Andy Walker / Android Authority
Google introduced new restrictions on installing apps from sources outside the Play Store early this spring. For average users, having to wait a day to install that APK probably doesn’t matter much. For some enthusiasts, however, the change will be a considerable new inconvenience. Going through a recent Android Authority survey, that includes many of you.
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Our survey asking readers if they’ve ever installed an Android app from outside the Play Store had three options: regularly, sometimes, or never. Of 3,661 people who responded, a whopping 43% indicated that they have not only installed apps from outside the Play Store, but do so regularly.
The second most popular option was “Sometimes”: just over a third of respondents said they had installed APKs from somewhere outside of the Play Store on more than one occasion. Only about one in five people who responded to our survey said they had never installed an app outside of the Play Store.
For our audience, these results are in line with what I would expect; If you read Android blogs recreationally, you’re probably familiar with downloading. Still, more than 40 percent of respondents who say they have installed apps from unofficial sources shows that it is a fairly popular practice.
What was the last app you installed from outside the Play Store? Will upcoming Android download restrictions affect you? Tell us in the comments.
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