yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Android Apps and Games] Skyica:
App Finder will launch on Product Hunt tomorrow (Monday)!

You can find it here:

https://www.producthunt.com/posts/app-finder

If you don't know Product Hunt yet: It's one of the best places to discover (and introduce) innovative new products, with a very friendly community.

I will be very grateful for any support (upvotes / comments). These are possible starting from Monday 12:01 AM PDT (7:01 AM UTC). Early upvotes are particularly valuable.

A quick registration with a Google, Twitter, Facebook, Apple, or LinkedIn account is needed.
[Android Apps and Games] Skyica:
At this occasion, the lifetime Plus licence is available for $24 instead of $36, and 1 year for $10 instead of $12, until Oct 31!
[Android Apps and Games] hanschke:
bought
[Android Apps and Games] Wompest:
Hey, this is really awesome. I'm impressed by the quality and detail that has gone into this app and thread.

Google Play Store search is so incredibly bad, this is much needed. As an occasional Android dev, I wish I could do things like search for apps below a certain rating threshold, or sort by rating in ascending order, mostly out of curiosity or research purposes. As an Android user, I don't see any issue so far - more usage is required. Anyway, I'm excited to use this more and am looking forward to the web app.
[Android Apps and Games] Skyica:
Thanks for your thoughts! Expect an update soon!
[Android Apps and Games] Skyica:
Version 1.0.18: Extended filter and sort options

There are now extended ranges for some filters available (user rating, number of ratings, updated date, and release date). Also, both a low and high limit can be set with each slider. Further, it is possible to sort by user rating ascending.

To enable this functionality, select “Extended ranges and options” in the filter options dialog.

@Wompest Please let me know if something does not work as expected

Thanks to all who supported App Finder on Product Hunt!

It go more than 60 upvotes and some nice comments.

It is now possible to leave a review there: https://www.producthunt.com/products/app-finder/reviews

(this is different from a launch comment, but if you commented already, you may just copy your comment as a review if suitable.)
[Android Apps and Games] Skyica:
Version 1.0.18a: Bugs in 1.0.18 fixed

Also, the price sliders now have an extended range as well (including $4 / €4; people sometimes get Google Play credits of this value).

APK here

, on Google Play in 1 - a few hours.
[Android Apps and Games] Skyica:
There was a bug in version 1.0.18a that could cause crashes. Fixed in 1.0.18b. We apologize!

APK

here

, on Google Play soon.
[Android Apps and Games] Skyica:
Filter for apps on sale coming TODAY

(and we have many more than AppSales)
[Android Apps and Games] Skyica:
Sorry for the delay.

Version 1.0.19 Beta: Filter for apps on sale

APK here

, final version on Google Play later.

The filter can be used with or without keywords and other filters.

It is now also shown for each such app when the sale ends (sale always ends at 11:59 PM GMT).

The Free and Paid checkboxes and the price range slider now require that the standard price or the reduced price match.

So, to see only paid apps that are currently free, select Free in addition to On sale, and to see only reduced apps with a higher original price, say >$5, set the price slider minimum to $5.
[Android Apps and Games] Skyica:
deleted
[Android Apps and Games] Skyica:
Version 1.0.19 Beta 2: Sort by start of sale

APK here

, final version on Google Play later.

In addition to the end date of sales, the approximate start date is now indicated.

(Shown is the time since App Finder discovered that the app is on sale. Sales are normally checked each day between 12 AM GMT and 1 AM GMT. Recording started Nov 10.)

When filtering for apps on sale, it is now possible to sort by recent start of sale. This makes it possible to only see new sales if you check a day or some days later again. (The maximum duration of sales is 8 days.)
[Android Apps and Games] Skyica:
Please let me know if all is working as expected, I'll then publish it to Google Play.
[Android Apps and Games] Skyica:
Version 1.0.19

APK here

, on Google Play soon.

Changes to Beta 2:

If Sort by recent start of sale is enabled, the results are now primarily sorted by the day the sale started, and secondarily according to Sort by.

Fixes and improvements.
[Android Apps and Games] Skyica:
App Finder probably has the most comprehensive listing of apps on sale.

Also, it has local prices for all 200+ coutries/regions where purchases are supported by Google Play.

There are 433 apps listed that are on sale in the US today.

AppSales lists ~155. Their inclusion criteria are 100+ downloads, >3.5 stars, and a "stable price history". For comparison, App Finder shows 260 apps on sale with 100+ downloads, >3.5 stars global rating.

AppBrain only

lists

apps that are temporarily free, but even of those, only 13 with >3.5 stars are shown, while App Finder shows 84.

Some of the more interesting looking sales today:

Half of them is not listed in AppSales:

Monochrome Pro KWGT

Ping Master: Network Tools Pro

FFH4X Fire - Game Booster Pro

The Sun Origin Post Apocalypse

The Sun: Key Of Heaven Shooter

Pongo17
[Android Apps and Games] Skyica:
Please consider that the sales filter is free, like all essential functionality, and that there are no ads.

If you find App Finder useful, please consider buying a Plus licence (if you didn't do so yet and can afford it).

This will help us to

Continue the operation (which is expensive, especially since we scrape the Play Store more comprehensively than AppBrain, AppAgg, 42matters, AppSales, etc.)

Implement new features like search history, saved searches, custom lists, a web interface, indexing of alternative Android app stores, indexing of iOS apps, AI search, and much more

Keep all essential functionality always free and without ads, for the benefit of people who cannot afford a licence

Thank you!
[Android Apps and Games] Skyica:
Version 1.0.20

The result list and scroll position are now saved so that you can continue where you left off even if the app was terminated.

Please note that some time is needed for saving, so if you swipe the app away immediately after opening the app switcher, it may not work.

APK here, on Google Play soon.
[Android Apps and Games] Skyica:
Version 1.0.21: Image resolutions can now be adjusted

Bug from last version fixed that could cause crashes.

The image resolutions can now be adjusted, for faster loading or higher quality.

The settings are available from Settings > Display Options, and from the result list options (cog icon).

This feature is currently free, but resolutions higher than the default (bold) will require Plus in the future.

The lifetime Plus license is on sale for $24 instead of $36 until Nov 30!

APK here, on Google Play soon.

Thanks to all users from XDA, the last version was downloaded 110 times in 9 days!
[Android Apps and Games] Skyica:
Version 1.0.22 Beta 1: Recent downloads

As an indication of the current popularity of an app, the recent number of downloads per month is now shown.

Also, the change of this number vs. that for the previous month is shown if there is an increase of at least 5%.

There are also new sort options available for these values and more:

Total number of downloads

Recent downloads per month

Absolute change of this value vs the previous month

Relative change of this value vs the previous month

Date last updated.
[Android Apps and Games] Skyica:
Version 1.0.22 Beta 2

New sort menu

Filter for recent downloads / month

Various small improvements
[Android Apps and Games] Skyica:
Please let me know if you noticed any prolems or suspicious data in the Beta. Else I will soon publish the final version.
[Android Apps and Games] Skyica:
Version 1.0.22: Recent downloads and new sort options

Various small improvements over Beta 2

Detailed explanations about the recent downloads in the user guide

APK here, on Google Play soon.
[Android Apps and Games] Skyica:
An important update on our commitment to privacy

At Skyica, we highly respect your privacy. This is why App Finder does not require sign-in, and does not collect personal data.

Some months ago, we also added support for devices without Google services, and for Aurora Store.

Soon, we will also index F-Droid, so that you can find the best open-source apps more easily.

Today, we announce a possible cooperation with Volla Systeme GmbH, an independent German manufacturer of smartphones with a special focus on privacy, free of Google services.

As a first step, Volla has agreed to offer a 5% discount on all their phones to App Finder users, with another 5% commission to Skyica LLC, which will be used for the operation and improvement of App Finder. Please use the code APPFINDER in the Volla shop.

Volla Phone X23:
[Android Apps and Games] Skyica:
Version 1.0.23: Important improvement to relevance sort, dark theme is now free

The current popularity is now taken into account for the relevance sort by using the recent number of downloads per month instead of the total number of downloads.

The relevance sort algorithm is now completely described below.

The dark theme is now free.

