yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Android Apps and Games] XAM999:
Thanks for coming out and clarifying this!! So it was from the team the overarching umbrella site that it "never made the cut", that's how it felt, some abandoned idea.

As a user coming from playstore new to this, it doesn't really feel safe. When you search for aurora store on duckduckgo the first results are: the typical f-droid hit and downloadpages like uptotown (never heard) and softonic. The first hits that look like they could be from the project are:

Aurora Store v4.4.4 - Download Aurora Store Apk for Android

Aurora Store is a free and fantastic Google Play Store alternative where you can download apps, update the apps you already have, receive details about in-app

aurorastore.org

Edit: Now search on duckduckgo shows only link above...

and the other page we talked about.

on gitlab search i got first that i got shown was the:

GitHub - whyorean/AuroraStore

Contribute to whyorean/AuroraStore development by creating an account on GitHub.

github.com

All in all it is for a person new to this very confusing, sends a ton of signals of uncertainity, it would be better to have one source of truth than 5 abandoned ones as "trashy" as they are (sorry for the wording).

Yeah well f-droid i wanted to avoid it is not really secure. The sign apps with their own keys and other things.

F-Droid Security Issues

F-Droid is a popular alternative app repository for Android, especially known for its main repository dedicated to free and open-source software. F-Droid is often recommended among security and privacy enthusiasts, but how does it stack up against Play Store in practice? This write-up will...

privsec.dev

For that reason i want to use other sources with hashes and to a lesser degree signatures.

Regarding the hash values: It would be really a good practise that everyone publishes them of every downloadable version. It very, very accessible, takes like 10 seconds to do so i want to advertise for that. Why not have them both? signatures and hashes. The more widespread it is the more secure it is if the hashes are across more pages the same it is the right file. Not everyone likes checking signature which is way more complicated.

Thanks for writing back: feels much better now. And have a good flight!
[Android Apps and Games] migubaez:
Hello, I have a question, why in the new version of Aurora Store 4.2.5 does it tell me "wow, this account has a limited rate"? how can i solve it?
[Android Apps and Games] dope77:
This happens because there are a lot of users using the google accounts provided by the aurora token dispenser. This rate limiting would last for few days iirc before it starts working properly.

You can create a google mail for aurora usage only, won't affect you in any way
[Android Apps and Games] Badger50:
Thread lightly cleaned.​

Greetings to all. As a friendly reminder, name calling, and disrespectful posts are a violation of XDA Rule 2.3:

Spoiler content hidden.

While we understand that conflict is often innevitable, we would appreciate it if you would just "report" offending posts, rather than responding to them. That way you don't get

"Red Carded" for retalition tactics as is often the case.

Your cooperation is greatly appreciated.

-Regards: Badger50
[Android Apps and Games] theimpulson:
Yeah, I can see your point. I have forwarded your suggestions for showing SHA and better website designs to the developers who are responsible for them. No promises if it will be implemented but I will update here regardless.

Regarding F-Droid, there is now another version called F-Droid Basic (call it canary or alpha) which is maintained by another developer I work with. I suggest you try that. It fixes some of the points mentioned in the article.
[Android Apps and Games] migubaez:
Greetings, sorry for the inconvenience, where can I get all the XDA rules?
[Android Apps and Games] Badger50:
They were already linked in the post you quoted.

But here you go. 😉
[Android Apps and Games] migubaez:
Oh, thanks and sorry I hadn't seen it hehe, I'm still a bit new to XDA
[Android Apps and Games] theimpulson:
I released 4.3.0 today. While the changelog may seem quite simple, please notice that this release contains quite a major internal UI-related migration work that changes how the app behaves internally. Some setting options have been retired (for now) and will be restored in coming releases while some might not be.

Features that were removed:

Default Tab: Some people mentioned that they like to have the Updates tab as default as they only use Aurora Store for updates. I am aware of it and working on adding background auto-updates in the store to accommodate this issue as well as bringing back the said tab.

Quick Exit: Aurora Store from now will have quick exit as the default behavior. This was removed due to conflict with the UI-related migration and isn't compatible anymore.

