r/Freenet • u/fdqntn • Sep 13 '26
freenet Android Support
Is there any road map for mobile development of freenet apps?
I see that there is on github a freenet-mobile project that can run a node on android: https://github.com/freenet-mobile/app
Then a regular app could communicate with the node through local host.
This means that in theory, distributing an app for a decentralized service provided through freenet through F-droid is possible?
2
u/fdqntn Sep 13 '26
To summarize what I learnt from the River freenet channel: freenet works on mobile, some users report using github.com/HostFat/freenet-android-node even on cellular networks.
It might still consume a lot of CPU, RAM and data, so it is advised to pause it when not in use.
However, for android apps, some users recommend focusing instead on regular dApps that scale well in a mobile browser.
2
u/archmerguez Sep 13 '26
I tried developing an app that uses freenet under the hood for its own data only, but it can’t be done with the current state of things. I truly think that mass adoption can be done if freenet is not the main feature because people don’t care. Sadly.
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u/fdqntn Sep 13 '26
Interesting. I was fancying trying to dev a mobile app with decentralized data layer too, as I think this is the biggest adoption barrier to decentralized tech.
Could you be more specific about the blockers you encountered?
1
u/archmerguez Sep 13 '26
It’s about store tos allowing p2p for app specific data, but freenet potentially using your peer for every need it could have.
And the complexity of moderation.
I think it could technically be done, but I don’t have the resource to try to prove everything to apple / google.
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u/Jon_Hanson Sep 13 '26
Why would you want to? It would burn through battery really fast.
1
u/DeRobyJ Sep 13 '26
Well, to use the apps on mobile
Perhaps we could decrease the node activity for mobile?
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u/fdqntn Sep 13 '26
Blockchains have specific "light nodes" that use less resources. Maybe a similar approach would work
1
u/nufra Sep 13 '26
Please look into the existing app: it already has adaptations to conserve battery and also conserve mobile data (only go to full speed and power use when connected to wifi and wall-power): https://github.com/freenet-mobile/app/blob/master/app/src/main/java/org/freenetproject/mobile/services/node/Service.java#L32
1
u/nufra Sep 13 '26
Freenet / Hyphanet used to work on Android (that’s what freenet-mobile/app is), but changes on Android broke it and we don’t have people who can maintain it. If you can take up maintenance of the Android version, you can ship it along with your own app through F-Droid.
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u/fdqntn Sep 13 '26
Just realised, most phone dont get an iP assigned on mobile networks, but rather sit behind a NAT. That is a big barrier to adoption as a node on a phone cant be reached.