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FUTO Notes

Install FUTO Notes on Android (Google Play, F-Droid, APK)

FUTO Notes runs on Android 9 or later. You can install it from Google Play, from FUTO’s own F-Droid repository, through Obtainium, or by downloading the APK from GitLab. All four give you the same app, and each keeps it up to date in its own way.

Requirements

  • Android 9 or later.
  • To keep notes in a shared folder you can open from other apps, Android 11 or later. On Android 9 and 10 the app uses private app storage.

The APK includes native code for 64-bit ARM, 32-bit ARM, and x86_64, so it also runs on x86_64 Android devices and environments.

Google Play

Install FUTO Notes from Google Play. Play updates it like any other app.

F-Droid

FUTO Notes is in FUTO’s own F-Droid repository, not the main f-droid.org repository, so you add the repo first.

The quickest way is to open the download section on the homepage on your phone and tap Add to F-Droid. To add it by hand, open F-Droid’s repository settings and add:

URL:          https://app.futo.org/fdroid/repo
Fingerprint:  39d47869d29cbfce4691d9f7e6946a7b6d7e6ff4883497e6e675744ecdfa6d6d

Then search for FUTO Notes and install it. The F-Droid client handles updates.

Obtainium

Obtainium installs the APK straight from FUTO’s GitLab releases and updates it when a new release appears. Open the download section on the homepage on your phone and tap the Obtainium badge. That link is set up for FUTO’s own GitLab server at gitlab.futo.org, which Obtainium’s GitLab source does not match on its own.

Direct APK download

Download futo-notes-<version>.apk from the latest GitLab release and open it. Android asks you to allow installs from your browser or file manager the first time.

A direct install does not update itself. To update, download the newer APK and install it over the old one; your notes and settings stay.

First launch: choose where notes live

On first launch the app asks “Where should your notes live?”:

  • Device storage (recommended) keeps them in a shared folder you can open from the Files app and back up or sync with other apps. It needs the “All files access” permission, and it is only offered on Android 11 or later.
  • App storage keeps them private to FUTO Notes. Android deletes your notes if you uninstall the app.

You can move them later. See where FUTO Notes stores your notes for the details.

Switching between Google Play and F-Droid or the APK

The F-Droid repo, Obtainium, and the GitLab download all ship the same APK file, so any of them can update an install made by another.

A Google Play install can be signed with a different key than the APK. If Android refuses to install one over the other, you have to uninstall first. Before you do, make sure your notes are safe: if they are in app storage, uninstalling deletes them. Sync them to your server, or move them to device storage first.

Next steps