Could you add privacy friendly language learning apps?

Apps
1

Hi.
I’ve compared permissions on a lot of free language learning apps available in “Google Play Store” (nearly all of them) to find the most privacy friendly, free, language learning apps.

I found two providers of apps for learning some languages who had less permissions than all other such apps.

The first group of apps is from “ASI Edu”.
Link:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/developer?id=ASI+Edu

  • The only potentially bad permission is “record audio”.
  • They provide 32 different languages leaerning apps, all of them have same permissions.

The other group of apps is from “ufostudio”.
Link:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/developer?id=ufostudio

-The only potentially bad permission is “receive data from Internet”.

  • They provide 7 different languages leaerning apps, all of them have same permissions.

I wonder if you people working at F-Droid can check if all these apps are:

  1. Open source?
  2. If yes: Are they secure?
  3. If yes: Could you include them all in the F-Droid respiratory, make them downloadable and provide updates in the F-Droid app?

I’m sure that a lot of people would appriciate if there where secure language learning apps, with few permissions in F-Droid.

1 Like
2

I too am searching for few. Will check out some open source libraries.

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3

Have you checked the apps I mentioned? Those from “ASI Edu” & “ufostudios”?

Aug 6, 2019, 8:00 AM by forum@f-droid.org:

4

No site? No source code? What could be done?

5

I found a developer mail to the “ASI Edu” apps creator in “Play Store” it’s: asi.vusta@gmail.com
Maybe you could contact that mail to ask about what you need to know to be able to add the “ASI Edu” language learning apps to F-Droid?

Here is also a link to apk-downloads of “ASI Edu” apps: https://apkpure.com/developer/ASI%20Edu

and a link to apk-downloads of “ufostudio” apps:

I hope this information is helpful.

6

The source must be public, if they didn’t setup it already I doubt it they’ll have any incentive to do so now.

7

I wrote a mail to asi.vusta@gmail.com and asked for the source code of the free language apps. I can inform you when I get a answer. :slight_smile:

1 Like
8

You could try AnyMemo, FlashCards or Vocable Trainer
Depending on the language you want to learn, you could also try this… :slight_smile:

9

I’m most intressted in learning Hebrew.

10

That is an example he/she shared.
BTW, any update on that email you sent?

11

No. Noone has answered yet.

12

There’s also this site of free learning apps from a university:
More-updated portuguese
English

I know this website due to github showing it for my repo as visitor origin, as my app got listed there.
(Author of VocableTrainer )

Regarding apps in Playstore:
The authors of said Apps will have to provide their sourcecode and add their apps to f-droid on their own. F-Droid cannot and will not add playstore apps 1:1 as executables. Apart from the sourcecode question it is illegal to take their apps and publish them on f-droid on your own without any consent.

13

okay if they answer that they might publish the code for thoose free apps. I could also ask if they themselfs could try to figure out how to put it on F-Droid or in a ad-able respiratory.

14

I prefer AnkiDroid. It nicely synchronizes with the corresponding desktop app.

1 Like
15

There is an established way on adding apps to F-Droid: if the source is available, using a free OSI approved license, having no proprietary components (the “receive data from Internet” points to a dependency on Google Mobile Services, namely Cloud Messaging, which is not acceptable for F-Droid): Go ahead an open a Request for Packaging. If it turns out there’s a (minor) show stopper (like the GMS one I just mentioned), it might still be eligible for my repo, so you could file a request there (if that becomes obvious during the RFP processing, I’d even directly pick it up from the RFP, no need for bureaucratic overhead).

So the dev can open the RFP directly, or you could do so (you’d need to link to where the dev approves of having the app listed).

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