Downloads menu action (on the main screen): Downloads are no longer accessible from the main screen (top right-hand side icon). To access it, please slide the drawer open. This was removed due to conflict with the UI-related migration and isn't compatible anymore.

Things that have changed:

F-Droid releases will be slow for this and coming 2 to 3 releases. The reason for that is the fact that I am working on a major internal code overhaul while fixing bugs and adding new features. F-Droid is a bit slow on picking up new release tags and I would like to avoid releasing broken things. I will monitor and manually update new versions on F-Droid by hand once I deem them to be stable enough. Assume this to be done in the same week if no major bugs are reported. I will enable automatic updates again once the planned migrations have been completed.
[Android Apps and Games] theimpulson:
I have restored the default tab feature in the latest nightly. Expect it to be part of the next stable release.
[Android Apps and Games] rho-bot:
Many thanks for your continuous efforts keeping Aurora project alive (y)

Unfortunately, still no rollout via internal update function :unsure:
[Android Apps and Games] dope77:
The library and purchases tabs aren't working (library doesn't show anything and purchases only shows lile 5,6 apps only) and I'm trying to install this app

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.disney.castleofillusion_goo but for some reason i can't find it in search results.

If i use custom tab i can see it but when i try to install it, aurora store shows me this error (image below) . The app is still available on google play. Any idea why's this happening or how to fix it?
[Android Apps and Games] theimpulson:
Try to login again
[Android Apps and Games] dope77:
Already tried multiple times.

Tried also on stable, old versions of stable and nighly builds and all exhibit same behavior, game won't install + won't appear in search results unless i use custom tabs.

And for some reason it shows the target sdk as 0, build number as 0, shows no changelog and size appears as NA (check image in previous post)
[Android Apps and Games] SyCoREAPER:
I'm curious, why does creating a new session suddenly find new updates?

If I refresh the downloads nothing further shows up but often starting a new session it finds another few apps with updates
[Android Apps and Games] dope77:
https://xdaforums.com/t/app-5-0-aur...tore-client-aug-14-2023.3739733/post-88593953
[Android Apps and Games] SyCoREAPER:
Guess I wasn't using the right terms. Wish this was on the first page but thanks.

Answered very concisely.
[Android Apps and Games] david003:
From what they've said, updates are rolled out over time in different regions or for different accounts. So a new session logged in under a different account/region may get the updates that the old one didn't.

I also have my apps setup for tracking in Obtanium, checking apkpure. There are often several apps that show updates on apkpure that I have to wait for Aurora Store to get, sometimes days, weeks, or even more than a month.
[Android Apps and Games] SyCoREAPER:
Personally I don't trust ApkPure. They either let or intentionally embedded Trojan injecting Malware in their own app. If they can't maintain their own app, I don't trust their signature checks or that they do their due diligence with regular monitoring.
[Android Apps and Games] david003:
I don't fully trust apkpure, either. Right now I'm just using it for tracking, though (to check if there's an update available). I set up Obtanium when Aurora Store was having so many problems as a backup in case there was no better option.
[Android Apps and Games] MarkCollin:
I'm sorry. I wonder if this Trojan injecting infects only Android and Windows or the Mac operating system?
[Android Apps and Games] :
Every now and then, I get this error message since version 4.3.1 (Aurora nightly) while checking for updates! Never seen this before. :unsure:
[Android Apps and Games] david003:
I've also gotten that same error several times on 4.3.1 stable.
[Android Apps and Games] theimpulson:
Any chances you can grab a log and share it?
[Android Apps and Games] david003:
Here you go.
[Android Apps and Games] SyCoREAPER:
Can confirm I've encountered it as well but I just did a clean install so no logs unfortunately. Just chiming in that I've seen it as well
[Android Apps and Games] wildcat777:
What's your thoughts on uptodown app as an alternative to apkpure?

Aurora store 4.3.1 is working fine for me, but only for updates, the only way I can download apps is from the likes of apkpure, uptodown etc......I'm on harmonyos so no playstore.

Aurora store search facility doesn't work, well at least for me anyway.
[Android Apps and Games] dope77:
Uptodown and apkpure are the shadiest websites you could ever visit. I've personally seen apps being modified and injected with adwares on uptodown.