APK

here

, on Google Play soon.
[Android Apps and Games] Skyica:
App Finder's relevance sort algorithm explained

EDIT: The algorithm was changed. An updated version of the description will be published soon!
[Android Apps and Games] Skyica:
I have now finished the description of the relevance sort algorithm and added explanations.
[Android Apps and Games] Skyica:
Version 1.0.24: Slow queries fixed, small improvements

Slow queries fixed: Due to various changes over the last weeks, specific queries could take up to over a minute.

This is now fixed, and App Finder is now faster than ever before. Nearly all queries should now complete in under 2 seconds. Exceptional cases may take up to about 5 seconds.

(Due to the many filters and sort options, we need about 20 different indexes, and because App Finder has data for all countries, the total number of indexes is >500. Also, we use different kinds of SQL queries depending on your query.)

It is now possible to apply any filters without entering keywords or selecting categories.

Ratings over 4.5 stars are now always shown with 2 decimals.

The Plus license is on sale until the end of 2023 (UTC): Lifetime $24 instead of $36 , 1 year $9 instead of $12!

APK here, on Google Play soon.
[Android Apps and Games] Skyica:
Version 1.0.25 Beta: Download sizes

Download sizes are now shown, and there is a filter for this.

* The sizes are not yet available for all apps. We will try to get the sizes for nearly all apps over the coming days.

* Since Google Play generates device-specific installation files, the size varies with the device. The size for your device may be up to about 50% less than shown in App Finder, or some % more than shown.

APK here.
[Android Apps and Games] Skyica:
Version 1.0.25 Beta 2:

Improvements over Beta 1:

There is now size data for nearly all apps, and the accuracy has been improved.

For apps where the size varies much with the device, or where we are not able to determine the size exactly, a range is now shown. When the size-filter is applied, all apps are returned where this size range overlaps with the filter range.

It is now possible to filter for the size.

Note that in some cases, the actual download size may still be up to about 50% smaller than shown, or some % larger than shown.

APK here.
[Android Apps and Games] Skyica:
Version 1.1.0 Beta:

Instead of 1.0.25, the next version will be 1.1!

While there are some important improvements over 1.0.24, this is mainly to indicate the tentative conclusion of the improvements of the filters, sort options, and result list, which started with version 1.0.1 in April 2023. I hope that these are now nearly optimal.

Improvements over 1.0.25 Beta 2:

Filter for “no ads / removable ads”. This filter is comprehensive but not completely specific, as it simply filters for apps without ads or with in-app purchases.

I think it can still be very useful, as it removes apps with ads that cannot be disabled with IAPs, which are >30% of all non-games, and >50% of all games.

Note also that for apps with an ad-supported version and a paid premium version, it removes the ad-supported version, without removing completely free apps (which the Paid filter would do).

There is now a new “extended” result list layout available that aims to show all important information in the most clear and systematic way.

(There is a known layout issue in the details view in this Beta.)

The accuracy of the recent downloads per month (and the change) has been improved.

However, due to a delay of up to 30 days of the download data on Google Play and our limited scraping frequencies, these data may still be some weeks outdated, and it should generally be assumed that the numbers may be up to about 30% wrong (and in special cases more, of course).

Nevertheless, I think that these data can still be very useful, as the downloads per month vary between 0 and over 200 million.

(See AppBrain for download history diagrams, App Finder will have such diagrams also soon.)

APK here.
[Android Apps and Games] Skyica:
Version 1.1.0 Beta 2

Various small improvements over Beta 1

This is the last Beta, the final version will probably be released tomorrow!

Please let us know if you notice any issues!

APK here
[Android Apps and Games] Skyica:
App Finder 1.1 released

This version marks the tentative conclusion of the enhancements to the filters, sort options, and result list. We hope that these are now nearly optimal!

Improvements in this version:

Download sizes are now shown, and there are a filter and a sort option for this.

There is now a filter for “no ads / removable ads”. See the help for details.

There is now a new “extended” result list layout available that aims to show all important information in the most clear and systematic way

Various smaller improvements

The user guide section about keywords and search operators has been improved significantly, and has been split into two (Introduction to Search Queries  and Search Query Essentials).

At least if you didn't read the old section, we highly recommend reading these sections!

APK here

, and available on Google Play.

We will continue with significant improvements to the keyword search (e.g. automatic inclusion of synonyms, phrase recognition, autocomplete).

