F-Droid 2.0 Released After 10 years With Major Redesign to Transform Open-Source Android App Discovery

F-Droid has released version 2.0 of its official Android app, delivering its largest client update in a decade. The open-source Android app repository said the release follows more than a year of development and 14 test builds, with a staged rollout planned over the coming weeks.

Unlike a basic visual refresh, F-Droid 2.0 rebuilds major parts of the app with Kotlin and Jetpack Compose. The change modernizes the codebase, aligns the interface more closely with Android’s Material Design patterns, and is intended to make future maintenance, testing, and feature development easier.

The redesigned app reduces its primary navigation to three areas: Discover, Search, and My Apps. Discover now combines app browsing and categories, while My Apps acts as a central area for installed applications, available updates, and potential issues. Settings and Nearby Swap have moved to the top bar, reducing clutter in the main navigation.

F-Droid 2.0 Released

A central focus of F-Droid 2.0 is improved application discovery. The Discover section highlights newly added apps, recently updated apps, and popular downloads from the repository.

Categories have also been expanded beyond broad labels, helping users locate software such as VPNs, firewalls, password managers, launchers, and navigation tools more easily. The Games category has been split into 17 genres.

Search functionality has also received a major upgrade. F-Droid can now search application names, descriptions, categories, and translated text.

The update also improves search support for Chinese, Japanese, and Korean writing systems. Users can apply multiple filters, including category, device compatibility, and anti-features, to narrow results.

For example, a user can search for an action game, limit results to apps compatible with their device, and exclude software that depends on non-free online services. This helps privacy-focused users find applications that better match their technical and licensing requirements.

The release also changes how updates and installations work. F-Droid 2.0 checks for and installs application updates automatically by default, while retaining manual and fine-grained controls for users who prefer them. The previous pull-to-refresh method for checking updates has been moved to the My Apps overflow menu.

F-Droid said Android platform changes, driven in part by the European Union’s Digital Markets Act and antitrust pressure, now enable alternative app stores to provide a smoother installation experience.

The app uses Android’s newer installer capabilities and pre-approval API on supported devices, allowing a user to approve an installation earlier in the process instead of waiting until a download completes.

The project also revised privacy features. Tor configuration has shifted toward generic proxy settings, with Tor VPN presented as the recommended approach for easier use.

The app-hiding feature now changes only the app’s icon and name, clearly signaling that the application can still be discovered in Android settings or during forensic inspection.

However, F-Droid 2.0 does not currently support the F-Droid Privileged Extension, and its panic-trigger app-wiping capability has not yet returned. Users who depend on app wiping for personal safety or privacy may want to delay upgrading until the feature is reassessed.

F-Droid 2.0 significantly modernizes a key free and open-source Android software distribution platform, combining improved discovery, modern Android development practices, and a more streamlined installation workflow.

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