Use apkmirror
[Android Apps and Games] wildcat777:
Thanks mate, advice much appreciated.....I'll delete uptodown👍
[Android Apps and Games] david003:
I agree, apkmirror is better. I wish Obtanium supported it. But since Aurora Store is working again, that's the safest I think.
[Android Apps and Games] dope77:
I just use apkmirror to update OEM apps since you don't find them on google play.

I've also made a gmail just for aurora and aurora is only allowed to access the internet over a vpn (using afwall) so Google won't get my ip/there won't be ip leak in case vpn fails.
[Android Apps and Games] mlkdom:
ApkPure 4.3.1 crash

Step 1. Click on "Updates"

Step 2. Select "Messenger Lite" or another no longer available on Google Play

Step 3. Click on "Update"

Result for ApkPure 4.1.1 - "Failed to fetch app detailis" + "Download failed" + "App not purchased"

Result for ApkPure 4.3.1 - "Download failed" + "App not purchased" + Application crash
[Android Apps and Games] n1gh7mar3:
nvmd...
[Android Apps and Games] :
Seems to be fixed in Aurora nightly 29.08.23! Tested 2 days and the error message didn't show up again. Big thanks to @theimpulson (y)
[Android Apps and Games] GalaxyA325G:
I'm not sure if this is an appropriate post (if not, please delete it with no hard feelings remaining)... but... I think this suggestion helps many others...

I have a USE MODEL to suggest... which is absolutely FANTASTIC (IMHO) when it incorporates the Aurora Store into that use model.

1. First, I find the app using the filters from the App Finder

2. Then, the App Finder passes me to the Aurora Store to get it

Note I have no Google Account (or any account!) on my phone (for the obvious privacy reasons) - so the ONLY way I can get apps off the Google Play Store repository is via the wonderful Aurora Store app.
[Android Apps and Games] GalaxyA325G:
BTW, can someone point me to why I constantly (like almost every day) get this message from the Aurora Store?

Aurora Store "Failed to fetch app details"

Samsung Galaxy A32-5G, Android 13, Aurora Store v4.2.5(47)
[Android Apps and Games] david003:
To install from Aurora store, under Aurora Store Settings -> Advanced, turn on "Search in Custom Tab."

Then, in system App Settings for Aurora Store turn on "Open supported links" and select "play.google.com"

Search for the app in Aurora Store. It will open in a browser. With the app selected in the browser, tap on the menu drop-down in the upper-right corner in the browser, and select "Open in App" It will install in Aurora Store. No google account needed.
[Android Apps and Games] dope77:
Is there a way to ge paid apps that require license check to work when installed from aurora? Trying to install Franko kernel manager but i keep getting license check failed and i need to purchase legitimate copy
[Android Apps and Games] theimpulson:
This is a check that some apps do to ensure that they have been installed from the Play Store. Use either root or shizuku as an installer as they are able to spoof it.
[Android Apps and Games] fobtob387:
Does Aurora Services spoof it as well?
[Android Apps and Games] dope77:
I'm already using root installation method tho
[Android Apps and Games] RootedLee:
auroraoss.com is down ..
[Android Apps and Games] theimpulson:
Reported to server team. Thanks for the tip.

Sent from ASUS_AI2302 using ReLabs
[Android Apps and Games] theimpulson:
Tagged v4.3.2. The release is up on GitLab for those who are on Rahul's key. F-Droid should follow in a couple of days (requires to manually update).

Changelog :

• Switching to the system theme from a dark theme updates the UI properly

• Dialogs on the home screen no longer hide certain views

• Opening a Google Play link now ensures a valid & working account is present

• The navigation drawer is only openable on the main screen

• Back action now properly exits the app on certain screens

• Settings buttons now have a proper tint in the dark theme

• App name is visible again in toolbar for exodus reports

• Internal improvements related to images

• Translation updates
[Android Apps and Games] scollywoggle:
Auroraoss.com blocks web scraping it seems, which I get, but this doesn't allow obtainium to retrieve nightlies. Even stables from gitlab aren't working since packages just links back to the main site now.

