Android, unlike some phone operating systems, allows users to install software from outside the default app store (even if you don't live in Europe). And that's good, because there's all kinds of ...

Google is slowly rolling out new rules for sideloading on Android. Starting next year, developers in some regions will have to verify themselves in order to distribute apps. Without verification, you ...

You might sideload an Android app, or manually install its APK package, if you’re using a custom version of Android that doesn’t include Google’s Play Store ...

An updated API available to Android app developers can force users to download the app from Google Play, blocking the app from working if it is sideloaded. First announced at Google I/O 2024, the ...

Next year, Google will prohibit sideloading on Android—one of the few prominent things differentiating the Android operating system from Apple's iOS. Per the forthcoming policy, Google will ask all ...

However, Samat’s statement did little to assuage people’s fears, as it didn’t explain a key part of the equation: the how. We know what Google wants to do (block Android apps from unverified ...

Many e-readers released in recent years support app downloads or sideloading, but do not have Google Play or Google Play Services. It will soon become more challenging to do this with a new Google ...

Microsoft and Tencent have partnered to bring Tencent apps and games to the Microsoft Store in China. The partnership will make it easier to find and download Tencent mobile apps on PCs in China. The ...

Some Android users will spend their entire lives not running any apps other than those they discover on the Play Store, Google’s official repository for Android software — and that’s totally fine! If ...