The operating system Android opens up truly great opportunities for users. Thanks to its openness, you can do anything with it – from customizing individual interface elements to installing any kind of applications that can be downloaded from anywhere. But if in careful customization of the operating system, as I have already found out, there is nothing wrong, then I would strongly recommend that you forget about downloading software from unreliable sources – read from the Internet. I have several objective reasons for this.
Unknown sources and unknown, that no one knows what they are full of
Dangerous apps for Android
Let's start with the fact that Google itself is strongly opposed to users Android downloading applications from the Internet. For this, for some time now, even a special mechanism has appeared in the OS that blocks APK files, not just warning the user about their insecurity, but literally prohibiting their download. The reason for its appearance is quite simple: as a rule, such software does not pass the test and can be dangerous for the user who downloads it.
Outside of Google Play, you are much more likely to run into viruses
These are not empty words. Practice shows that cybercriminals very often embed in cracked versions of applications that are distributed free of charge and attract users who do not want to pay for software, virus software. It can be anything from ad scripts and miners to spyware and keyloggers that scan passwords and logins, and then intercept access to accounts, bank accounts, email and instant messengers. Therefore, purely for your own safety, you should not download software from the Internet.
Application APKs for Android
Installation files tend to accumulate and clog the smartphone's memory
Of course, there are sources on the Internet that you can trust, for example, XDA, APKPure, APKMirror and the like. The owners of these resources check all the software that they publish, but, firstly, this is not a guarantee of its absolute safety, and, secondly, due to the fact that applications are published there in the APK file format, their download reduces the available volume storage on the device. Well, see for yourself.
An APK is, in fact, an installation file that is downloaded separately and after installing the application is not deleted, but remains in memory. Yes, they don't weigh so much – 10-30 MB each – but if you download, say, 50 or 100 such files, they will take from 0.5 to 3 GB. Yes, they can be deleted at once if you use a special application to clear memory, but I have already told you why I prefer not to use them, especially since it is much easier not to accumulate any junk on the device than to try to clear the storage from it later.
Piracy on Android
Well, and the final reason, which may seem far-fetched to some, is to indulge in piracy. I hope you understand that by downloading hacked versions of applications – and they are usually hacked on the Internet – you are not allowing the developer to earn money. As a result, not only does its income suffer, but also the ability to continue releasing updates to existing applications and new programs.
Cool games are released on Android with a delay precisely because of piracy
Do you think I'm making this up? Not at all. Indeed, many developers, precisely because of piracy, do not want to release their software under Android at all, or they do it with a long delay relative to iOS. They just know that if a new product is released on Google Play immediately, it will certainly be hacked and made publicly available. Nothing like this will ever happen to the App Store.
Therefore, for some developers Android it is a kind of optional platform, for which, in general, you can release a new application, but without pinning any hopes on it. It will fire – well, they will hack it and download it for free – well, okay. That's just because of this, Google Play does not have many cool programs and games that are on iOS, and this greatly depreciates Android.