Can this be changed somehow?
[Android Apps and Games] ethical_haquer:
Wondering the same. (y)
[Android Apps and Games] GalaxyA325G:
Anyone have any idea why the Aurora Store can't find this (extremely low volume) new app which I know is in the Google Play Store repository?

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.jakubowo.jphoto

I wrote a message to the developer of the App Finder and he said that app (and a few others) is/are not indexed by the scraper he uses - is Aurora Store using the same index?

For example, these are not indexed but they have <20 installs and 0 ratings so it's no wonder that scrapers have problems finding them even though they exist on the Google Play Store repo...

1. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.codex.appinspector

2. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.jakubowo.jphoto

are not indexed, but have <20 installs and 0 ratings, so I think it's not that bad.

However... it's not looking good that these have far more downloads and yet they're still not indexed.

3. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.aminbeheshti.exifviewer with 50k+ d. and 163 ratings

4. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=barcodescanner.qrscanner with 10k+ d. and 64 ratings

are not indexed.

Is Aurora Store using the same index as App Finder?

Spoiler content hidden.

Is the Aurora Store not finding net.jakubowo.jphoto because that app only has 10 downloads or is it some other reason it's not indexed?
[Android Apps and Games] temporarium:
Have you tried this: https://xdaforums.com/t/app-5-0-aur...tore-client-sep-16-2023.3739733/post-88996059
[Android Apps and Games] GalaxyA325G:
Thanks for that pointer which I was completely unaware of... especially as installing from the venerable (and very useful!) Aurora Store only works - lately - about 10% to 20% of the time (see various recent failures below)...

Spoiler content hidden.

These completely nonsensical error outputs from the Aurora Store remind me of my Fortran IV coding in 1975 with "Error 44" being all you get out of the app by way of 'helpful' diagnostic output.... :)

Spoiler content hidden.

Back to your courteous suggestion, here's what that helpful link pointed to...

Where I hope privacy-focused folks understand there is no mothership account whatsoever on my Galaxy phone...

No Google mothership account...

No Amazon mothership account...

No Samsung mothership account...

No mothership accounts whatsoever

(for privacy, that's why)

So there is no possibility whatsoever (nor any desire!) of ever using the Google Play Store app (which is usually disabled on my phone - and often I have it deleted from the user account).

Spoiler content hidden.

Nor is there any chance whatsoever of logging into a non-existent Google Account to obtain an APK from Ungoogled Chromium (which is my default privacy-based web browser)...

Spoiler content hidden.
[Android Apps and Games] GalaxyA325G:
Also, when I test the App Finder with the Aurora Store to pass me from the App Finder to the Aurora Store (I don't have a Google Account on my unrooted Galaxy so the Aurora Store is the only way to get apps directly off the Google Play Store repo), when I press the Android or Aurora "BACK" button, it doesn't pass me back to the App Finder - is that how it's supposed to work?

Shouldn't the back button hit repeatedly from the Aurora Store close itself (after its details-page is opened from another app)?
[Android Apps and Games] GalaxyA325G:
Worse, the latest version of Aurora Store broke what they had fixed in the prior version ...

Aurora Store v4.3.2(50)

<https://gitlab.com/AuroraOSS/AuroraStore/-/releases>

by removing (apparently) the option to "Open With..." the Aurora Store from other apps (which use the general market:// calls)... which means something broke in the latest version of the Aurora Store - but what?

These "market://" style intents no longer work from other apps like the Muntashirakon App Manager or the App Finder...

market://details?id=com.cunnj.activitylauncher

market://details?id=com.trianguloy.instantintent

market://details?id=com.villevalta.intentlauncher

market://details?id=com.balda.intenttask

market://details?id=info.maigo.lab.intentviewer

etc.

Spoiler content hidden.

What happened to Aurora in the latest release?

All I know is any app that passes anything to Aurora Store using the "Open with..." option hoping to have as an option the Aurora Store', in the past three versions of the Aurora Store was...

broken

fixed

broken again

Note: I'm not a developer...

