What apps are on The Ghost Phone? Well, 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 few months 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’d like to learn more about The Ghost Phone, check out our article Getting Started w/ Your Ghost Phone HERE.
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. Information on how to do this safely can be found at the end of our detailed Getting Started Guide that comes with each device and can be found HERE.
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 QUIK 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 on The Ghost Phone
Note: As of November 17, 2025 we have made some significant changes to our pre-installed app selections. To make the process of loading new applications onto the device simpler and faster for both us and you (should you ever need to do this on your own) we now use the Obtainium app for most “core” installations as well as Droid-ify (which replaces F-Droid) and the Aurora app store. If you’re installing these apps on your own, you’ll need to first install the Obtainium app using the stock Vanadium browser by going here https://mark37.com/ghost-phones/obtainium-latest.
What is Obtainium?
Obtainium is an Application Manager. Unlike an App Store where you can search for applications you wish to install, Obtainium takes in “definitions” for how an application is installed and handles the installation and future updates for you. We use Obtainium to handle the installation of many of our core applications because it means that we can quickly reproduce a complete “load out” of our base applications on a fresh installation of GrapheneOS.
Applications Installed with Obtainium
Aurora Store – A private way to search, download and update apps that are generally found on the Google Play Store, without needing to log in to a Google account or download Google Play Services
Brave – The most private and secure browser available
CoMaps – CoMaps is a community-driven, free and open-source, offline navigation app that uses map data from OpenStreetMap (OSM) and designed to work without internet access.
Droid-ify – An app store for open source Android applications, similar to, but better than, F-Droid.
Ente Auth – A free, open source, cross-platform 2FA authenticator, with end-to-end encrypted backups
KeePassDX – Password management application
LocalSend – Allows you to share files to most all other devices near you
Mullvad VPN – A trusted VPN client. Requires a monthly subscription, as any decent VPN provider will/should
QUIK (formerly known as 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
SMS Import / Export – Tool we recommend using for migrating your text and phone logs from one Android device (like your old Google Android phone) to another Android device (like the Ghost Phone). Also serves as a way to backup your phone and text logs which you can save onto a thumbdrive, external hard drive or your local laptop.
Standard Notes – Alternative note taking app
Thunderbird – A 100% open source, privacy focused email management app that can sync with your desktop Thunderbird application
What is Droid-ify?
Droid-ify is an App Store for open source Android applications. Droid-ify is very much like F-Droid, the App Store we used install by default on our Ghost Phones, but more expansive, making it easier to find and load new catalogs of open source applications including, but not limited to, the F-Droid repository.
Applications Installed with Droid-ify
AntennaPod – A free and open-source podcast player that allows you to search, download, manage and listen to a massive selection of podcasts
Fossify 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
FUTO Keyboard (w/ FUTO Voice) – The best free and open-source keyboard w/ swipe text feature AND voice to text app available
FUTO Voice – Should you not want to use the FUTO Keyboard but still want the same voice to text functionality
Grayjay – Alternative to NewPipe, which allows you to watch YouTube without Google monitoring everything you do, which enables you to also create and watch video content in your own terms, fully retaining ownership and having control over what you watch
Fossify 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
Fossify Notes – Another note taking app
The Life – A Bible app that allows you to search, compare and read various versions of the Bible
Fossify Voice Recorder – Simple voice recorder app
Breezy Weather – A simple, free and open-source weather app
Applications Installed with Aurora Store
Magic Earth – A privacy focused navigation app to replace Google Maps and/or Waze
Applications Easily Installable within the Obtainium app but not in our Core Load Out
Note: To install these applications:
– Open the Obtainium app
– Find the application desired on the list
– Tap on the application
– Tap Install (bottom of screen)
DAVx5 – App that allows you to sync your calendar, contacts and notes between devices
Ente Photos – A secure, cross-platform, open source, encrypted photo storage app
Immich – A self hosted photo and video management platform
NextCloud – Mobile app for the open-source file sharing and collaboration platform
Proton Mail – Proton’s email client. If you use the Calendar, or other Proton services, there are separate apps you will need to install that you can find in the Aurora app store
Proton Drive – Proton’s “cloud” file storage service
Proton VPN – Proton’s VPN service
RustDesk – A free app that allows for remote access to your computer from your phone
Signal – A private messenger app
Other Applications No Longer Installed by Default
Note: All of these applications can still be downloaded and are available within the Droid-ify app.
The applications are either no longer supported by a development team, are redundant to other applications we think are superior, are not used by customers and thus not critical to be installed, or are run by companies we simply no longer wish to support.
Aegis – A free, secure, and open-source 2FA (Two-Factor Authentication) app for Android that allows you to manage your 2-step verification tokens for your online services
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
Fake Traveler – An app that allows you to fake or spoof your GPS and network location on your phone
Joplin – 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
RadioDroid – A free and open-source app that allows you to access any radio station from nearly everywhere in the world
Session – A private messenger that aims to remove any chance of metadata collection by routing all messages through an onion routing network
Telegram FOSS – The open-source version of Telegram that will run without 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.
Tuta Mail – End-to-end encrypted email 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.
