank you! :heart: I appreciate the effort in trying to explain in depth and to be fair I did ask haha.

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