Our further plans for 2024 include support for many other languages, the possibility to save search results to custom lists, search history and saved searches, a web interface, indexing of iOS apps, and AI-based natural-language search.

There are now possibilities to get a Plus license without spending money!

Please note: The below options are intended for people to whom the purchase of a license would mean a significant expense.

We need people to buy licenses to be able to continue the operation and improvement of App Finder. Currently, only a fraction of the operating costs is covered by user’s purchases.

We offer the following options:

Help others to discover App Finder: Write about it on your social media accounts, and/or repost from our accounts (X, Facebook, Threads), and mail us the links. You may also post on sites like Reddit or in suitable forums.

Help us to get better: Mail us a report about your experience with App Finder, including usage examples, improvement suggestions, and/or bug reports..

For 1, please note: We don't want you to spam people. Please only post on your accounts if you can expect your followers to be generally interested in App Finder. On sites like Reddit and in forums, please only write your own thoughts (which may of course also include criticism).

For 1, we will consider how well you explain the advantages of App Finder, and the number of people reached. The value of multiple posts (on the same or on different sites) will be added. Reposts count less than your own posts.

For 2, we will consider how detailed and helpful the report is. 1 and 2 can be combined.

You can get a 1-year or a lifetime license. 2 good posts or a good report are required for 1 year. 3 good posts with many people reached or a very detailed report are required for lifetime.

You will receive the license within 24 hours after you send us a mail with the conditions met at info@skyica.com.

This offer is valid until Feb 15. It may be extended or made permanent.

Also, the lifetime Plus license is on sale for $27 until Jan 31.
[Android Apps and Games] Skyica:
App Finder 1.1, finding the most popular AI art apps
[Android Apps and Games] Skyica:
Version 1.1.1: Two important new filters

Filter for apps that can be installed through the Play Store on your device. Please see here for Google criteria to make old apps unavailable on newer Android versions.

"Default exclusions” filter.

The objective of this filter is to remove apps that are probably not useful. An app must meet the following conditions to pass the filter:

A world-average, US, or local rating of at least 3.6 star,

OR A lifetime-average of at least 100 downloads per year,

OR at least 10 downloads in the last month

OR updated within the last 3 months

.

The package name is now shown in the details view, and you can tap it to copy it to the clipboard.

The "default exclusions” filter was designed such that I hope that very few possibly useful apps will be removed. At the same time, it removes about 30% of all apps. Together with the Play Store installability filter, even about 50% of all apps are removed.

Thus, I hope these filters will be quite useful. Please let me know what you think, and if you have improvement suggestions!

APK here, on Google Play soon.
[Android Apps and Games] Skyica:
outdated
[Android Apps and Games] Skyica:
Comparison of the new Plans

See post below for more explanations.

Only feature missing from the Play Store search are listed.

Upgrades to a higher plan will be possible for the price difference.

We may make small changes to the feature availability in the future.

Free                ​

Explorer​

Advance​

Ultimate​

Price forever / 1 year	-	$5 / $2	$10 / $4	$15 / $6

Keyword search features

★

●

●

●

Filters
Category	★	●	●	●
- multi-select	-	-	★	●
Game tags (coming soon)	-	●	●	●

User rating (local / global)

★

●

●

●
Number of ratings	★	●	●	●
Number of downloads	-	-	★	●
Recent downloads / month	-	-	★	●

No ads / removable ads

★

●

●

●
Free / paid	★	●	●	●
Price range	-	★	●	●
No in-app purchases	★	●	●	●
With in-app purchases	-	★	●	●
In-app price range	-	★	●	●
On sale	-	★	●	●
Play Pass	-	★	●	●

Max. Age rating

★

●

●

●
Min. Age rating	-	-	★	●

Date updated

-

★

●

●
Date released	-	★	●	●

Download size

-

-

★

●
Min. Android & target API	-	-	-	★

Extended filter ranges

-

-

-

★

Systematic sort options
User rating (local / global)	★	●	●	●
Number of ratings *	★	●	●	●
Number of downloads	-	-	★	●
Recent downloads / month	-	-	★	●
Downloads / month increase	-	-	-	★

