Announcement by the creator: https://forum.syncthing.net/t/discontinuing-syncthing-android/23002

Unfortunately I don’t have good news on the state of the android app: I am retiring it. The last release on Github and F-Droid will happen with the December 2024 Syncthing version.

Reason is a combination of Google making Play publishing something between hard and impossible and no active maintenance. The app saw no significant development for a long time and without Play releases I do no longer see enough benefit and/or have enough motivation to keep up the ongoing maintenance an app requires even without doing much, if any, changes.

Thanks a lot to everyone who ever contributed to this app!

  • Churbleyimyam@lemm.ee
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    15 minutes ago

    I’ve installed it from F-droid but still. Fuck google. They really do need breaking up.

    I heavily rely on Syncthing. Does anyone know what the outlook is for Syncthing-fork, or what the likelihood is of someone taking on maintenance of this version?

  • imsodin@infosec.pub
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    49 minutes ago

    I am not the creator, funnily that is/was one of the Lemmy creators: Nutomic :)
    I am a syncthing co-maintainer that kept the android app on life support since a while.

  • GBU_28@lemm.ee
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    1 hour ago

    Literally set up a home Nas and syncthing last week.

    What’s a good alternative for Android?

  • BearOfaTime@lemm.ee
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    1 hour ago

    I can only hope the company makes the iOS client (Möbius) decides they need syncthing to continue and decide to get behind it.

    As I recall, they use Syncthing as a solution in their business, this would be a big-break for them.

    mobiussync.com

    • Moonrise2473@feddit.it
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      47 minutes ago

      It says “unlimited file sync is a $5 in-app unlock” so I’m guessing they can make money. Main problem is the apple developer fees that will eat the profit of the first 25 sales each year

      • BearOfaTime@lemm.ee
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        18 minutes ago

        Maybe I’m misremembering, but I thought they used Syncthing as part of a business not directly related to Möbius - as a vendor supplying data management solutions to other companies. I suspect Möbius came out of need for their clients.

        I can picture the vendor website in my head, just wish I could remember who it was for sure.

        I would eagerly pay for syncthing, it’s that important to me. I keep hundreds of gigs moving around using it. It’s on my annual donate list already, but clearly that’s insufficient.

        Maybe the Syncthing-Fork dev will keep it going.

        iOS is already more restricted on app sandboxes, and Möbius can handle it in the paid version.

        On Android, Resilio somehow has more file access than Syncthing, even without root (it can read/write to either SD card root, while Syncthing can only write to a subfolder of SD0, and can’t write anywhere of an external SD). So there’s something going on.

    • BearOfaTime@lemm.ee
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      11 minutes ago

      That takes a lot more effort.

      With Syncthing, I don’t have to setup a server, poke holes in my firewall/expose ports, etc.

      Plus Foldersync is way harder on battery, I’ve experimented a lot.

      And I’ve used Foldersync since at least 2010 - it’s great, really has it’s uses.

  • Moonrise2473@feddit.it
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    3 hours ago

    Does anyone know why it was forked and the fork got all the improvements while the official app is in the exact same state of when it was launched years ago?

    It was because all the proposals got rejected?

    Because if he rejected all the improvements I don’t really understand why he’s saying “nobody wants to help development”

    • imsodin@infosec.pub
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      54 minutes ago

      It’s all in the open, you can go dig around for reasons. As usual there wasn’t a single simple one. Neither was it some kind of complete fallout, we e.g. collaborated on translations and I have been in contact around various things with the one that forked.

  • xodoh74984@lemmy.world
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    5 hours ago

    This is sad. Google Play should never hold this weight the self hosted community. For Android users dedicated to open source software, F-Droid is the target.

    I don’t think SyncThing users would have much issue with the app disappearing from Google. Doing away with Google is the goal.

    • absGeekNZ@lemmy.nz
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      4 hours ago

      The problem is not “Syncthing users” it is the others that we bring along with us.

      I already have F-Droid on my phone, but the dozen others that I have promoted Syncthing to over the years do not. This is going to cause a bunch of problems.

      This is much more important than what you portray here.

      • tychosmoose@lemm.ee
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        4 hours ago

        That and the shrinking ability to grant access to device storage. If that becomes an option only on rooted phones (which seems like the directly Google is heading) it will make the audience for such an app much smaller.

    • CosmicTurtle0@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      2 hours ago

      As much as I want to use F-Droid, my work blocks all third party app stores so it’s either have access to my work stuff on one phone (via profiles) or dual wield two phones.

      I lack the patience to dual wield again. It’s very annoying.

  • BrianTheeBiscuiteer@lemmy.world
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    5 hours ago

    Hoping it remains viable for a long time without updates. Syncing my KeePass database is really key for me. I need to fluidly add and read passwords from at least 3 devices.

  • gedaliyah@lemmy.world
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    4 hours ago

    Oh No! This is terrible news. This IMHO is one of the most irreplaceable projects out there. I don’t know of another cross-platform local file syncing app that comes anywhere close to this. I hope that it can continue even if it’s not through the Play Store.

    Google seems to be torpedoing open source developments with a number of decisions lately. Maybe they see F-Droid as a threat now that EU is making them open competition? Maybe they just don’t care.

  • ma1w4re@lemm.ee
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    5 hours ago

    OH NO, I hope the fork will continue for a bit otherwise I’m so cooked 🥶🥶🥶

  • The Snark Urge@lemmy.world
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    5 hours ago

    Just got into using Syncthing for my home network, was thinking I should add it to my phone. Makes sense it dies the instant I consider it