Even though it’s highly recommended to stick to Google Play when it comes to downloading apps and games for your Android device, you should know that there are quite a few alternatives out there.
There’s no doubt that APK Mirror is among the most popular sources since you have a guarantee that the apps you’re getting are completely safe. However, you should also be aware that Aptoide can be an excellent source as well.
What makes Aptoide special?
For those of you who are hearing about it for the first time, it’s a 3rd party app store (Google Play is a 2nd party one), with more than 230 million users now. It’s very popular in Asia, especially in China, where Android-running phones don’t come with the Google app package installed, since they are banned, so users have to rely on appstores like this one.
Also, it’s main advantage is that you can find apps that are available just if you pay for them in the Play Store for absolutely zero charge. Yeah, everything is free!
However, this doesn’t mean that you should try it just to pirate apps. If you care about the developers’ work, you must pay for the premium apps you download. It’s a matter of ethics, after all.
On the other side, there is a very cool thing about it: there aren’t any geo-restricted apps, so you can access any title you want, no matter where you are.
But hey, it’s not like Aptoide is the only alternative app store out there offering these…benefits. There are way more! Our biggest concern is, still, something else…
How safe is Aptoide? Can I download apps without damaging my phone?
Recently, Aptoide has been working hard on improving the security of the app store and announced all the updates in an official blog post.
Aptoide has been growing it’s user base steadily for the past four years — as a result, it has seen a huge increase in the number and diversity of apps. Since it’s an open social platform with user uploaded content, we must take extra measures to ensure it’s consistent quality over time.
Basically, they’re aware of the fact that making sure downloading apps is safe can be a hard mission, even for them. After all, you never know what users upload their apps…
We won’t lie to you. It’s a challenge. There are malicious users who try to upload malware disguised as popular apps all the time. There’s annoying adware as well. That’s precisely why we have an anti-malware system that constantly scans and filters the content on every Aptoide store. Our system is always updating and improving ensuring the best experience for the Aptoide community.
Long story short, in order to avoid dealing with complaints from users, Aptoide instituted a badge system, showing the apps coming from trusted developers. They have a green shield icon, like this:
If you decide to opt for this app store instead of Google Play or just try it, our recommendation would be to stick just to the apps with the trust badge.
Wrap-up
To answer the initial question: yes, Aptoid is safe as long as you download apps with the badge. By this, you know that you’re not downloading any malware, adware or any other types of mobile viruses which could damage your phone.
How many of you tried this app store? What was your overall impression? Let us know your thoughts, using the comments section below!
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