Publish the app to the Huawei, Xiaomi and other Chinese Android app stores

fffelix-jan commented 7 months ago

Checklist

[X] I have used the search function to see if someone else has already submitted the same feature request.
[X] I will describe the problem with as much detail as possible.
[X] This issue only contains a request for one single feature, not multiple (related) features.

App version

6.603

Problem you are trying to solve

I cannot download or update the app without using a VPN to bypass the Great Firewall of China. Google Play is blocked in China and F-Droid was unfortunately recently blocked in China as well. GitHub sometimes works, but it is very slow and does not update automatically. (I use a Huawei P30 Pro.)

Suggested solution

The app should ideally be published to the Huawei, Xiaomi and other Chinese Android app stores to allow all Chinese users to easily find, download, install and automatically update the app along with all their other Chinese apps, without the use of a VPN to bypass the Great Firewall of China. It does not contain any controversial content, so there should be no issues with publishing it. The competing Western mail client Outlook is also available on Huawei AppGallery, so K-9 should be there as well to provide an open-source alternative.

Screenshots / Drawings / Technical details

No response

bexonpak commented 7 months ago

Unfortunately, it has become very difficult for open source apps to get on the app shelves of the major content distribution platforms in China now, requiring the registration of a Chinese entity and the filing of servers, domain names, and apps with the relevant authorities.

F-Droid can use Tsinghua University's mirrors: https://mirrors.tuna.tsinghua.edu.cn/help/fdroid/

fffelix-jan commented 7 months ago

Firefox in China is published by "北京谋智火狐信息技术有限公司" and available at firefox.com.cn. Perhaps they could publish K-9 (soon to be Thunderbird) on the Chinese app stores as well?

thunderbird / thunderbird-android