> We have no interest in maintaining a branch of the app that doesn't depend on any proprietary services.

Developers explain why they wouldn't (naming issues, and "the point of the android app vs just using a browser is to have the location tracking, which requires google services") and then the thread was closed. And then I stopped following the issue and begrudgingly installed from Play store (I'm not de-googled, because like the GP mentioned, it's very hard to do even if you think you have done it, so in some cases I don't even try).

There are a LOT of locked threads in their github issues on the same topic. The F-Droid version appears to be a build of the appropriate repo, and the description says "This is the minimal flavor that does not have location tracking or notifications" (so the 2 things mentioned previously, location and push notifications are hard to do without Google).

https://github.com/home-assistant/android/pull/682 here is the PR that adds in a "minimal" flavor without the Google features. I stand corrected. A bunch of neat things have happened since I stopped paying attention, and I'm pretty proud of the HA team for getting around to resolving this amicably, even if they were a bit rough about it in the beginning.

edit: ... I just realized I installed Home Assistant from F-Droid when I just re-imaged my phone this weekend. Without even realizing it.