# **Android** > is a mobile operating system based on a modified version of the Linux kernel and other open-source software, designed primarily for touchscreen mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. Android is developed by a consortium of developers known as the Open Handset Alliance, though its most widely used version is primarily developed by Google. It was unveiled in November 2007, with the first commercial Android device, the HTC Dream, being launched in September 2008. > At its core, the operating system is known as **Android Open Source Project (AOSP) and is free and open-source software (FOSS)** primarily licensed under the Apache License. `However most devices run on the proprietary Android version developed by Google`, which ship with additional proprietary closed-source software pre-installed, most notably Google Mobile Services (GMS) which includes core apps such as Google Chrome, the digital distribution platform Google Play, and the associated Google Play Services development platform. While AOSP is free, the "Android" name and logo are trademarks of Google, which imposes standards to restrict the use of Android branding by "uncertified" devices outside their ecosystem. --- ## Helpful Links [Android FOSS](https://github.com/offa/android-foss) [Awesome Android](https://github.com/LinuxCafeFederation/awesome-android) [List of free and open-source Android applications](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_free_and_open-source_Android_applications) ## Playstore Alternatives [Google Play Store Alternatives](https://poal.co/s/Android/510233) - [F-Droid](https://f-droid.org/) - [F-Droid Repositories Lists](https://poal.co/s/Android/511481) - [Aurora Store](https://auroraoss.com/) - [FOSSDroid](https://fossdroid.com/) --- ## Alternate Operating Systems / Custom Roms [LineageOS for microG](https://poal.co/s/Android/625188) - https://lineage.microg.org [GrapheneOS](https://poal.co/s/Android/621221) - https://grapheneos.org/ [Plasma Mobile](https://poal.co/s/Android/511386) - https://plasma-mobile.org/ CalyxOS - https://calyxos.org/ LineageOS - https://lineageos.org/ --- ## Privacy [PilferShush Jammer](https://poal.co/s/Android/559654) [UntrackMe](https://poal.co/s/Android/508777) [InviZible Pro](https://poal.co/s/Android/508783) [Starfish/Imagepipe](https://poal.co/s/Android/475407) [Adguard](https://poal.co/s/Android/434252) [Unexpected Keyboard](https://poal.co/s/Android/652654) --- ## Termux > [Termux](https://termux.dev/en/) is an **Android terminal emulator and Linux environment app** that works directly with no rooting or setup required. A minimal base system is installed automatically - additional packages are available using the APT package manager. - https://termux.dev/en/ - https://github.com/termux/termux-app ### [Installation](https://github.com/termux/termux-app#Installation) Get Termux from [F-Droid](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.termux) or [Github](https://github.com/termux/termux-app/releases). Never install Termux from a third-party source! Play Store releases are depreciated and a security risk. Allow termux to download files into your phone's storage `termux-setup-storage` Update all packages `pkg update && pkg upgrade` ### More Info [Termux File System Layout](https://github.com/termux/termux-packages/wiki/Termux-file-system-layout) [The Termux Wiki](https://wiki.termux.com/wiki/Main_Page) [Awesome Termux](https://github.com/T4P4N/Awesome-Termux) --- ## Tutorials [Install and use yt-dlp on Android (Termux)](https://poal.co/s/Android/617116) [Host a webserver (Nginx) on Android with Termux](https://poal.co/s/Android/597669) [How to Add a Repo to F-Droid](https://poal.co/s/Android/511482) [Download YouTube videos with Termux (links inside)](https://poal.co/s/Android/510167) [Play games in Termux](https://poal.co/s/Android/510190) [Use InviZible with Adguard (DNSCrypt + DNS filtering + Http filtering + Tor)](https://poal.co/s/Android/509281) [Convert Images, Audio, and Videos with Termux](https://poal.co/s/Android/628589) [[Termux] Install Tesseract OCR (Optical Character Recognition)](https://poal.co/s/Android/694862)