Syncthing Android App Discontinued

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

App discontinuation & scope

  • The Android Syncthing app is being discontinued; final release planned around December 2024.
  • Main reason: maintaining Play Store compliance (permissions, API levels, verification) became too time‑consuming and demotivating for the maintainer.
  • Discontinuation covers both Play Store and F-Droid builds; no further development is planned.

Google Play policies & filesystem access

  • Central technical conflict: Syncthing Android relies on MANAGE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE (full filesystem access).
  • Google now expects most apps to use scoped storage and the Storage Access Framework (SAF) instead.
  • Maintainer reports vague, shifting demands from Google and failed attempts to justify full-access permissions.
  • Some argue Syncthing is exactly the kind of app that needs full filesystem access; others say it should only access user-selected folders and can be implemented via SAF.
  • Multiple commenters criticize SAF as slow, buggy, Java‑only, and poorly suited to high-volume sync; others say many apps use it successfully and security justifies the pain.

User impact & reactions

  • Many use Syncthing Android for syncing Obsidian notes, KeePass databases, photos, documents, and backups.
  • Reactions range from disappointment and anger at Google to acceptance that the maintainer is burned out.
  • Some see this as another step in Android becoming as locked down as iOS; others argue tighter security was overdue.

Alternatives & forks

  • An actively maintained fork (“Syncthing-Fork”) exists on F-Droid; several users report good, even better, experience (battery, granularity).
  • Concerns remain that OS-level restrictions (not just Play Store) may eventually break non‑SAF approaches.
  • Other suggested options: FolderSync (with SFTP/SMB/cloud), rsync/rclone via Termux, proprietary sync tools, and iOS clients like Möbius Sync or Synctrain.

Broader platform & developer concerns

  • Extensive discussion of Android’s increasing API churn, tightening policies, and bureaucratic Play Store requirements.
  • Many note this disproportionately harms hobbyists and small developers and pushes apps toward F-Droid or abandonment.
  • Debate over whether this is primarily about user security/privacy, platform control, or market consolidation is unresolved.