I am on GrapheneOS, but this concerns Android as a whole. From the options of Fdroid and GitHub (Obtainium) which is the safest way to install an app?
From the GrapheneOS forums, I see many people recommending GitHub over Fdroid as it is straight from the source. I know its true, but if a developer adds a ‘not-so-safe’ piece of code or introduces tracking, Obtainium would automatically update my app without letting me know about the changes. But from what I have seen from Fdroid they usually pause or cancel the update or app if these changes were to take place (Example, Simple Gallery or Mull for Android).
So I am confused. Whom should I trust more, Fdroid with their own app builds or the Developers on GitHub?
Also I have seen that Obtainium when used with a VPN to fetch app updates, will get rate limited by GitHub. Also I don’t really like GitHub as a code repository, with their tracking and rate limiting. I don’t know if Fdroid tracks user.
What you see in the source code on GitHub is not necessarily what you get when you download the “release”. The only way to do that is to compile the code yourself or, alternatively, someone like the fine folks at FDroid review and compile it for you. So essentially you’re trusting FDroid instead of the developer.
If you’re a savvy person you can review and compile the code yourself, and that would be the most secure way, but who has time for that?
So yes, I would recommend FDroid when both options are available.