Why leave Google Play?
■Surveillance. Google logs every app you install, update, and use — across every device tied to your account.
■Tax on creators. 15–30% of every in-app purchase goes to Google, not the developer who built the app.
■Arbitrary removal. Apps get pulled without warning. Developers have no meaningful appeals process.
■Forced account. You need a Google account just to install free, open-source software on hardware you own.
■Single point of control. One company decides what 3 billion people can run on their own devices.
How to break free
→F-Droid — The original open-source app repository. No account, no tracking, fully auditable.
→Obtainium — Install and auto-update apps directly from GitHub, GitLab, and other sources.
→ZapStore ⚡ — Nostr-native distribution. Apps are cryptographically signed by their developers — no middleman.
→Aurora Store — Browse the Play Store catalogue anonymously, no Google account required.
→Accrescent — A modern, security-first app store built from scratch with a focus on integrity.
→Neo Store / Droid-ify — Polished, feature-rich F-Droid clients with better UX.
→GitHub Store / APKUpdater / OrionStore — Install apps directly from their release sources.
What this race shows
This leaderboard tracks GitHub and GitLab stars as a proxy for community momentum.
A star takes two seconds and signals to a developer that their work matters.
The stronger this ecosystem grows, the less leverage any single company has over
what you can install on your own device.
Every star, bug report, PR, and shared link helps build a world where
you own your software.