How to download apps from other sorces

The efficacy of anti-virus has long been up for debate, but if you do think they're worthwhile on an Android device, they'll often scan apps before you install them, providing another potential line of defense.

By leaving the installation of all unknown apps on by default, you're opening the door for any malware-infected or malicious apps to silently download other nefarious software silently in the background.

If you disallow by default and only allow on a case-by-case basis, there's a much smaller risk of this. By now, you know that where you download your APK from is key. Let's take a simple example like downloading and installing WhatsApp from outside the Play Store. In this case, WhatsApp provides its own direct download page that you can either visit on a desktop and then transfer the file to your phone, or visit on your phone browser requesting the desktop site from your browser settings and then download it directly to your device.

Once downloaded, you can check out your Downloads in the app drawer and select the downloaded APK file. Clicking on that will start the install process, and if required, will ask you to allow the app permissions to continue. If you want to install Fortnite on your Android smartphone, you can follow our guide here.

This requires a dedicated file explorer app to access the APK. You will also need to grant the File Explorer permission to install from unknown sources. Many apps can't be downloaded directly from the company that makes them, however. In this instance, you'll want to check out one of the more trusted app repositories like APKMirror. From there you can download manually vetted apps that use the same digital signatures as the apps on Google Play.

If you can't find what you're looking for on the Play Store or APKmirror, there are some alternative app repositories out there. We've taken a look at the most important ones in this article. However, the recent decision of Epic Games to bypass Google Play and offer Fortnite to players directly through their website, is likely to make other developers follow suit.

We think you should expect more apps requiring sideloading in the future. Regardless, there is still a risk whenever you install an app outside of Google Play. Downloading an app from places other than Google Play is referenced as sideloading. Recently, interest in sideloading rose again with the global popularity of the game Fortnite.

The game is available for Android, but you need to download it from the official website instead of the Play Store. APK files are generally safe if you download them from reliable sources.

Therefore, malicious files can slip through there. We will go over both methods in this tutorial. Another popular thing to do is install APKs from websites. This is, by far, the most dangerous way to install apps. Google changed how APK installations work in Android 8.

This is how to install APKs on all modern versions of Android:. It will work as any other app you download. You can find the icon in the app drawer, open the app, and do whatever. There are some apps that may not install on your device due to compatibility reasons. The process otherwise remains mostly the same. Everything we said earlier still applies here.

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