From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

Hello all,

I'm looking for a voice-recorder in the form of an APK. Also, it needs to
be a voice-recorder, and just that. IOW, no Internet requirements or
similar.

I would have liked to get them from a GrapheneOS appstore, but it doesn't
seem to exist there (meaning: Google playstores apps are rather unwelcome).

Suggestions please.

Regards,
Rudy Wieser

P.s.
GitHub links do not really seem to work for me. Or rather, I get a webpage
but it doesn't contain/show any APK download links. :-|




--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

R.Wieser wrote:

Hello all,

I'm looking for a voice-recorder in the form of an APK. Also, it needs to be a voice-recorder, and just that. IOW, no Internet requirements or similar.

I would have liked to get them from a GrapheneOS appstore, but it doesn't seem to exist there (meaning: Google playstores apps are rather unwelcome).

Suggestions please.

Regards,
Rudy Wieser

P.s.
GitHub links do not really seem to work for me. Or rather, I get a webpage but it doesn't contain/show any APK download links. :-|

Hi Rudy,

I wrote up a PSA a few weeks ago and posted it here on the Fossify tools.
Newsgroups: comp.mobile.android
Subject: PSA: Fossify Simple Mobile Tools FOSS replacement apps
Date: Thu, 30 Apr 2026 21:07:18 -0600
Message-ID: <10t15d7$b3i$1@nnrp.usenet.blueworldhosting.com>

I haven't tested it, but they have <org.fossify.voicerecorder>.
It's said to be in beta, but they're very well respected.

The APK is a direct download on F-Droid via a web browser.
It's actively maintained.
And, it has zero internet permissions by design.

<https://f-droid.org/en/packages/org.fossify.voicerecorder/> <https://f-droid.org/repo/org.fossify.voicerecorder_18.apk>

Let us all know how it works out so we benefit from your actions.
--
On Usenet, good people help others out of their kindness & generosity.
--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

Hey %name%,

The APK is a direct download on F-Droid via a web browser.
It's actively maintained.
And, it has zero internet permissions by design.

No internet permission asked is good.

But I'm not so sure about "org.fossify.android.permission.WRITE_GLOBAL_SETTINGS". Any idea what that would be needed for ?

And odd: the webpage mentions "read the contents of your shared storage",
but that doesn't show as a permission in the apps manifest ....

Regards,
Rudy Wieser


--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

R.Wieser wrote:

No internet permission asked is good.

But I'm not so sure about "org.fossify.android.permission.WRITE_GLOBAL_SETTINGS". Any idea what that would be needed for ?

And odd: the webpage mentions "read the contents of your shared storage", but that doesn't show as a permission in the apps manifest ....

Good questions. I don't know the answers.

Looking it up, it appears from what I've read that WRITE_GLOBAL_SETTINGS
isn't actually used by the app itself as I saw that it's apparently a
leftover permission that Fossify inherited from the old Simple Mobile Tools codebase (which was apparently sold to the devil a while ago).

Don't quote me, but apparently Fossify has been removing unneeded
permissions as they go, and this one is marked as deprecated. The app
doesn't have the privileges to use it unless it's installed as a system
app, so on a normal device it's effectively inert anyway.

As for the 'read shared storage' line, apparently F-Droid shows
capabilities based on what the app can do, not necessarily what's listed as
a runtime permission. Since Android 10+, apps don't request the old
READ/WRITE storage permissions anymore, given they use scoped storage
instead, it doesn't appear the same way in the manifest.

But you do you. As I said, I didn't test it myself. All I know is that the
app can save and read audio files locally, but it can't touch system
settings or the internet.

Let us know if you use it how it works out for you. Hopefully, maybe some
of the others will suggest better apps that you're more comfortable with.
--
Sometimes, the simplest answer is only simple only after you know it.
--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

Hey %name%,

Looking it up, it appears from what I've read that WRITE_GLOBAL_SETTINGS isn't actually used by the app itself as I saw that it's apparently a leftover permission that Fossify inherited from the old Simple Mobile
Tools codebase (which was apparently sold to the devil a while ago).

Don't quote me, but apparently Fossify has been removing unneeded
permissions as they go, and this one is marked as deprecated. The app
doesn't have the privileges to use it unless it's installed as a system
app, so on a normal device it's effectively inert anyway.

