Sidestep

Intercept URLs, remove tracking, redirect to alternative frontends. No apps/acco

AppID:	com.blankdev.sidestep
Author:	blankdotdev
License:	AGPL-3.0-only
Donation:
InRepoSince:	2026-01-25
LastRepoUpdate:	2026-02-06
LastAppUpdate:	2026-02-06
LastVersion:	1.2.0
Categories:	Internet
APK source:	Github
Google Play:	Check if it's there

Android app that intercepts social media URLs and redirects them to alternative frontends while removing tracking parameters. No apps or accounts needed to access the content shared with you.

Alternative Frontends

Bypass closed ecosystems and access a more open internet - with a less cluttered web experience. Sidestep supports several major platforms with configurable alternatives:

Twitter/X → Nitter
Reddit → Redlib
YouTube → Invidious, Piped
Google Maps → OpenStreetMap
IMDb → LibreMDB
Medium → Scribe
Wikipedia → Wikiless
Goodreads → BiblioReads
Genius → Dumb, Intellectual
Tumblr → Priviblur
UrbanDictionary → RuralDictionary
Imgur → Rimgo
GitHub → GotHub
StackOverflow → AnonymousOverflow

Flexible Configuration & Smart URL Cleaning

Automatically removes tracking parameters from all URLs:

UTM parameters (utm_source, utm_medium, etc.)
Platform-specific trackers (Twitter s/t, YouTube si, Instagram igsh)
E-commerce tracking (Amazon, affiliate links)
Analytics parameters

Granular control over how URLs are processed:

Unshorten URLs: Automatically resolves shortened links (bit.ly, t.co, etc.)
Remove Tracking: Strip analytics and tracking parameters
Immediate Navigation: Automatically open the processed URL in your browser
Clean Only Mode: Remove tracking without redirecting
Clean & Sidestep Mode: Remove tracking AND redirect to alternative frontend
Custom Redirects: Add your own domain mappings
Instance Picker: Fetch live, healthy instances sorted by uptime

Tracking-proof

Previews fetched via DuckDuckGo (optional)
No Data Collection: Zero analytics, zero tracking
Local Processing: All URL cleaning happens on-device

WhatsNew:

🔒 Security: Resolved 50+ security findings and fixed 108 code quality violations
⬆️ Upgrades: Android SDK 36, Gradle 9.3.0, Kotlin 2.1.10, and major dependency updates
🐛 Fixes: Improved link handling logic and build system stability

Download Metadata Source Issues ChangeLog

While you can download the APKs here directly, you should preferably use an F-Droid client so the app stays up-to-date on your device. Some clients have this repo enabled by default, e.g. Neo Store, Droid-ify, or, of course, the IzzyOnDroid client by Sunil. With others (like the official client) you'll have to add this repo manually (see the hint on top of the package list for how to do that).

Packages

Version 1.2.0 (2026-02-06)

Android Versions:

Target: 16.0
MinVer: 7.0

App Configuration & Special Access

Permissions:

Malware-Check:Passed

15 Libraries detected:

Libraries:

Android Support v4 (Development Framework)
The Android Support Library is not actually a single library, but rather a collection of libraries that can roughly be divided into two groups: compatibility and component libraries. For details, please see Understanding the Android Support Library.
AppCompat (Utility)
support newer Android features on older Android versions.
Constraint Layout Library (Utility)
library to reduce the number of nested views needed.
Coordinatorlayout (UI Component)
AndroidX library to position top-level application widgets, such as AppBarLayout and FloatingActionButton.
Androidx Core (Utility)
a static library that you can add to your Android application in order to use APIs that are either not available for older platform versions or utility APIs that aren't a part of the framework APIs.
Android Emoji2 Compat (UI Component)
core library to enable emoji compatibility in Kitkat and newer devices to avoid the empty emoji characters.
AndroidX Fragment (UI Component)
AndroidX library to encapsulate part of the user interface or behavior into reusable components.
Lifecycle (Utility)
perform actions in response to a change in the lifecycle status of another component, such as activities and fragments.
Preference (Utility)
a library to build interactive settings screens without needing to interact with device storage or manage the UI.
ProfileInstaller (Utility)
AndroidX library that enables libraries to prepopulate ahead of time compilation traces to be read by ART.
Recyclerview (Utility)
display large sets of data in your UI while minimizing memory usage.
Startup (Utility)
AndroidX library to implement a straightforward, performant way to initialize components at app startup.
Android Jetpack VersionedParcelable (Utility)
Provides a stable but relatively compact binary serialization format that can be passed across processes or persisted safely.
Google Material Design (Utility)
library to help with material design guidelines.
OkHttp (Utility)
OkHttp is an HTTP+HTTP/2 client for Android and Java applications.

Payment Modules:

None found
OkHttp is an HTTP+HTTP/2 client for Android and Java applications.

Ads & Analytics:

None found
OkHttp is an HTTP+HTTP/2 client for Android and Java applications.

