While testing a few dozen programs for cartooning, I realized they work best
if the image is edited slightly (e.g., crop, flipped, colors rebalanced,
etc.).

I realized the basic image editing that comes with Android is usually not
good enough (e.g., rotate any angle & then backfill).

So I started looking for image editing apps, which abound, but the question
always is what's a good free ad free (hopefully gsf free) well rated one?

There were only two hits in Aurora with the default strict filters.
*Fotogenic : Face & Body tune and Retouch Editor* by Best Photo Editing
free, adfree, gsfree, rated 4.9, 5M+ installs
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.hde7.fotogenic>

The second hit is:
*Photo Editor* by BeFunky
free, adfree, gsfree, rated 4.6, 10M+ installs
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=air.com.befunky.BeFunkyPhotoEditor>

However, if I lower standards to allow GSF, tons more pop up, for example:

*Canva* Design, Photo & Video* by Canva
free, adfree, requires GSF, rated 4.8, 100M+ installs
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.canva.editor>
*PhotoRoom Studio* Photo Editor by Artizans
free, adfree, requires GSF, rated 4.7, 10M+ installs
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.photoroom.app>

*Photoshop Camera Photo Filters*, by Adobe
free, adfree, requires GSF, rated 4.6, 1M+ installs
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.adobe.lens.android>

But there are so many 4+ rated above 1M that it's too much to list them all.
Given that there are so many out there, which do you use and why?

Andy Burnelli wrote:

> Given that there are so many out there, which do you use and why?

Drat. I spoke too soon on two of the ones listed, which I just deleted.

Both these require a login (which is patently ridiculous for photo editing).
1. Canva
2. PhotoRoom Studio

Maybe it was a bad idea to lower the filters by allowing GSF apps.
Instead, I lowered the filters by the number of installs (50K+).

This general purpose photo editor came up in the results to test:
*DS Photo Editor* by DS Photo Editor SDK
free, adfree, gsfree, rated 4.2, 100K+ installs
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dsphotoeditor.demoapp>

And when I lowered the standards to a lesser rating, this vector graphics
general purpose image editor came up for me to test:
*Inker* by Dark Reader Ltd
free, adfree, gsfree, rated 2.9, 100K+ installs
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=co.inker>

Neither of those two requires a login or any special untoward permissions.
There were more (plenty more); but that's enough for me to test for now.

The question is asked here so that I can benefit from your knowledge since I
assume always that I don't know more than everyone combined does about this.

What is a good free adfree basic image editor that you like to use, and why?

> Maybe it was a bad idea to lower the filters by allowing GSF apps.
> Instead, I lowered the filters by the number of installs (50K+).
>
> This general purpose photo editor came up in the results to test:
> *DS Photo Editor* by DS Photo Editor SDK
> free, adfree, gsfree, rated 4.2, 100K+ installs
> <https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dsphotoeditor.demoapp>
>
> And when I lowered the standards to a lesser rating, this vector graphics
> general purpose image editor came up for me to test:
> *Inker* by Dark Reader Ltd
> free, adfree, gsfree, rated 2.9, 100K+ installs
> <https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=co.inker>
>
> Neither of those two requires a login or any special untoward permissions.
> There were more (plenty more); but that's enough for me to test for now.
>
> The question is asked here so that I can benefit from your knowledge since I
> assume always that I don't know more than everyone combined does about this.
>
> What is a good free adfree basic image editor that you like to use, and why?

UPDATE:

In response to this thread today, here is more photo-editing information.
*Android 11 Phone Photo Edit*
<https://groups.google.com/g/comp.mobile.android/c/LPK8oLAyTC8>

Given the answer to the question begs the new question of what's a good
photo editor, it's a decent question to flesh out the answer to for
everyone to benefit (which is always my goal) so we all benefit always.

Given that reality, I'll direct my answer to the question of what's a good
photo editor, irrespective of the photo size (i.e., pre-shrunk or not).

