Presently Friendica does not have an official native mobile app. But the Progressive Web App (PWA) with the Bookface scheme is very close to the experience of using a native app. Here is how you install it on both iOS and Android devices.
- First you need to go to your Friendica instance in the web browser on your mobile device.
Installing PWA on iOS
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In the toolbar select "Add to Homescreen"
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Confirm what you want to call it and tap "Add"
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The icon for Friendica will appear alongside your other installed apps.
Installing PWA on Android
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From the browser menu select "Add to Homescreen"
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In the pop-up menu select "Install"
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Confirm the install in the dialog box:
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The Friendica icon will appear among your other installed apps:
Native Mobile Apps
There are presently two third-party apps in development dedicated to Friendica and another that supports Friendica accounts:
- Raccoon for Friendica (Android)
- Realatica (Android, iOS, macOS, Windows, Linux ) - iOS/macOS requires TestFlight, Android is via PlayStore invite or side-loading.
- Fedilab (Android)
There are also a number of Mastodon clients that are "compatible" with Friendica servers:
- AndStatus (Android)
- Husky (Android)
- Subway Tooter (Android)
- Tusky (Android)
- Twidere (Android, iOS)
- twitlatte (Android)
- Yuito (Android)
Notes
On both iOS and Android the installed webapp will open in a chromeless (no browser UI) window that still uses the rendering engine of the browser that installed it. However it is in a different context so you will likely need to log into Friendica again in the PWA window.
The Friendica UI is rather "code heavy" so it will not load/refresh the screen as quickly as an actual native mobile app would.
None of the native mobile apps have all of the features of the PWA. If you intend to use Friendica-specific features they will be missing from the compatible Mastodon clients. If you intend to use advanced Friendica features like sub-accounts for pages or groups you may only be able to manage those through the PWA.