[nmglug] .7z archive apps and GrapheneOS

[Anthony J. Bentley]

Hi Tom,

Tom Ashcraft writes:
> I'm really new to GrapheneOS.  But after considerable study, 
> experimentation and general poking around, it seems to me that obtaining 
> any existing .7z archiving app, or side loading an APK for the same from 
> any available app store that doesn't compromise my anonymity (only 
> F-Droid and Aurora Store as far as I know)--or worse, directly hand over 
> my identity and data to Google again by means of immediately re-chaining 
> me to the same Play Store which I have recently worked so hard to 
> escape--is just about impossible.

Sometimes it takes some searching to find an app with the features you
want because it doesn't advertise those features well. Forum posts seem
to indicate that file managers often support compression formats without
necessarily saying so.

Unfortunately I'm currently phoneless so I can't test out any potential
7zip extracting apps for you. But perhaps try one of these:

https://f-droid.org/en/packages/org.brandroid.openmanager/
https://f-droid.org/en/packages/me.zhanghai.android.files/
https://github.com/mahmoudgalal/ZeeArchiver-Android

If you don't mind doing command-line stuff on your phone, Termux should
be able to install p7zip from its package repos:

https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.termux/

> At this point I'm under the impression that the only practical 
> workarounds for the situation might be to either modify an existing APK 
> that presently contains said unwanted tracking baggage, or compile a new 
> one from source.

If all else fails, Android and GrapheneOS have strong app sandboxing
features. You should be able to install a proprietary app, and before
opening it for the first time, go into the operating system's app
settings and remove all permissions it doesn't need (particularly
network, location, and microphone), leaving perhaps only storage
permissions.

-- 
Anthony J. Bentley