this post was submitted on 10 Feb 2024
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Downgrading can be dangerous, since app data meant for a newer version of an app can crash an older version that doesn't know what to do with it. This doesn't really feel like enshittification, just saving users from themselves by removing the danger button. It's not like F-Droid is forcing everyone to use the newest version... old versions are still on the website, and they still let you easily grab an old version in-app if you're doing a fresh install.
Then make it an option in the experimental section of the settings.
If an app cannot accept the updated data, if it has even been launched in the new version, the worst that can happen is that it doesn't work. You can still uninstall, or you can clear the data. You can also pop up a warning before downgrading, explaining the possibility of needing to clear the apps data.
It is still an essential feature for many.
Uninstalling and reinstalling is not only inconvenient, it can also change values like the apps id, that can be essential for advanced users.
For me, the app had an update that removed a feature I relied on without replacing it, making it worse as a result. This therefore makes a valid example to the point made above, that people may not enable automatic updates because updates aren't always better, sometimes they make an app worse.
And in both cases the user data is gone. I'd call that the worst case.
In my experience that is quite rare though. Probably less than 10% of the downgrades you'll do will actually not work.
On the other hand if the app has important data you want to preserve, the other ways of doing so are a) hunt down the apk manually, with the fdroid website not having a convenient download button for older versions, or b) use something like neo backup to make a backup, uninstall, install the older version, and revert the backup except the apk. Both are 1 minute for what could be one button press.
Edit: looking at the fdroid page the download buttons are there now, still you need to search up that page, it'll probably still take a minute using that method. Why use fdroid if you need to google apks like a caveman in the end anyway?