Android smartphones have a lot of features that are not available for iPhone users. One of those priceless features is APK files. Where most use Google Play Store for downloading apps, sometimes an app is not available on the Play Store. Android gives its users the ability to download those apps from a third-party website.
There are hundreds of websites which claim to provide the best APK files for an app. Sideloading APK files on an Android is not difficult. All you have to do is enable “unknown sources” from the setting, and you’re good to go. But, installing an APK isn’t as safe as you might think it is. So, before downloading it, you have to make sure that it doesn’t contain malware. You must ensure that the website you’re using is as reliable as Time news pro and thoroughly vets all the APKs.
To make things easier for you, we have compiled a list of four websites that are known to provide safest APK files for downloading.
APKMirror
It is one of the most popular sites for downloading an APK file. From a security point of view, the team over at APKMirror verifies all the APKs before uploading them on their website. These files are also matched against their older versions to make sure that these apps are doing exactly what they claim to be, and they also match the cryptographic signatures of new versions with old ones. Another good thing about APKMirror is that if you download an app from this website, it will automatically update itself if its Google Play Store version gets an update.
APKTOVI
If you want to download free, original, and pure APK files at the fastest possible speed, APKTOVI is the best choice for you. It is one of the oldest working websites committed to provide its users with the latest versions of all apps. Not only that, but one of the best features of this platform is that it gives its users access to beta versions of all apps and separates each app based on its category. The website also gives its users access to an online APK signature verification which lets you verify each app package to keep them away from harmful files.
APKPURE
Without a doubt, the biggest competitor of APKMIRROR and APKTOVI is APKPURE. All of these websites provide their users access to safe and virus-free files. Using SHA1 and matching cryptographic signatures of different versions of every app, it makes sure that the APK files are legitimate and are from a trusted developer. To make the user experience even smoother, it uses the same images, app description and pulls the metadata directly from Google.
APTOIDE
In truth, after discussing the last three websites, you shouldn’t have any reason to browse to any other site. But, what makes APTOIDE different from the rest is its versatility. It has more than 200 million users who have downloaded at least six billion files. The only thing that makes it fall fourth in our list is due to its difficult to use interface. It allows its users to manage their own stores and has different modded APKs which can be a bit confusing for many users.