Just because an app isnât available from the Google Play Store doesnât mean itâs not available at allâyou can effectively install non-Play Store apps on any Android phone, tablet, or other device by enabling one simple toggle. This practice is called âsideloading.â
Why would you need to do this? After all, most of the applications you want are more than likely in the Google Play Store. But there are occasions when even these âofficialâ apps arenât available for some reasonâmaybe theyâre restricted in your region, not compatible with your phone, or some other equally as unimportant third thing. In any of those cases, you may want to sideload the app onto your phone. One of my favorite apps, Skitch, was discontinued a few years ago, but the old version still works. So I sideload it. It can also help you get the latest and greatest version of an app if the latest update is rolling out in stages.
But First, a Disclaimer
Before we get started on how to do it, however, letâs first talk about why this setting is disabled by default, and the security implications you could potentially face by allowing your phone to accept installations outside of the Play Store.
Basically, when you allow any application to be installed on your phone, youâre essentially bypassing the security protocols that are enabled in the Play Storeâthe stuff Google does behind the scenes to make sure all the apps you install from the official channels are safe for you, your phone, and your data. That is, of course, your callâthatâs why thereâs a toggle to allow other apps to be installed, after all.
RELATED: Understanding Android Oreoâs New Sideloading Policy
But that brings me to another point: if youâre going to install apps outside of the Play Store, make sure theyâre from a trusted source like APK Mirror. This is absolutely paramount if you want to make sure your stuff stays safe. There are a lot of malicious people/websites/etc. out there that want nothing more than to hijack your data, so if youâre going to slideload apps, be smart about it. If you pick your sources correctly, you can easily be just as safe installing these apps as the ones from the Play Store.
Lastly, itâs worth noting that Google changed how sideloading apps is handled on Android 8.0, so weâll break things down into two sections below: one for Android 7.0 and below, and one for Android 8.0.
How Enable Sideloading in Android 8.0
Open Settings > Apps & Notifications
Expand the Advanced menu
Choose Special App Access
Select âInstall Unknown Appsâ
Grant the permission on the desired app
Like I said earlier, Google changed how sideloaded apps are handled in Oreo. Instead of having one universal setting to simply install unofficial apps across the board, âunknown sourcesâ is now allowed or disallowed on a per app basis. For example, if you want to install things from APK Mirror, youâll have to allow Chrome to install apps from unknown sources. For those interested, we have a more indepth explanation of the change here.
Weâre going to use Chrome as the example here, but the process will be the same for any app youâd like to allow application installs from.
Note: Not all apps have this abilityâitâs part of the code, and Android will only offer the option for apps that have the ability to download and install applications.
The option to allow sideloading apps can be found in a couple of different places, but the easiest way to handle it is from a âuniversalâ setting that will show all apps that have this option available to them. Start by pulling down the notification shade and tapping the gear icon.
From there, tap on âApps & Notifications,â then expand the Advanced menu.
Choose âSpecial App Access.â
The bottom option here should be âInstall Unknown Apps.â Tap this.
All apps that have the option available to download and install applications will be listed here. Again, weâre using Chrome in this example, but you can select the app youâre trying to allow.
How to Enabling Slideloading on Android 7.0 and Below
Go to Settings > Security
Enable âUnknown Sourcesâ
Download the applicationâs APK file, and tap on it to install.
I know, that was a bit of a long-winded explanation, but itâs important. In all actuality, the process is super simple. Pull down the notification shade and tap the gear icon.
