F-Droid Removal
In light of recent actions taken by F-Droid, I have decided to remove WG Tunnel from the official repository.
Explanation
A few months ago, it came to my attention that F-Droid has been receiving substantial funding from the Open Technology Fund (OTF), which is supported and funded by the U.S. government. While this wasn't an immediate dealbreaker, I have reservations about a platform that presents itself as primarily driven by community donations and volunteers, yet accepts large sums of money from government sources. This funding ultimately comes from taxpayer money collected coercively, and I have ethical concerns about F-Droid's taking such funds. I also question the independence of projects that take funds from institutions whose goals directly oppose their own. Governments especially are known for using money as a form of soft power in areas they would otherwise have no control.
More recently, I learned that F-Droid has initiated a campaign against religious texts on their platform, including the Bible and the Quran. These apps have been marked as NSFW (Not Safe for Work), with all Bible apps specifically tagged as promoting "porn and violence content." There are also ongoing discussions about potentially removing all NSFW-tagged apps from the store entirely. The NSFW tag alone effectively shadow bans these apps, hiding them behind a filter by default.
As a Christian, I can no longer in good conscience keep my app in their store.
Update F-Droid has rolled back these policies, but only after an overwhelming outcry from the community. They have made no apology or guarantees that this will not be rolled back out in the future. They also called me a hypocrite to my faith for not accepting this policy change.
For F-Droid users, there are two options for how to use F-Droid repository compatible clients to get the app:
There are also options like Obtainium for an app store-like experience with the standalone version.
Thank you for your understanding in this matter.
Zane
References: