Halp Android devices

What is Fdroid? Is it app based so therefore simply an alternative to Google play store? How would Google allow this?
Signed,
Old In Charlotte
It is an app, a catalog of free and open source software. (FOSS is generally more secure/private)

Google is marginally better than Apple: there is a Settings option to install apps from "unknown sources (aka not the Play store) on even non-rooted phones. So you can download APKs from the web and install them, which does carry risk.