Of course that question has been asked before, so lemme' search first:
*What is a good free adfree basic image editor*
<https://groups.google.com/g/comp.mobile.android/c/cTrsAsiNa4o/m/Hi8Z4CSdAgAJ>
Which contains suggestions for basic free ad free gsf-free image editors.

In addition, on my phone are the following free gsf-free photo editors.
*Simple Draw* by Simple Mobile Tools
Free, ad free, gsf free, rated 3.5/7.83K reviews@1M+ Downloads
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.simplemobiletools.draw>

*Photo Editor* by BeFunky with In-app purchases
Free, ad free, gsf free, rated 4.4/216K reviews@10M+Downloads
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=air.com.befunky.BeFunkyPhotoEditor>

While I don't usually install any apps that aren't free or that have ads or
that incorporate GSF into those apps, there are other photo editors extent.

For example, if the user doesn't care that an APK includes GSF and that
it's from Google, I hear that Snapseed is a well respected image editor.
*Snapseed* by Google LLC
Free, ad free, includes GSF, rated 4.4/1.6M reviews@100M+Downloads
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.niksoftware.snapseed>

Along the lines of a free, ad free image editor but that includes GSF are:
a. *Lightroom Photo & Video Editor* by Adobe
b. *Photoshop Express Photo Editor* by Adobe
c. *VSCO: Photo & Video Editor* by VSCO
d. *Canva: Design, Photo & Video* by Canva <-- REQUIRES ACCOUNT!
e. *InstaSize Photo Editor + Resizer* by Instasize, Inc.
f. *EPIK Photo Editor* by SNOW Corporation
g. *PhotoRoom Studio Photo Editor* by PhotoRoom Background Editor App
h. *B612 Camera&Photo/Video Editor* by SNOW Corporation
etc.

Caution: I never use apps which require an account when they don't need
them, where a photo editor does NOT need an account under any circumstances,
so be forewarned some of the apps above, while they contain GSF which
is bad enough, may also require an account (for all I know).

If they do require an account, and if you use them, please let the
rest of us know for the permanent Usenet record, so all benefit.

In summary, the way I solve the OP's stated problem set is I use three
tools that are chosen well, the first being an MMS/SMS app which
automatically (or manually) saves images to where I can find them, and the
second is using a file manager that can find where those images were saved,
and the third is to use an image editor that can crop and rotate images.
--
Posted out of the goodness of my heart to disseminate useful information
which, in this case, is to flesh out the problem set to provide answers.

UPDATE:

I ran a classic one-strike-you're-out test of some of the apps,
where most were so crappy I had to remove them in sheer disgust.

*B612* by SNOW Corporation ===> failed (atrocious privacy policy)
*InstaSize* by Instasize ===> failed (atrocious privacy policy)
*EPIK* by SNOW Corporation ===> failed (atrocious privacy policy)
*PhotoRoom* by PhotoRoom ===> failed (atrocious privacy policy)

*Photo Editor* by BeFunky ===> failed (requires login)
*Photoshop Express* by Adobe ===> failed (requires login)
*Lightroom* by Adobe ===> failed (requires login)
*Canva* by Canva ===> failed (requires login)
*VSCO* by VSCO ===> failed (requires login)
*Photo Editor* by BeFunky ===> failed (requires login)

*Fotogenic* by Best Photo Editing ===> failed (it's crippleware)

In summary, the only apps that passed the twenty second quick test were:
*DS Photo Editor* by DS Photo Editor SDK (powerful basic editor)
free, adfree, gsfree, rated 4.2, 100K+ installs
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dsphotoeditor.demoapp>

*Simple Draw* by Simple Mobile Tools (simple basic editor)
Free, ad free, gsf free, rated 3.5/7.83K reviews@1M+ Downloads
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.simplemobiletools.draw>

*Snapseed* by Google LLC (simple medium power basic editor)
Free, ad free, includes GSF, rated 4.4/1.6M reviews@100M+Downloads
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.niksoftware.snapseed>

