Downloading Applications from other places
Google provides a primary but essential app store for Android, known as
Google Play. Google Play isn’t the only game in town, and there are other
ways to install apps on Android. Some Android devices — particularly those
that are dirt-cheap, coming directly from manufacturers in China — are not
really certified by Google and do not include Google Play. This makes the
device much less useful, but you can still install apps on it.
It is so worth not that if you download applications from unknown sources,
your phone and personal information can be very high. Your phone may be
damaged in the process or lose the data you've stored in your device. Your
personal information could be harmed or hacked or tempered with.
Downloading From Sideloading Apps
Android OS does support side-loading, this actually allows you to install apps
from outside of Google Play. However, this is disabled by default for security
reasons. But if you wish to enable it — enable side-loading — all you just
need to do is for you to open the Settings app on your Android OS, as soon as
you do, click on the Security category, and there enable the Unknown sources
check box.
Note here that this can be a real security risk, as it could allow installation of
those applications that are not from the Play Store, which could potentially
contain malware. So if you enable this setting, it is not less on you to install
applications responsibly — try as much as you can to stay away from pirated
games and other apps that may contain Android malware.
After enabling this particular setting, then you can download an Android app
in an. APK format and install it into your device. Let's take for instance, you
could download the. APK file in the default browser of your Android phone
and as you do, you open it from the Downloads folder. You could also
download the APK file into your computer, then you copy it right over to
your Android’s file system with a USB cable, then you use a file manager
app to browse for it, and tap the APK file to start to initiate the installation
process.
Sideloading also allows you to be able to install a variety of apps that are not
actually available in the Play Store, some of those Applications are apps such
as the XBMC Media Center which is for Android, some various emulators
that have been removed from Google Play, and even third-party app store
apps just like the Amazon Appstore which is for Android and Humble
Bundle app.
This option may not actually be available in some devices if the
manufacturer of the device or the carrier has disabled it. Once certain time
AT&T did this, but it has become so much less common. Most devices
should have the Unknown sources checkbox so as the user to either tick out
leave it.
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