One of the benefits of downloading apps exclusively from the Play Store is being able to know and trust that the APK has been signed by Google.

At this point, you can return home you’re done messing around in settings.Īs promised, let’s address the elephant in the room: third-party APKs can be dangerous and insecure.The popup will disappear, and you’ll see that the switch has been enabled. When you click on the option, you’ll receive a popup message, alerting that “your and your personal data are more vulnerable to attack by apps from unknown sources.” We’ll address a bit more what that means below, but for now, click OK.You’ll see the switch to enable the setting is currently disabled. No worries-just scroll down to the Unknown sources selection under Device administration. There’s plenty of options in here that may seem a bit confusing to newer Android users. The security menu might seem a bit daunting to begin with.If you can’t find the Security option, use the search functionality inside settings and type in “ Security.” It should return you with the security menu.

Once you’re inside settings, you’ll want to scroll all the way down to the bottom of your settings menu and click Security.So open your settings menu by either clicking the settings shortcut in your notification tray or opening settings through your app drawer.Turning on Android’s third-party app abilities is as easy as diving into settings, as long as you know where to look. You won’t need root access or an unlocked bootloader to accomplish this. Step One: Enable APK Installation on Android But if you’ve found an app you’d like to install, or you don’t want to wait for an update to roll out over the Play Store, allowing Android to install APK files is simple and easy. Just like any computer, Android will take the APK file, extract the software, and install the application to be used, just as if it had been downloaded and installed from the Play Store.įor added security, Android devices don’t ship with the ability to install apps from outside sources not offered by Google. For Mac users, they’re the equivalent of a. If you’ve used a Windows PC before, think of a. To install an app outside of the Play Store, you need a file called an “APK,” or Android Package Kit. In this article, we’ll cover how to download and install APKs an your Android device.

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