It can take a LONG time digging through various app stores, online reviews and forums to find the best tools and apps available within the world of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS). As such, we spend time every week curating a list of applications we feel will get our customers up and running as quickly as possible once they receive the phone.
This list has changed a fair amount since we started offering these phones in November of 2022, as sometimes the apps we used and liked have changed ownership and business practices and sometimes we simply find a better version of something we know you'll find useful.
If you have suggestions for apps we should have installed that are not listed here, please reach out to support@mark37.com and we'll consider the request.
STOCK GRAPHENEOS APPS (Can Not be Uninstalled)
Apps - You can manage some of the stock apps here and install the Sandboxed Google Play Services from here as well.
Auditor - App that is designed to validate the integrity of the operating system from another Android device.
Calculator - Simple calculator
Camera - Stock camera app. Recommend downloading Open Camera from F-Droid or checking out some other FOSS Camera apps with more bells and whistles.
Clock - Set the time, set an alarm or use the Timer or Stopwatch.
Contacts - Basic contacts app to store information for people in your life.
Files - Dig through the files on your device.
Gallery - Dig through the various pictures you've taken, downloaded and saved to the device.
Messaging - Stock messaging app. Recommend using QKSMS as your default messaging app however, as it has more features. Pick one, however, and stick with it as switching between Messaging apps can cause issues with the device over time.
PDF Viewer - View PDF files.
Phone - App that you can make and receive calls from.
Settings - Where you can find and tweak general settings on the device.
Vanadium - Stock browser on the device. Brave has been set as the default browser on The Ghost Phone. This is to be used should you accidentally remove all other browsers and/or app stores from the device.
For complete details on all of the apps listed above, please read the documentation directly from GrapheneOS.
OTHER APPS INSTALLED FROM F-DROID or AURORA STORE
Aegis - A free, secure, and open-source 2FA app for Android that allows you to manage your 2-step verification tokens for your online services.
AntennaPod - A free and open-source podcast player that allows you to search, download, manage and listen to a massive selection of podcasts.
Aurora Store - A private way to search, download and update apps that are generally found on the Google Play Store, without needing to login to a Google account or download Google Play Services.
Brave - The most private and secure browser available.
Calendar - An open-source, ad-free and private calendar app with lots of customization and features.
Collabora Office - A free and open-source office app that allows you to edit and manage documents directly from your phone.
DAVx5 - App that allows you to sync your calendar, contacts and notes between devices.
F-Droid - A free and open-source app store with over 1,000 apps.
FFUpdator - Another free and open-source app store specifically focused on browsers and email clients.
FUTO Voice - The best free and open-source voice to text app available.
Joplin - Note taking app.
K-9 Mail - An open-source email client that you can manage, send and receive your email through. Note, you can not create an email account through this app but can point email accounts created and hosted anywhere else to this client.
KeePassDX - Password management application.
Magic Earth - A privacy focused navigation app to replace Google Maps and/or Waze.
Mullvad VPN - A trusted VPN client. Requires a monthly subscription, as any decent VPN provider will/should.
Music Player - An open-source, ad-free music player app to listen to and manage your music.
NewPipe - An alternative to YouTube that allows you to watch and listen to any YouTube video ad-free and without YouTube/Google tracking.
NextCloud - Mobile app for the open-source file sharing and collaboration platform.
Notes - Another note taking app.
OfflineMaps - Solid mapping application specifically designed for those who spend their time hiking and backpacking without an internet or data connection.
OsmAnd+ - Another privacy focused navigation app to replace Google Maps and/or Waze.
Private Location - An app that allows you to fake or spoof your GPS and network location on your phone.
Proton Mail - Proton's email client. If you use the Calendar, VPN or other Proton services, there are separate apps you will need to install that you can find in the Aurora app store.
QKSMS - A preferred alternative to the stock Messaging app. Hint: to access emojis, simple press, hold and release the "enter" arrow on the bottom right of the keyboard.
RadioDroid - A free and open-source app that allows you to access any radio station from nearly everywhere in the world.
RustDesk - A free app that allows for remote access to your computer from your phone.
Signal - A private messenger app.
Telegram FOSS - The open-source version of Telegram that will run w/out Google Play Services. Note: You can not create a new account using this version of Telegram. Our Getting Started Guide has a tutorial on how to setup your account and then access it through this app.
The Life - A Bible app that allows you to search, compare and read various versions of the Bible.
Voice Recorder - Simple voice recorder app.
Weather - A simple, free and open-source weather app.
Zorin Connect - Similar to RustDesk, allowing you to sync your phone to your laptop if it is running the Zorin operating system (default OS for our Ghost Laptops).
PRO TIP: WE HIGHLY RECOMMEND YOU UNINSTALL THE APPS YOU DO NOT USE! Give yourself a few weeks to try them all out, and then uninstall those you know you will not be using. This will save storage space, ensure programs are not running in the background that do not need to be, and de-clutter your phone so you can get to what you need quicker.