Discontinuing syncthing-android
forum.syncthing.net
Unfortunately I don’t have good news on the state of the android app: I am retiring it. The last release on Github and F-Droid will happen with the December 2024 Syncthing version. Reason is a combination of Google making Play publishing something between hard and impossible and no active maintenance. The app saw no significant development for a long time and without Play releases I do no longer see enough benefit and/or have enough motivation to keep up the ongoing maintenance an app requires ...

Announcement by the creator: https://forum.syncthing.net/t/discontinuing-syncthing-android/23002

Unfortunately I don’t have good news on the state of the android app: I am retiring it. The last release on Github and F-Droid will happen with the December 2024 Syncthing version.

Reason is a combination of Google making Play publishing something between hard and impossible and no active maintenance. The app saw no significant development for a long time and without Play releases I do no longer see enough benefit and/or have enough motivation to keep up the ongoing maintenance an app requires even without doing much, if any, changes.

Thanks a lot to everyone who ever contributed to this app!

  • imsodin@infosec.pubEnglish
    3·
    2 months ago

    I am not the creator, funnily that is/was one of the Lemmy creators: Nutomic :)
    I am a syncthing co-maintainer that kept the android app on life support since a while.

  • xodoh74984@lemmy.worldEnglish
    2·
    2 months ago

    This is sad. Google Play should never hold this much weight in the self hosted community. For Android users dedicated to open source software, F-Droid is the target.

    I don’t think SyncThing users would have much issue with the app disappearing from Google. Doing away with Google is the goal.

    • CosmicTurtle0@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
      0·
      2 months ago

      As much as I want to use F-Droid, my work blocks all third party app stores so it’s either have access to my work stuff on one phone (via profiles) or dual wield two phones.

      I lack the patience to dual wield again. It’s very annoying.

      • Atemu@lemmy.mlEnglish
        0·
        2 months ago

        Is this your personal phone? If your work were to dictate what you are allowed to install on your personal phone, that’d be a serious overstepping of bounds.

        Perhaps you can sneak in f-droid via adb install and give it app installation permissions via ADB though.

        • Bilb!@lem.monsterEnglish
          1·
          2 months ago

          If “your” phone belongs to your employer that’s the choice you made. It isn’t yours.

    • absGeekNZ@lemmy.nzEnglish
      0·
      2 months ago

      The problem is not “Syncthing users” it is the others that we bring along with us.

      I already have F-Droid on my phone, but the dozen others that I have promoted Syncthing to over the years do not. This is going to cause a bunch of problems.

      This is much more important than what you portray here.

      • t_378@lemmy.oneEnglish
        0·
        2 months ago

        The point you raise reminds me of when Signal dropped SMS support, after my efforts to convert all the non techie people in my life over to it. So sad when it happens…

    • imsodin@infosec.pubEnglish
      0·
      2 months ago

      Oh don’t worry to much, mine too: If there wasn’t an alternative for syncthing on android, I might have kept it on lifesupport :)

  • el_abuelo@programming.devEnglish
    0·
    2 months ago

    I just installed syncthing-fork from f-droid and it worked flawlessly as far as I can tell:

    1. “Export” in syncthing
    2. Uninstall syncthing
    3. Install syncthing-fork from f-droid
    4. Import in syncthing-fork
    • Unbecredible@lemm.eeEnglish
      1·
      2 months ago

      I feel the existence of an “export” option in a piece of software is noble in this day and age, and I’m so appreciative of it.

      It says “look, I don’t WANT you to go to my competitor, but I’m not gonna try to hold your data hostage to prevent it.”

      It’s class, as the Scottish would say.

    • stardust@lemmy.caEnglish
      0·
      2 months ago

      Did it transfer over your folder setups so you don’t need to set it up manually?

  • BrianTheeBiscuiteer@lemmy.worldEnglish
    0·
    2 months ago

    Hoping it remains viable for a long time without updates. Syncing my KeePass database is really key for me. I need to fluidly add and read passwords from at least 3 devices.

    • stepan@lemmy.cafeEnglish
      0·
      2 months ago

      With today’s BitWarden drama, I planned to use KeePass with SyncThing for like an hour before seeing this :(((