Is there a list somewhere with permissions and when they are relevant ? It would be good being able to filter out such meaningless permissions.

As for the 'read shared storage' line, apparently F-Droid shows
capabilities based on what the app can do, not necessarily what's listed
as a runtime permission.

Pretty-much the same as above. A list of default permissions would be good
to have.

Since Android 10+, apps don't request the old
READ/WRITE storage permissions anymore, given they use scoped storage instead, it doesn't appear the same way in the manifest.

So, it appears in some other way ? Any chance you can tell as wat ?

Regards,
Rudy Wieser


--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

R.Wieser wrote:

No internet permission asked is good.

I thought all apps were given android.permission.INTERNET for free,
without needing to ask?

--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

Andy Burns wrote:

No internet permission asked is good.

I thought all apps were given android.permission.INTERNET for free,
without needing to ask?

Hi Andy,

Don't quote me on anything I say, but I think apps do not get android.permission.INTERNET automatically. If an app doesn't declare it,
it simply can't open outbound network connections. So in this case,
I think that "no Internet permission" really does mean no Internet access.

"org.fossify.android.permission.WRITE_GLOBAL_SETTINGS".
Any idea what that would be needed for ?

That one looks scary because of the name, but it's not the real system WRITE_GLOBAL_SETTINGS permission. It's a custom, app-defined permission
left over from the old Simple Mobile Tools codebase. Normal apps can't
use the real system-level version unless they're installed as system
apps, so on a regular device it's inert.

Is there a list somewhere with permissions and when they are relevant ?

As far as I can tell, Android splits permissions into a few categories.
a. Normal permissions, granted automatically (e.g. INTERNET, VIBRATE)
b. Dangerous permissions, require runtime approval (camera, mic, etc.)
c. Signature/system permissions, which only work for system apps or apps
signed with the OS key (WRITE_GLOBAL_SETTINGS, WRITE_SECURE_SETTINGS)

As far as I can tell from looking it up, if a normal app declares a signature/system permission, it just gets ignored. But I could be wrong.

the webpage mentions "read the contents of your shared storage", but
that doesn't show as a permission in the apps manifest

Apparently, that's because F-Droid shows capabilities.
Not the raw manifest.

AFAIK, since Android 10+, apps don't request READ/WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE anymore. They use scoped storage or the system file picker, which
doesn't appear as a permission in the manifest at all (AFAICT).

So, it appears in some other way ? Any chance you can tell us wat ?

Scoped storage isn't a permission. It's just the default storage model
on modern Android. Apps can access files we select through the system
file picker without needing any manifest permission.

So in short:
a. The Fossify recorder really has no Internet access.
b. The scary-looking permission is a harmless leftover.
c. F-Droid's read shared storage line refers to capabilities,
not declared permissions.
d. Scoped storage doesn't show up as a permission anywhere.

Bear in mind I could be wrong on any of this stuff said above.
--
On Usenet, we pass along knowledge that once we had to learn ourselves.

--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

Andy,

I thought all apps were given android.permission.INTERNET for free,
without needing to ask?

Not as far as I know. Its specified in the manifest like this : android.permission.INTERNET

It would also be a rather bad idea to just give random apps internet access. It would be way too easy to do malicious stuff on your dime.

Regards,
Rudy Wieser


--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

R.Wieser wrote:

Andy Burns wrote:

I thought all apps were given android.permission.INTERNET for free,
without needing to ask?

Not as far as I know. Its specified in the manifest like this : android.permission.INTERNET

It would also be a rather bad idea to just give random apps internet access. It would be way too easy to do malicious stuff on your dime.

Ahh, I've misunderstood this one for years ... it's an install-time
permission so it needs to be in the manifest, but it doesn't need to be requested at runtime.
--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

Andy,

I thought all apps were given android.permission.INTERNET for free,
without needing to ask?

Not as far as I know. Its specified in the manifest like this :
android.permission.INTERNET

Ahh, I've misunderstood this one for years ... it's an install-time permission so it needs to be in the manifest, but it doesn't need to be requested at runtime.

