Provide an F-Droid repository.

[rokejulianlockhart]

• Plan: Premium
• Country: ENG
• Device: Fairphone FP4 5G
• Operating System: Android 12

My Question or Issue

Many devices are currently unable to install (and thus use) Spotify because their device doesn't support the Google Play Store (China) or the user is using a FOSS distribution of AOSP (Android).

community.spotify.com/t5/Android/lt-snip-moderator-edit-gt-is-not-operating-correctly/m-p/5324439#M1... explains how the sole legally permissible method of acquiring Spotify for an Android device isn't available anymore. In fact, with apkmirror.com/uploads/?appcategory=spotify being empty due to reddit.com/r/Android/comments/b0smzh, there is no illegal option either, not that it was a convenient method anyway due to its inability to automatically update.

Consequently, I suggest that Spotify provide an official F-Droid repository. No, this wouldn't entail whatsoever that they OSS their apps, it would simply provide another distribution vector for the published APKs. I see genuinely no downsides, since it allows them to expand their userbase to literally any device regardless of region or support for Play Services, and means that they aren't reliant upon Google for distribution should anything ever go pear shaped.

Additionally available at

• reddit.com/r/spotify/comments/15lql8n