F-Droid just learned a vital trick from the Play Store - eviltoast

Version 1.19 of F-Droid finally introduces support for the API introduced in Android 12, as spotted by Mishaal Rahman on X. This makes it possible to install updates fully in the background, without any user interaction required. Naturally, this only works for apps originally installed via F-Droid. With this change in place, F-Droid can be an even more viable alternative to the Play Store and other pre-installed apps for people who want to rely on the best open source Android apps.

In the past, F-Droid had to rely on a helper app with root access to install updates in the background without disturbing the user, the F-Droid Privileged Extension. With the app now using the unattended updates API, this is no longer necessary.

  • Blóðbók@slrpnk.net
    7·
    9 months ago

    I updated to 1.19 and have two app updates listed as available. They are not updated automatically and there is no F-Droid setting for background updates that I can find. In order to install the two aforementioned updates I am required to first download them and then, for each one, I have to press install and then confirm on a popup.

    To be fair, those updates were available before I updated F-Droid, so whatever mechanism that is supposed to be triggered may not have been because the updates were not new?

    Nevertheless I am excited about the prospect, because updating my apps have been such a pain that I constantly procrastinate dealing with it. Sitting with the phone in front of me, clicking a few times, waiting, clicking a few times, waiting, then repeat… never leaving the app and making sure it doesn’t fall asleep… it is not a fun activity.

    • Lojcs@lemm.ee
      3·
      9 months ago

      The updates / installs need confirmation the first time, that gives the app authority to update it I think

      • Blóðbók@slrpnk.net
        2·
        9 months ago

        Doesn’t seem to be working for me. I just saw that there were a bunch of stalled notifications (19 hours old, stalled as in stuck at downloading/ready to install) and when I go into the app it’s just the same old offer to download and then after that I get the option to install each one separately.

        • Lojcs@lemm.ee
          1·
          9 months ago

          Are they the same apps as before? If so the feature must be broken.

          • Blóðbók@slrpnk.net
            1·
            9 months ago

            No, different apps this time.

            Edit: Oh I see, you meant that each app needs to be manually updated once first