You say something there : I have absolutily no idea how run-time asked permissions work or how the app is permitted to ask them in the first place.

Asking permissions only when they are needed sounds good enough, but its
like in-app purchases kids can spend a lot of money on - someone (kids or someone else temporary using the phone) could just press "yes" on such requests, just to quickly get what they are after. Not good. Not good. Not good at all.

@all :
If anyone knows how the run-time permissions are supposed to work I would
like to hear about it.

Regards,
Rudy Wieser


--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

R.Wieser wrote:

If anyone knows how the run-time permissions are supposed to work I would like to hear about it.

I'm always open about what I do know, and what I do not now, and I want to
be clear I had to look this one up, so everything said below can be wrong.

Regarding Andy's comments that apps get Internet permission for free, apparently it must be declared in the manifest and it never triggers a
runtime prompt, so the user won't see it during installation or runtime.

Runtime permissions are for things that expose private data or control hardware, such as camera, read_contacts, access_fine_location,
record_audio, and read_external_storage where two things are enforced:
a. They must be declared in the manifest, and,
b. They are requested at runtime (with a system dialog)

In the manifest is a declaration that the app might want to ask for it
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.CAMERA" />
At runtime, the app calls it:
requestPermissions(arrayOf(Manifest.permission.CAMERA), 123)

Android sees that the app declared the permission, so it allows the dialog. Conversely, if it wasn't declared, Android wouldn't allow that dialog.

As Andy had noted, Internet is a normal permission that
a. Doesn't trigger a runtime prompt
b. Doesn't appear in the system permission list
c. Cannot be denied by the user
d. Doesn't grant access to private data
All it does is allow an app to open sockets, so, apparently, Fossify left
it in because the original simple mobile tools used it for update checks.

Using adb, anyone can check for "android.permission.INTERNET" in an app.
adb shell dumpsys package com.fossify.voicerecorder | grep permission

Since Fossify voice recorder is open source, I'm going to assume that when
they say they don't use the Internet, they don't use it, but who knows.

Not me.
--
On Usenet, you can converse with kindly helpful knowledgeable people.
--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> wrote:

As Andy had noted, Internet is a normal permission that
a. Doesn't trigger a runtime prompt
b. Doesn't appear in the system permission list
c. Cannot be denied by the user
d. Doesn't grant access to private data
All it does is allow an app to open sockets, so, apparently, Fossify left
it in because the original simple mobile tools used it for update checks.

Using adb, anyone can check for "android.permission.INTERNET" in an app.
adb shell dumpsys package com.fossify.voicerecorder | grep permission

Since Fossify voice recorder is open source, I'm going to assume that when they say they don't use the Internet, they don't use it, but who knows.

On GrapheneOS it's possible to block apps from the network permission, even
if they ask for it. They are told they successfully are allowed to access
the network but that no network is currently available. So even if an app refuses to work if it can't claim the network permission, you can still use
it without it talking to the network.

This doesn't help with apps which make you log in before using them, but it does with a lot of apps whose primary business is not using some internet service.

Theo
--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

R.Wieser <address@is.invalid> wrote:

GitHub links do not really seem to work for me. Or rather, I get a webpage but it doesn't contain/show any APK download links. :-|

Look at the Releases section of the Github, which is typically shown in the right sidebar. Click on 'Releases' and it'll take you to a list. Not all projects have Releases, and not all of them use the Releases section to distribute .apks. In that case you may have to check the README section of
the project for install links/instructions.

If you're regularly installing .apks from Github, try Obtainium: https://obtainium.imranr.dev/
which will keep them up to date.

Theo
--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

Theo,

GitHub links do not really seem to work for me. Or rather, I get
a webpage but it doesn't contain/show any APK download links. :-|

Look at the Releases section of the Github,

I see nothing like that. I often see a list of source-files that I can
click, but not anything that I can download. I've even checked the
webpages sourcecode, and could not find an ".APK" anywhere.

