Shouldn't Google Analytics and Google Services be antifeatures?

I was looking at the source code for the SoundWaves podcast app on github, and I can see in their build.gradle files that they have dependencies on Google Services and Google Analytics. However, there were no anti-features listed in the description on F-Droid. Are these not considered anti-features?

They are considered unacceptable to have, since they involve making the application proprietary by including proprietary libraries.

In most cases, they are stripped away from applications that otherwise have it. If this was not done with SoundWaves, that would be a glaring mistake, but it would be weird because the build process makes it difficult to include them.

Are you positive the version of SoundWaves in F-Droid comes with them?

I didn’t download the binary from FDroid and decompile it, so I can’t say. I just took it on faith that the “link to source code” in the description on FDroid would show me the actual source used to build the app. Am I to understand that the binaries in FDroid are built from unpublished, modified source code?

https://github.com/bottiger/SoundWaves/blob/master/app/build.gradle → F-Droid builds productFlavors=free… scroll below… Google libs are loaded only when it says googleCompile

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This is exactly what ClassyShark3xodus is doing : ClassyShark3xodus - Scan apps for warnings | F-Droid - Free and Open Source Android App Repository ; don’t forget to grant storage permission, if you want to check apk files directly (sub-stats show up when 2x tap on 3dots), or use apps_PackagesInfo as a bridge (for /system *.apk: oem’s keyboard app are often heavily bloated).

@Licaon_Kter , anyone can tell about Matomo/Piwik antifeatures exception on F-Droid : Check our APKs with Exodus (#566) · Issues · F-Droid / fdroidserver · GitLab ?

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So, are you trying to say that ClassyShark3xodus is not FOSS? I may need to check the build.grade now. :open_mouth:

No, just pointing out that you don’t need to “decompile” since his app can analyse the APK

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I like information extracted and displayed by Izzy repo.

Google libs are loaded only when it says googleCompile

ah, ok. That makes sense now. Thanks!

Ah, that looks useful. Thanks for pointing it out!

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