Simple Mobile Tools falls victim to ZipoApps
The news is spreading like wildfire in the Android Community: Simple Mobile Tools - a suite of applications initially designed because the developers hated how default apps on various devices were privacy-invasive, needed unnecessary permissions and more - is in the process of being bought by ZipoApps.
ZipoApps is a company which makes no original products. They have bought up various apps - including one which's previous developer I quite respected, Powershade - and started bloating them with advertisements and turning them into freemium-apps with subscription models. Even when the app previously had a pay-once for lifetime model.
This is alarming when looking at Simple Mobile Tools, which was previously known for being very privacy-friendly and without any bullshit, for lack of better words.
The future of the apps stays uncertain, but there is a thread on GitHub with discussions regarding this change. I will try to monitor this and add any relevant details on how the apps will be moving forward.
What ZipoApps cannot do:
- Re-License the App(s)
- Refuse to publish their updated versions
- Leave changes undocumented
- Leave out copyright notices
These are important to note down here for those uninformed. They come from the GPLv3, which is the license that Simple Mobile Tools is under.
Updates:
(everything is Berlin Time/ GMT+1/2, 24-Hour format)
2nd of December at ~17:00
The apps may be forked and maintained by naveensingh if he gets a greenlight from tibbi to do so.
https://github.com/SimpleMobileTools/General-Discussion/issues/241#issuecomment-1837179926
3rd of December at ~6:00
A user spotted and another explained ZipoApps' move process https://github.com/SimpleMobileTools/General-Discussion/issues/241#issuecomment-1837379363
3rd of December at ~11:00
Discussion directly with Tibbi
- https://github.com/SimpleMobileTools/General-Discussion/issues/241#issuecomment-1837440803
- https://github.com/SimpleMobileTools/General-Discussion/issues/241#issuecomment-1837452672
3rd of December at ~13:00
Naveensingh moves forks of the applications over to a new GitHub Organization https://github.com/SimpleMobileTools/General-Discussion/issues/241#issuecomment-1837464578
3rd of December at ~14:00
LambdAurora analyzes the licensing and (a lack of) the CLA agreement https://github.com/SimpleMobileTools/General-Discussion/issues/241#issuecomment-1837471132
General Update
The organization has been moved to https://github.com/FossifyOrg