Download (2.4 M)

Version 1.1.9 (2026-02-03)

Android Versions:

Target: 15.0
MinVer: 7.0

App Configuration & Special Access

Permissions:

Malware-Check:Passed

15 Libraries detected:

Libraries:

Android Support v4 (Development Framework)
The Android Support Library is not actually a single library, but rather a collection of libraries that can roughly be divided into two groups: compatibility and component libraries. For details, please see Understanding the Android Support Library.
AppCompat (Utility)
support newer Android features on older Android versions.
Constraint Layout Library (Utility)
library to reduce the number of nested views needed.
Coordinatorlayout (UI Component)
AndroidX library to position top-level application widgets, such as AppBarLayout and FloatingActionButton.
Androidx Core (Utility)
a static library that you can add to your Android application in order to use APIs that are either not available for older platform versions or utility APIs that aren't a part of the framework APIs.
Android Emoji2 Compat (UI Component)
core library to enable emoji compatibility in Kitkat and newer devices to avoid the empty emoji characters.
AndroidX Fragment (UI Component)
AndroidX library to encapsulate part of the user interface or behavior into reusable components.
Lifecycle (Utility)
perform actions in response to a change in the lifecycle status of another component, such as activities and fragments.
Preference (Utility)
a library to build interactive settings screens without needing to interact with device storage or manage the UI.
ProfileInstaller (Utility)
AndroidX library that enables libraries to prepopulate ahead of time compilation traces to be read by ART.
Recyclerview (Utility)
display large sets of data in your UI while minimizing memory usage.
Startup (Utility)
AndroidX library to implement a straightforward, performant way to initialize components at app startup.
Android Jetpack VersionedParcelable (Utility)
Provides a stable but relatively compact binary serialization format that can be passed across processes or persisted safely.
Google Material Design (Utility)
library to help with material design guidelines.
OkHttp (Utility)
OkHttp is an HTTP+HTTP/2 client for Android and Java applications.

Payment Modules:

None found
OkHttp is an HTTP+HTTP/2 client for Android and Java applications.

Ads & Analytics:

None found
OkHttp is an HTTP+HTTP/2 client for Android and Java applications.

Download (2.3 M)

Version 1.1.7 (2026-02-02)

Android Versions:

Target: 15.0
MinVer: 7.0

App Configuration & Special Access

Permissions:

Malware-Check:Passed

15 Libraries detected:

Libraries:

Android Support v4 (Development Framework)
The Android Support Library is not actually a single library, but rather a collection of libraries that can roughly be divided into two groups: compatibility and component libraries. For details, please see Understanding the Android Support Library.
AppCompat (Utility)
support newer Android features on older Android versions.
Constraint Layout Library (Utility)
library to reduce the number of nested views needed.
Coordinatorlayout (UI Component)
AndroidX library to position top-level application widgets, such as AppBarLayout and FloatingActionButton.
Androidx Core (Utility)
a static library that you can add to your Android application in order to use APIs that are either not available for older platform versions or utility APIs that aren't a part of the framework APIs.
Android Emoji2 Compat (UI Component)
core library to enable emoji compatibility in Kitkat and newer devices to avoid the empty emoji characters.
AndroidX Fragment (UI Component)
AndroidX library to encapsulate part of the user interface or behavior into reusable components.
Lifecycle (Utility)
perform actions in response to a change in the lifecycle status of another component, such as activities and fragments.
Preference (Utility)
a library to build interactive settings screens without needing to interact with device storage or manage the UI.
ProfileInstaller (Utility)
AndroidX library that enables libraries to prepopulate ahead of time compilation traces to be read by ART.
Recyclerview (Utility)
display large sets of data in your UI while minimizing memory usage.
Startup (Utility)
AndroidX library to implement a straightforward, performant way to initialize components at app startup.
Android Jetpack VersionedParcelable (Utility)
Provides a stable but relatively compact binary serialization format that can be passed across processes or persisted safely.
Google Material Design (Utility)
library to help with material design guidelines.
OkHttp (Utility)
OkHttp is an HTTP+HTTP/2 client for Android and Java applications.

Payment Modules:

None found
OkHttp is an HTTP+HTTP/2 client for Android and Java applications.

Ads & Analytics:

None found
OkHttp is an HTTP+HTTP/2 client for Android and Java applications.

Download (2.3 M)

Sidestep

Packages

Version 1.2.0 (2026-02-06)

Android Versions:

App Configuration & Special Access

Permissions:

Features:

Malware-Check:Passed

15 Libraries detected:

Version 1.1.9 (2026-02-03)

Android Versions:

App Configuration & Special Access

Permissions:

Features:

Malware-Check:Passed

15 Libraries detected:

Version 1.1.7 (2026-02-02)

Android Versions:

App Configuration & Special Access

Permissions:

Features:

Malware-Check:Passed

15 Libraries detected: