this post was submitted on 02 Dec 2023
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33
Simple Mobile Tools is being sold to a for-profit firm ZipoApps (programming.dev)
submitted 9 months ago by gogosempai@programming.dev to c/android@lemmy.world
42 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Source.

Simple Mobile apps have been very popular among FOSS enthusiasts. I've personally been using the Gallery, Contacts and the Phone app since a few years now. It's a shame that it has come to this, will be on the lookout for their forks.

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[–] fmstrat@lemmy.nowsci.com 12 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (3 children)

For posterity, but also for forks if the repos go down, I have created https://github.com/SimplerMobileTools and downloaded all the original repos, branches, and tags which will soon be uploaded there.

I have already got SM Gallery compiling, so thats a start, and will upload all the repos tomorrow when its not so late.

Note: Any former maintainer of SMT will be added on to SrMT upon request.

EDIT: All forks updated with notice of rationale and link to this discussion.

EDIT2: https://github.com/FossifyOrg is a soft fork created by one of the current maintainers. I will keep the hard fork up just in case.

[–] Sphks@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Now you need to change the names and make these new names famous, since that's the thing that the company has really bought. The brand.

[–] fmstrat@lemmy.nowsci.com 1 points 9 months ago

Not my intent. I'll do this, but don't have the time to fully maintain or distribute. Maybe I'll organize releases for Obtainium, where FOSS elites will grab them, but I'm not in it to "promote", just to "save".

Hopefully someone with more motivation comes along and does what you are saying, though.

[–] sadbehr@lemmy.nz 2 points 9 months ago

Not all heroes wear capes. Thank you for your service. A hero among thieves. The hero we didn't know we needed and didn't deserve. Insert other hero quips.

Na but thanks. What a legend.

[–] Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

fossify link is a 404

[–] fmstrat@lemmy.nowsci.com 2 points 9 months ago

Thank you, they changed the org name. Updated.

[–] kzhe@lemm.ee 5 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

I always try to avoid these because of how they had held users data hostage on their calendar's play store version, glad this happened so there can be a foss fork by more trustable parties. Yay!

[–] sag@lemm.ee 4 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

Why? I hate this another loss for us. This year is pain in ass for me.

[–] Pantherina@feddit.de 0 points 9 months ago

Self entitlement. They did a great job for us and probably werent paid enough.

[–] AnActOfCreation@programming.dev 4 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

Looks like one of the maintainers/contributors has already setup a fork!

https://github.com/FossifyX

[–] stifle867@programming.dev 3 points 9 months ago (1 children)

All the code is GPLv3 so it will remain FOSS. There's no need to immediately switch to other apps. You can optionally fork then build the apps for yourself.

[–] csolisr@communities.azkware.net 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Unless you use the Play Store version, in which case the tainted new versions will be coming any time soon.

[–] stifle867@programming.dev 1 points 9 months ago

I was talking about immediately switching. There is enough time to build the apps from source for yourself before they upload their shittified version.

[–] 9488fcea02a9@sh.itjust.works 3 points 9 months ago (4 children)

Wtf. I paid for the apps to avoid exactly this....

Too many people think the "free" in free software means "without monetary cost". Development costs money. If nobody pays, it gets sold

[–] itsmect@monero.town 3 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Same here. Donated not only to cover my installs, but also for everyone I recommended it to. I hope the f-droid version wont be affected, otherwise I have to uninstall the upcomming bloat- and spyware ridden versions manually from a bunch of devices smh.

I mean I am fine with apps not being maintained and eventually break, but selling out and breaching trust like this is exactly how regular companies would treat me and why I chose FOSS in the first place.

[–] rucking@feddit.de 1 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

Looks like the community is already forking the project. It would be cool if fdroid has a clean transition to the fork.

[–] 9488fcea02a9@sh.itjust.works 1 points 9 months ago

That would be a terrible precedent...

Oh we'll just "cleanly" (silently) update to a different fork by a different dev.

Thats exactly what we are trying to avoid google play "cleanly" updating our apps to the new, spyware apps

[–] JustEnoughDucks@feddit.nl 3 points 9 months ago

Yeah I also paid for it.

I would rather let the project die than my data being sold out to a gang of parasites like it has been

[–] Yamayo@lemm.ee 0 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Well, you paid and still got sold.

[–] 9488fcea02a9@sh.itjust.works 1 points 9 months ago

Yeah... Fuck me, for trying to compensate someone for their work so that they dont have to sell it to a spyware company.... I'm the moron here

/s

[–] veniasilente@lemm.ee -3 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Wtf. I paid for the apps to avoid exactly this…

And this is why I never pay for apps. You never know what changes (external or internal) are going to enshittify it next.

[–] 9488fcea02a9@sh.itjust.works 3 points 9 months ago

If you dont pay for apps, they will 100% be enshittified

Hilarious that you read enough cory doctorow to know the term "enshittification" but don't know what "free" software really means

[–] lambalicious@lemmy.sdf.org 2 points 9 months ago

Finally, Kissinger is dead — but for the karmic balance, even SMT gets enshittified.

[–] pewgar_seemsimandroid@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 9 months ago

NOOOOO

[–] aprnu@feddit.ch 1 points 9 months ago

Recently on their blog --> Aug 29, 2023

[–] Signal3r@troet.cafe 1 points 9 months ago

@gogosempai

So the most important question is - what happens to the F-Droid versions? Will the apps still be listed in F-Droid in the future, and if so, should they still be updated?

[–] DeltaTangoLima@reddrefuge.com 1 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

Thankfully I only have them via Obtainium. Flip the "track only" option to on and wait and see. Like someone else said, I'm hopeful there'll be forks for these soon enough. I'm off to fork the repos for myself anyway, just in case.

Edit: for those that are self-hosting some form of git, is would be great if more people did this, for archival purposes. I've simply left the public fork of all 19 repos in my Github account, but have mirrored those to my private Forgejo instance.

At any point I can sync the GH forks then mirror those down to my local instance. Until the original repos get dismantled, of course.

[–] dandu3@lemmy.world 1 points 9 months ago

Same shit company bought the pixel minimal watch face, and they're now charging like 18$ PER WEEK for premium features.

I had already bought it thankfully and I kept my premium status but still. I was not happy

[–] Sanyanov@lemmy.world 1 points 9 months ago

Damn, I recently donated to them, and this is how it turned out.

Terrible to see.

[–] CrayonRosary@lemmy.world 1 points 9 months ago

Noooooo! I love their gallery app. Guess it's time to turn off auto-update on it.

Thank you for sharing this!

[–] 01189998819991197253@infosec.pub 0 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Sigh.

Anyone used Etar calendar app? I use Simple Calendar for its ability to export everything to one ICS file. I see Etar can use ICS, but is it a full calendar import/export? Or one event at a time? Related question, is there anything better?

[–] Signal3r@troet.cafe 0 points 9 months ago (1 children)

@01189998819991197253 @gogosempai
The proof of the pudding is in the eating. Install Etar, import the ICS file
and see what happens!

[–] 01189998819991197253@infosec.pub 0 points 9 months ago (1 children)

But if it tastes like shite and rotten fish, and someone has already tried and can warn me, why not learn from them lol

[–] helenslunch@feddit.nl 0 points 9 months ago (1 children)

That's the beauty of FOSS. Just download the existing app and blacklist it from updates. Someone will archive the existing code so it can be downloaded later.

[–] Scrollone@feddit.it 1 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

Pro-tip: download the apk from F-Droid. Link here: https://f-droid.org/packages/com.simplemobiletools.gallery.pro/

[–] AbeFroman@lemmy.world 0 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Terrible news. These apps are really great. Reminds me of what happened to Quick Pick and ES file explorer and u could also add Nova Launcher. More apps assigned to the graveyard. Hopefully they get forked quickly and updated when needed.

[–] RandomLegend@lemmy.dbzer0.com 0 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Is there something in the making with Nova Launcher? I love it and didn't hear any bad news