Do you need to download APK to your Android device but don’t have access to the Google Play Store? Check out the top sources for secure APK downloads.
What Is APK | Its Importance
- APK is the Android file format. Short for Android Package Kit, it’s the primary way Android apps are distributed and installed.
- When you download an app from Google Play, you’re downloading and running an APK file in the background.
- But you have no access to the APK itself.
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Highlights
- Sideloading is an excellent way to install apps that aren’t available in the Google Play Store.
- You need to get a copy of the APK file to sideload it on your device.
- If an app is geo-blocked, it could contain adult content, or the developer might have removed it.
Sometimes the Android software that you want to install is not accessible in the Google Play Store.
This can happen for a variety of reasons, including geo-blocking, adult material, or the developer removing it.
But there is good news! Even if an app isn’t available through conventional channels, there are still methods to get it on your smartphone. To sideload the APK file, you must first obtain a copy of it.
APK files may be downloaded from a variety of websites. Some are better than others, discover here and learn about the finest sites for safely downloading APKs.
Why Is It Important To Download APK from Safe Websites
Because APK files install software on your system, they might be a security risk. A hacker might change the APK before installing it and then use it as a digital Trojan horse to install and run malware on your system.
Therefore, you must ensure that the website you utilize to download APK is trustworthy.
The sites must properly examine all APKs and have a track record of the history of security and reliability.
7 Best Websites To Download Safe APK
The safest and in our top list for Android APK download site is undoubtedly APKMirror.
The site is owned and maintained by the same team that launched the popular Android news site, Android Police, so you should feel stress-free to download APKs from this site.
The site matches cryptographic signatures for new versions of apps with previous versions (to ensure the true developers signed them). There are no modded APKs, pirated apps, or paid apps on the site. What does that mean?
That means, in terms of security, APKMirror has certain strict regulations in place:
- All APKs posted to the site are checked by staff before they are published.
- The site compares cryptographic signatures for new app versions to prior versions (to validate that true developers signed them).
- In summary, it will not publish an APK file if it cannot verify its legitimacy. So, there are no altered APKs, pirated apps, or paid apps on the site.
You can grab older versions for each app, to check information pulled from Google Play, and see a list of similar apps. If an app receives a notification for an update from Google, post-installation, it auto upgrades to the latest version.
APKPure follows rigorous security practices to ensure all the APKs are safe to save and virus-free. The biggest mainstream competitor to APKmirror is APKPure, which was launched around the same time as APKMirror did.
How Safe Is APKPure?
- Before releasing any software, this site validates its authenticity using SHA1 to guarantee the certificate is secure.
- It ensures that new versions of apps’ cryptographic signatures match earlier versions, and brand-new apps are compared against existing software from the same developer.
The good thing is that there are no modded APKs on APKPure, and the site won’t publish unapproved apps if it has any security or privacy concerns.
Also, there is a detailed list of prior software releases, in case you want to jump to an earlier version because of its feature or bugs.
There is also an Android app for APKPure. You must sideload the app to install it, however, remember that once installed, it may serve as an alternative for Google Play.
Aptoide is the world’s biggest APK downloading site, with more than 200 million users and about six billion APK downloads.
The site offers an Android APK app that lets you access the store and download APK files directly from your Android device.
You might think, with 6 billion downloads, why is Aptoide not higher up on this list? In a nutshell, Aptoide allows users to manage their own stores and thus lets modded APKs onto the platform. They are clearly marked, but if you are not paying attention, you may unintentionally download them.
Yalp Store lets you download apps directly from Google Play Store as APK files. It can search for updates of installed apps and lets you search for other apps.
Other features include browsing categories, viewing and leaving reviews, and filtering apps by being free/paid.
There is no web version of Yalp Store, unlike the other programmes on this site. Instead, you must get the programme via F-Droid, which is one of the finest Google Play alternatives.
The Yalp Store app allows you to download APKs (application programming kits) directly from the Google Play Store.
This means you don’t need to worry about any middlemen injecting malware before you get hold of them – just install the app and follow the instructions below.
Yalp Store can update apps in the background without any input from you. You don’t need to have a Google account to download the APKs from Google Play.
It will please many people who are wary of Play Store privacy issues. If you have rooted your device, it can even update apps for you.
We personally love APKMirror and APKPure for APK downloads. So logically, you have an option to rely on or search another website for APK downloads. However, you may not like what we like, just to be safe, letting you to a few alternatives.
In APK Downloader, all APKs are obtained from the Google Play Store, ensuring their security and safety. As with the other downloaders on this list, you can avoid Google Play entirely if you wish.
APKMonk is another popular APK app download site.
- The site has a heavy focus on gaming apps and runs its own malware checks before allowing an app onto its platform.
- You can also download regular apps from the Google Play Store through this site.
- It’s safe because, when you click on a listing, you’ll see all prior versions of the app, metadata from the Google Play Store, photos of the app, and links back to the original store listing. Before intake into its platform, it does its own virus tests.
- It is also used to download ordinary apps divided into popular and trending categories.
APKHere is the best APK site for foreign-language APKs that are not available in the default Google Play Store in your locale. You will find German, Chinese, Russian, and a whole lot more on APKHere.
Also, there is plenty of English material for you to explore, so proceed with your own research before downloading it on your device.
However a WARNING: China and Russia are not known for their robust security and privacy practices, so exercise caution and do your own research.
UpShot
- No matter where you get your APK file, you should always take responsibility to ensure there are no bad surprises in the code.
- APK files may be scanned for malware using a variety of services.
- The drag-and-drop MetaDefender and VirusTotal utilities are highly recommended.
- You may also install antivirus software on your phone for more security.
That’s all in our list, now you know from where you can download apk variety. Happy downloading!