Date released

-

★

●

●
Date updated	-	★	●	●

Download size

-

-

★

●

Data in result list
User rating (local / global)	★	●	●	●
- Both local & global	-	-	★	●
- Lists of all local ratings	-	-	-	★
Rating distribution	★	●	●	●
Number of ratings **	★	●	●	●
Number of downloads	-	★	●	●
Recent downloads / month	-	★	●	●
Downloads / month increase	-	-	-	★

With / without ads

★

●

●

●
In-app purchases	★	●	●	●
In-app price range	-	★	●	●

Age rating

★

●

●

●

Date updated

★

●

●

●
Date released	-	★	●	●

Min. Android & target API

-

-

-

★

Summaries in result list

★

●

●

●

Screenshots in result list

★

●

●

●
- Scalable	-	-	★	●

Result list customization

-

-

★

●

CSV Data export
Up to 1000 results	-	-	-	★

The features with the Pro plan are the same as with Ultimate, except that up to 20,000 results can be exported as CSV.

* Apps with no rating (or the same number of ratings) are sorted by number of downloads.

** For apps with not rating, the number of downloads is shown.
[Android Apps and Games] 4Freedom:
Hey, is database updated? @Skyica

Cannot find my app, uploaded on PlayStore 1 month ago.

Aggregator News - RSS Reader - Apps on Google Play

Aggregator News - RSS Feed Reader - Read news for free, quickly, without ads

play.google.com
[Android Apps and Games] Skyica:
Hi, I just checked, the app is there.

If you search for aggregator news it is on position 196 for the US (with user ratig options set to country average). It is so far down mainly because it hasn't a rating in the US yet, and also because there are many popular apps where forms of the words aggregator and news appeat prominently.

If you switch to world average ratings, it is on position 20. If you further use quotes ("aggregator news") it is on position 2. BTW, "aggregate news" works also.
[Android Apps and Games] Skyica:
Lower prices and new paid plans very soon, starting at $5 for ever!

We made some significant changes to the plans posted earlier.

Many very important features that are missing from the Play Store search continue to be available for free, e.g.

★ Reliable advanced keyword search, with special search operators, e.g. to require words in title or summary,

★ World-average user ratings as alterntive to country-average ratings, which are available for many more apps and are often much more reliable,

★ Filters for user rating in 0.1-star steps, and for number of ratings,

★ Filters for apps without ads, free apps, and apps without in-app purchases,

★ Display of exact result count,

★ Display of local or global user rating, rating distribution, and # of ratings in the result list,

★ Display of update date, ads, in-app purchases, and age rating in the result list,

★ Summaries and always-visible screenshots in the result list.

Because of the special importance, the maximum age rating filter, and result list display of the age rating will now also be free.

For additional features, the following paid plans will be available.

Upgrades to a higher plan will be possible for the price difference.

We may make small changes to the feature availability in the future.

Explorer

★ Filters for apps on sale, Play Pass, in-app purchases, price range and in-app price range

★ Filters and sort options for update and release date

★ Result list display of release date, # of downloads, recent downloads per month, and in-app price range

★ Result list customization

1 year $2 – Lifetime $5

Advance

★ All Explorer features

★ Scalable result list screenshots

★ Display of both local and global user rating

★ Filters for min. age rating and app size

★ Filters and sort options for # of downloads and recent downloads per month

★ Category multi-select

1 year $4 – Lifetime $10

Ultimate

★ All Advance features

★ Lists of all local availabilities and ratings

★ Extended filter ranges

★ Display of and filters for min.  Android and target API

★ Display of and sort for downloads / month increase

★ Higher-resolution screenshots

★ Export of up to 1000 results as CSV

1 year $6 – Forever $15

Professional

Required for professional use (e.g. market research).

★ All Ultimate features

★ Export of up to 20,000 results as CSV

1 year $12 – Forever $30

See post above for a comparison table
[Android Apps and Games] tbv2005:
Maybe stupid question, but how to get the plans above? In the app the only thing I find is AppFinder Plus for lifetime 39 euro
[Android Apps and Games] Skyica:
Hi, not a stupid question :)

It's just a delay, implementation is taking longer than I thought, I'm sorry, will be available within the next 24 hours for sure!