I'm unclear on why F-Droid is any safer than the playstore and not possibly worse since using it tells potential malware purveyors that you're into sideloading in the first place.
I'm unclear on why F-Droid is any safer than the playstore and not possibly worse since using it tells potential malware purveyors that you're into sideloading in the first place.
Because F-Droid inspects the source code of the applications they build, removes malware and other antifeatures from them, and compiles them from source to ensure that the binaries they deliver correspond to the source code they've inspected. The Google Play Store doesn't do any of those things. Consequently it's full of malware.
F-Droid provides curated applications vetted by parties that *the user* chooses to trust.
By default, F-Droid provides only the applications that they themselves have verified and built from source. They also allow the user to add other sources from other parties who the user trusts (e.g. GuardianProject, IzzyOnDroid, and others[0]).
Google provides any application uploaded by any anonymous third-party who signs up as a developer (and in future, provides the required ID).
[0] https://forum.f-droid.org/t/known-repositories/721
Not to be an asshole, but you must not be very familiar with F-Droid.
It’s not just a random hodgepodge of “third party” binaries. It’s all FOSS software that was actually built from source and verified.
Probably much safer than a random app on the Play Store.
If I had to install a random app from the play store or from F-droid, I would pick F-droid every time. The level of vetting they apply is miles ahead of Google.