I'm just a typical user

Who has no Google Account on my phone

(For privacy - that's why)

And my Samsung Galaxy A32-5G is unrootable

(due to the bootloader version, that's why)

Hence... the ONLY way I can get APKs

directly

off the Google Play Store repo

Is to use the venerable Aurora Store to get them!

Where other apps put the venerable Aurora Store as an "Open with..." option... if only the Aurora Store would keep a consistent set of "supported web addresses" (which is a misnomer, by the way).

For example, these apps put the Aurora Store as an "Open With..." option - but only when the Aurora Store uses the market links instead of the (deprecated?) play.google.com (far less useful!) links...

App Manager

(uses the market:// link, not the [deprecated?] play.google.com:// link)

App Finder

(also uses the market:// link, not the [deprecated?] play.google.com:// link)

To show more detail... this is how (the previous) Aurora Store DOES (and SHOULD!) show up in other apps that call it!

Spoiler content hidden.

Unfortunately, this is how the latest Aurora Store (just recently, as of about yesterday!) did NOT show up when called by other apps...

Spoiler content hidden.

The result (of Aurora Store breaking web addresses in the latest release) is every app that calls Aurora Store with market links, now no longer presents the Aurora Store as an "Open With..." option. :(

Spoiler content hidden.

Tested 20230917 on Galaxy A32-5G Android 13, App Finder 1.0.16b, Aurora Store v4.3.2(50).

In the past three iterations of the Aurora Store...

Apps calling the Aurora Store using "Open With..."failed

Apps calling the Aurora Store using "Open With..."worked"

Apps calling the Aurora Store using "Open With..."failed again"

I think it all has to do with how the Aurora Store codes the market which controls what apps show up in the "Open With..." menus...

market://details?id=...

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=...

The market links are the more universal option...
[Android Apps and Games] temporarium:
Look, I don't think anyone can follow your annotated screenshots...

Just open up a browser to https://play.google.com/store/apps

Find your app and open in "venerable" Aurora as indicated in the post you were pointed to.
[Android Apps and Games] theimpulson:
I notified the server admin of this issue however I doubt there will be anything done about this anytime soon as one of his close family members passed away today.

I highly suggest using F-Droid builds or just downloading updates from the Website/GitLab using a web browser. There is also always that option to actually use GitLab API nicely instead of scraping. I am sure in some issues Obtanium's developer mentioned that packages are visible in GitLab releases if people use the API key.
[Android Apps and Games] theimpulson:
Thanks for the reports. A small request from my side, please avoid posting screenshots directly without spoiler tags as they consume a fair amount of space and make it quite hard to navigate the thread's page.

I have hidden existing screenshots posted by you on this page by editing the posts acting as a moderator. Thanks for your understanding.
[Android Apps and Games] theimpulson:
Considering this a development site and people are wondering what's going on with links, here are the things:

In Android 12, Google changed the behavior of how "App Links" worked. Rather than showing the dialog box to open the links, they switched to a verification system. With this system, if an app developer is developing an app for his website, he can place a JSON verification file at a path specified in official docs on the server side and declare support for opening the said link within his app. Now when Android installs the app, it checks for the declared links and tries to verify them. If verification is successful (proves the app owner and server owner are the same), it allows the opening of declared links within the said app.

Reference: Android 12 DP3: ‘Verified links’ open directly in apps instead of showing ‘open with’ dialog.

Reference: Verify Android App Links

Now, Aurora Store is a third-party app, which means that it cannot pass the verification (we don't have access to the Google Play servers to place the required file). However, we can still open the said links (if and only if there is no other app that is verified to open the said links already). This however requires the user to manually enable them. The latest versions of Aurora Store now request users to enable it as you might have seen already.

Now comes the question of which links we want to open. Official docs indicate that if an app developer wants to open the Google Play Store, it must open the play.google.com domain.

Reference: Linking to Google Play

So, what's with market.android.com domain? That was the OG Play Store app that was deprecated/retired by Google in 2017. I have restored this domain's support (I had removed it in the last versions during refactoring). It is the responsibility of the app developers to update to the new domain.

Reference: What was Android Market and how is Google Play different?