1. Notification Cron

Uses cron expressions to schedule regular notifications. Functions as advertised. I have set up reminders for all sorts of things; reminders to drink water, wash my hands, check my mail, and to use dim lights etc. I’m sure you could think of a couple of additional uses as well.

I’d recommend using the app along with a watch that can display notifications unless you’re trying to live inside your smartphone all day.

2. Croc

Sends files from one device to another device- over the internet. The best part is- it just werks. Very nice.

3. Open in Whatsapp

Ever want to send a quick messages to somebody on whatsapp without actually saving their contact? ‘Open in Whatsapp’ uses Whatsapp’s public chat API to open a chat with any phone number. Really useful for sending location to somebody not in your contact list or creating groups.

4. DNS66

Creates a “VPN service” on your phone to block advertisements system-wide. Works great! Easy to set up and no rooting shennanigans required. Only drawback is that we can not chain VPNs on android. So incase you are already using a VPN service, for instance to bypass geo-blocking, this approach to adblock will not work.

Quick word about living with F-droid and without the playstore (going ungoogled)

F-droid + IggyOnDroid covers 90% off all them “app” things I need on my phone. MicroG is great. The AOSP apps serve their purpose adequately. However, for the remaining 10% (Whatsapp, banking, Google Maps) I rely on the Aurora Store which is surprisingly robust and functional.

It is difficult to find simple apps without ads on the playstore. I also struggle to find apps that I am confident are not doing evil things with my data. On the other hand, in my experience, the quality of software on F-droid is generally better.

I hope this list has been useful to somebody and has encouraged you to check out Fdroid.