PureHub beta.17: building an Android utility suite without Google runtime dependencies

PureHub is a free, no-ads, open-source collection of 22 everyday utility mini-apps. Beta.17 introduces a separate Android build intended for people who want a fully FLOSS dependency graph.

What changed

• QR Studio now scans with ZXing in both Android flavors.
• The F-Droid flavor performs OCR locally with Tesseract.
• English, Vietnamese, and Simplified Chinese OCR models are bundled for offline use.
• The F-Droid runtime graph contains no ML Kit, Google Play Services, or Firebase.
• The APK requests no INTERNET permission and includes no ads or tracking.
• Signed per-ABI APKs are published; the F-Droid arm64 build is about 16 MB.

Why keep two builds?

The Standard build keeps ML Kit OCR because it currently provides stronger recognition quality for many real-world documents. The F-Droid build prioritizes a transparent, Google-independent runtime and fully offline processing. Users can choose the trade-off that fits them.

Verification

CI builds and lints both flavors, rejects prohibited Google dependencies from the F-Droid runtime graph, checks APK permissions, and publishes SHA-256 checksums. QR and OCR flows were also exercised on a physical Android device.

What comes next

The build is F-Droid-ready, not yet listed in the official repository. We will start with IzzyOnDroid feedback and then continue through the F-Droid review process.

Download the signed APKs, inspect the source, or report an issue:

https://github.com/shoyrulove-dev/PureHub/releases/tag/v1.0.0-beta.17

Feedback on OCR accuracy, QR camera behavior, and installation across Android devices is especially welcome.