Take this one :

https://github.com/you-apps/RecordYou

I see a "Navigation Menu" and a bit down "Folders and files" (just a header, for the rest empty), "Latest commit" (empty) and than "History". No "APK download" link anywhere. :-|

Regards,
Rudy Wieser


--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

"R.Wieser" wrote:

GitHub links do not really seem to work for me. Or rather, I get
a webpage but it doesn't contain/show any APK download links. :-|

Look at the Releases section of the Github,

I see nothing like that. I often see a list of source-files that I can click, but not anything that I can download. I've even checked the
webpages sourcecode, and could not find an ".APK" anywhere.

Take this one :

https://github.com/you-apps/RecordYou

I see a "Navigation Menu" and a bit down "Folders and files" (just a header, for the rest empty), "Latest commit" (empty) and than "History". No "APK download" link anywhere. :-|

As said, the "Releases" are in the right column, the latest is v8.0,
here's the .apk

<https://github.com/you-apps/RecordYou/releases/download/v8.0/app-release.apk> --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

Andy,

here's the .apk

<https://github.com/you-apps/RecordYou/releases/download/v8.0/app-release.apk>

Thank you. :-)

As said, the "Releases" are in the right column, the latest is v8.0,

Well, I do not see a column on the right, nor can I find the link to APK inspecting the raw web-page. :-\

Regards,
Rudy Wieser


--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

R.Wieser wrote:

I do not see a column on the right, nor can I find the link to APK
inspecting the raw web-page. :-\

click the yellow highlighted release tab, as per

<http://andyburns.uk/misc/github-release-tag.png>

If you don't see it ...

have you disabled javascript,
have you zoomed with ctrl+/- or scroll wheel,
or got an adblocker hiding parts of the page,
have you made the browser window too small so that the responsive design
is having to hide some page elements to make the rest fit on the screen?

--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

Andy Burns wrote:

I do not see a column on the right, nor can I find the link to APK
inspecting the raw web-page. :-\

click the yellow highlighted release tab, as per

<http://andyburns.uk/misc/github-release-tag.png>

If you don't see it ...

have you disabled javascript,
have you zoomed with ctrl+/- or scroll wheel,
or got an adblocker hiding parts of the page,
have you made the browser window too small so that the responsive design
is having to hide some page elements to make the rest fit on the screen?

I pointed Brave on Windows to <https://github.com/you-apps/RecordYou>
"Privacy focused voice and screen recorder app"

I didn't see an "apk" on that page, but there is a "latest" link.
<https://github.com/you-apps/RecordYou/releases/tag/v8.0>

Which brougt up a page where at the bottom was "app-release.apk"
<https://github.com/you-apps/RecordYou/releases/download/v8.0/app-release.apk>
Name: app-release.apk
Size: 2862953 bytes (2795 KiB)
SHA256: 11278D12B424D102812EE3AE62097664D1E0DA1E590520C4106E59C47E2E211A
--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

Theo wrote:

Since Fossify voice recorder is open source, I'm going to assume that when >> they say they don't use the Internet, they don't use it, but who knows.

On GrapheneOS it's possible to block apps from the network permission, even if they ask for it. They are told they successfully are allowed to access the network but that no network is currently available. So even if an app refuses to work if it can't claim the network permission, you can still use it without it talking to the network.

This is interesting and useful as learning about Android permissions is critical since they've changed so much since around Android 12+ days.

On my USA-spec Samsung, the bootloader is not known to be unlockable, so I would guess I'm left with using something like NetGuard to do that maybe?

This doesn't help with apps which make you log in before using them, but it does with a lot of apps whose primary business is not using some internet service.

Given that not having a mothership account on a device is the single most important privacy step, I've recently run into that problem you speak of.

Likely 1 in a million understand that sentence, but if they haven't
experienced what you just spoke about, then they're not set up for privacy.

Since you understands what Google (and developers) changed recently, could
you do me a favor and check this thread I recently authored on the topic?

*My unrootable USA Samsung Android 13 is degoogled so how can I*
*get around that some apps won't work without a Google Play account*
*(which I don't have)*
<https://xdaforums.com/t/my-unrootable-usa-samsung-android-13-is-degoogled-so-how-can-i-get-around-that-some-apps-wont-work-without-a-google-play-account-which-i-dont-have.4787922/>
--
Usenet allows helpful experts around the world combine their experiences.