*Inker* by Dark Reader Ltd (this is a vector graphics editor)
free, adfree, gsfree, rated 2.9, 100K+ installs
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=co.inker>

*Pocket Paint: draw and edit!* by Catrobat
Free, ad free, gsf free, rated 4.5/23.2K reviews@1M+Downloads
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.catrobat.paintroid>

Bear in mind I only tested these photo/image/sketch editors for less than a
minute each; but at least during that short initial time frame they didn't
do anything obnoxious to earn an instant strikeout.
--
Posted out of the goodness of my heart to disseminate useful information
which, in this case, is to run a quick test on the listed photo editors.

*Android 11 Phone Photo Edit*
<https://groups.google.com/g/comp.mobile.android/c/LPK8oLAyTC8>

When I tested a bunch of solutions to the OP's stated problem in the thread
listed in the quote snippet above, I realized that the free ad free Amaze
file manager has what appears to be a fantastic basic image editor.

That basic image editor is a free addon to the already free Amaze File
Manager which seems to do _everything_ the OP has asked for in his request.

Here's the solution I posted to that thread moments ago, where one will
notice there are about a half dozen solutions in the proposal since the
free file manager does the edits but also the listed free image editors
also do the edits.

As usual with Android, there are many solutions to the OP's stated request.

-----< cut here for my solution to that thread today >-----
> In summary, the way I solve the OP's stated problem set is I use three
> tools that are chosen well, the first being an MMS/SMS app which
> automatically (or manually) saves images to where I can find them, and the
> second is using a file manager that can find where those images were saved,
> and the third is to use an image editor that can crop and rotate images.

SOLVED

As always, to help everyone using my skills as an app tester, I found what
I consider to be the best apps for the tasks that I tested for the team.

1. *SMS/MMS app* (auto/manual save images)
<https://www.apkmirror.com/apk/maple-media/pulse-smstablet-messenger/pulse-smstablet-messenger-5-4-6-2816-release/>
2. *FILE BROWSER app* (locate & open images & edit them) <=== optional
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.amaze.filemanager>
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.amaze.fileutilities>
3. *PHOTO EDITOR app* (crop/resize)
(see the suggested photo editors below)

Note if you want a different MMS/SMS application, look here for ideas:
*SMS app*
<https://groups.google.com/g/comp.mobile.android/c/OO-0G-_1qeU>

Note that you can skip the file browser because the image editors can all
open the files, so you don't even need the file browser in the tool flow.

1. SMS/MMS app (auto/manual save images)
The free adfree PulseSMS app (version 5.4.6.2816) automatically
or manually saves incoming/outgoing MMS images into a default location
/internal storage/pictures/pulse/filename.jpg

2. FILE BROWSER app (locate & open images & edit them) <=== optional
The free adfree Amaze File Manager (version 3.8.2) has a free add-on
"Amaze Image Editor" which does all the basics for image editing.

3. PHOTO EDITOR free ad free app (crop/resize)
The free adfree set of editors listed in this thread do all the edits.
*What is a good free adfree basic image editor*
<https://groups.google.com/g/comp.mobile.android/c/cTrsAsiNa4o/m/Hi8Z4CSdAgAJ>

For example:
*DS Photo Editor* by DS Photo Editor SDK (powerful basic editor)
free, adfree, gsfree, rated 4.2, 100K+ installs
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dsphotoeditor.demoapp>

*Simple Draw* by Simple Mobile Tools (simple basic editor)
Free, ad free, gsf free, rated 3.5/7.83K reviews@1M+ Downloads
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.simplemobiletools.draw>

*Snapseed* by Google LLC (simple medium power basic editor)
Free, ad free, includes GSF, rated 4.4/1.6M reviews@100M+Downloads
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.niksoftware.snapseed>
--
Posted out of the goodness of my heart to disseminate useful information
which, in this case, is to find a solution to the OP's stated problem.