--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

Maria Sophia wrote:

I pointed Brave on Windows to <https://github.com/you-apps/RecordYou>
"Privacy focused voice and screen recorder app"

I didn't see an "apk" on that page, but there is a "latest" link.
<https://github.com/you-apps/RecordYou/releases/tag/v8.0>

Which brougt up a page where at the bottom was "app-release.apk"
<https://github.com/you-apps/RecordYou/releases/download/v8.0/app-release.apk>
Name: app-release.apk
Size: 2862953 bytes (2795 KiB)
SHA256: 11278D12B424D102812EE3AE62097664D1E0DA1E590520C4106E59C47E2E211A

But, as Rudy noted prior, some github code pages do not contain an APK.
<https://github.com/1nikolas/play-integrity-checker-app>

You have to either build the APK yourself, from the code, or get the APK.
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=gr.nikolasspyr.integritycheck> --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

Andy,

click the yellow highlighted release tab, as per

<http://andyburns.uk/misc/github-release-tag.png>

If you don't see it ...

I don't.

Not even when I allow all the sub-domains. There is no column, on the right
or otherwise.

When I follow the, in your screenshot yellow-hilited, link I get a webpage which, in its raw content, also doesn't have an "APK" string anywhere. The word "download" appears once, but not related to a link.

I see "New features", "Other Changes" and "New Contributors", but no obvious way to download anything.

Regards,
Rudy Wieser


--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

"R.Wieser" wrote:

If you don't see it ...

I don't.

What browser?
--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

R.Wieser <address@is.invalid> wrote:

Andy,

click the yellow highlighted release tab, as per

<http://andyburns.uk/misc/github-release-tag.png>

If you don't see it ...

I don't.

Not even when I allow all the sub-domains. There is no column, on the right or otherwise.

When I follow the, in your screenshot yellow-hilited, link I get a webpage which, in its raw content, also doesn't have an "APK" string anywhere. The word "download" appears once, but not related to a link.

I see "New features", "Other Changes" and "New Contributors", but no obvious way to download anything.

Github is almost entirely generated by Javascript these days. You won't
find links in the source, because they are being generated dynamically by
the JS in your browser.

Something seems wrong with your JS rendering. Browser or addons?
If you have disabled JS (or via NoScript type addons) that will be a
problem.

Theo
--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

Andy,

If you don't see it ...

I don't.

What browser?

How does it matter which browser is used if the download link cannot even be found in the raw HTML ?

Regards,
Rudy Wieser


--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

Theo,

Github is almost entirely generated by Javascript these days.

I do see a webpage with content. In the case of https://github.com/you-apps/RecordYou I can, under "History", see and click entries like "ghbadge.png", "gradlew.bat", "LICENCE" and a few others and
get their contents - wrapped in a new webpage, but the content is viewable.

You won't find links in the source, because they are being
generated dynamically by the JS in your browser.

That might be the problem. I've got JS disabled for over a decade. Just
like I don't download-and-run random executables.

Regards,
Rudy Wieser


--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

R.Wieser <address@is.invalid> wrote:

Theo,

Github is almost entirely generated by Javascript these days.

I do see a webpage with content. In the case of https://github.com/you-apps/RecordYou I can, under "History", see and click entries like "ghbadge.png", "gradlew.bat", "LICENCE" and a few others and get their contents - wrapped in a new webpage, but the content is viewable.

You won't find links in the source, because they are being
generated dynamically by the JS in your browser.

That might be the problem. I've got JS disabled for over a decade. Just like I don't download-and-run random executables.

In which case, install Obtainium (this link doesn't need JS): https://github.com/ImranR98/Obtainium/releases/download/v1.4.3/app-release.apk

Open it, and press 'Add app'. In the 'App source URL' box enter github.com/you-apps/RecordYou and press Add. It'll show you what version is available and you can say if you want to install it. If you don't know the
URL you can give it a term to search various sites (Github, Gitlab, Codeberg, F-droid, Vivo app store).

It will also show if there updates to the apps you have installed through
it, and can update them automatically if you want that.

I did a search for RecordYou and the above you-apps/RecordYou came out as
the top hit, but it also warned me that the repo has been archived. The maintainer says:

"This repository is no longer maintained! The app is considered feature-complete though and will continue to work in the future, even though
no further updates will be released."

Theo
--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2