The Google Play Store is, without a doubt, the best place to get apps. It has a large selection of the most popular developers and its security features are top notch. You simply cannot get the same experience anywhere else. However, this does not mean that Google Play has all the apps or games available for download. We’re sure you already know about Fortnite and its issues with remaining legit. Other surprisingly decent sideloading apps are not allowed on Google Play for one reason or another. Here are the best Android apps that you might want to download from the side.
Since you’re venturing outside of Google Play, we recommend that you check out our instructions for installing third-party apps without the Google Play Store guide linked here. We’d also like to give a shout out to the Amazon App Store since you have to sideload it and it also has a bunch of apps and games that you also have to sideload once you’ve downloaded them.
Best Sideloader Android Apps
APKMirror is technically a website, not an app. However, it does have a bunch of apps that you can sideload. The biggest and most useful function for APKMirror is to try new or beta versions of apps that you can regularly get on Google Play before the official launch, or to find an old version of an app or game that performed better than its new version. It is a very reliable site for APKs and you should not worry about things like malware or anything like that. We have been using this site as a resource for years without any problems. You can find all sorts of neat things to switch over there if you look around.
Blokada is an ad-blocker that works pretty well. It blocks ads by filtering your traffic through the network. Don’t worry, it’s open source so you can check for yourself if it intercepts or steals your data. The app includes configurations that you can use without any real knowledge. There are other ad blocking solutions out there and you might like the other one better, but Blokada works well too.
Bromite is the browser most similar to Google Chrome. It’s a fork of Chromium so it behaves and works as you’d expect. It looks like Chrome and feels like Chrome. However, this variant includes some privacy improvements and native ad blocking. The list of features is long and full of technical jargon, so we’ll spare you the nitty gritty. Suffice it to say, it’s a great third-party browser that you’ll almost be ready to use as soon as you install it because you more or less already know what it looks like.
Cerberus
Price: Free / 5 EUR – 43 EUR per year
Cerberus used to be one of the best Find My Phone apps in the Play Store. However, Google adjusted some of its policies regarding certain permissions and Cerberus was summarily launched. The app does exist on the official website though and is still a reasonably good option for its category. It can take photos of people trying to get into your phone, show you your phone’s location, send a message about your phone’s location, and do various other functions. We still recommend this as one of our best apps to find your phone. Subscription costs are required ranging from $5 per year (for one device) to $43 per year (for up to ten devices).
F-Droid is an excellent sideloading app. It is another app store similar to Google Play. However, this one only has FOSS (Free and Open Source Software) applications. This is a great place to get apps for those concerned about privacy and security because every app has to publish its open source code somewhere on the internet and link it to F-Droid. You won’t find a ton of popular apps here, but you can find plenty of simple tools to replace the less reliable ones in the Google Play Store. There are also many advanced user tools with functions that you cannot find in the Play Store due to policy restrictions. Additionally, F-Droid itself is relatively easy to use and looks good.
Fortnite
Price: Free to play
The relationship between Fortnite and the Google Play Store is very public and very messy. For now, however, you can only get Fortnite from the official Epic Games website. The game is a Battle Royale style game where you and 99 other players battle it out to see who is left standing. The game map shrinks over time, and there are various resources on the map that you can collect and craft to give yourself an advantage. It’s one of the most popular games in the world and you can’t get it on the Play Store right now. If you need more help, we have a guide here on how to install Fortnite. One day, when Epic Games releases their game store, we’ll probably replace Fortnite with it.
Frost for Facebook
Price: Free
Frost for Facebook is a third-party skin on F-Droid. It gives you access to both your Facebook profile and Messenger. Some other features include support for multiple accounts, a theme engine to make it look the way you want, and it’s open source, which is always a bonus. In terms of functionality, it’s pretty much what you’d expect. You can also download stuff from Facebook and there is support for more than a dozen languages. You could have done much, much worse.
Google Camera Plugins
Price: Free
Google Camera exists in two places at once. There is a Google Play Store version (link) which is just fine. Then you have the good Google camera that you have to sideload. The Google Camera plugins include the Pixel’s outstanding post-processing along with Night Sight, ASTRO mode, and other features you won’t find in the Play Store version. XDA-Developers has a repository for most devices that have a Google Cam port. There are a decent number of devices, but it’s worth noting that not all devices can use it and not all devices have the same features. It’s a work in progress, so click the link to see if your device is compatible.
QooApp is an interesting application. It’s technically a mobile app store. There are many, but QooApp specializes in letting people play games from other parts of the world. It is primarily used to play the Japanese versions of some gacha games since the Japanese version is usually longer than the global version. There you can find popular games like Genshin Impact and Princess Connect. But as usual, tread lightly as it’s a third-party app store and doesn’t have the same protection as Google Play.
Tachiyomi is one of the best Android manga readers, but also one of the most complicated. It has a huge collection of manga, including some NSFW stuff. It also comes with extensions similar to how Kodi has extensions. Unfortunately, those extensions are APKs that you install and that’s why Tachiyomi isn’t in the Play Store. Fortunately, the official website has an app and it’s relatively easy to install and use. It’s a little more tedious than any manga reader you can find on Google Play, but it has a lot more content.
ViPER4Android (root only)
Price: Free
ViPER4Android is an audio engine and equalizer app, and honestly, it’s the best. It requires root access because it installs a literal audio driver on your phone and that’s what gives it legendary control. You can create multiple sound profiles for all your headphones or speakers. The developers are working on a non-root version of the app, but it’s not available yet. So you need root to use this app to its full potential.
Bonus: Magisk Manager (root only)
Price: Free
Magisk Manager is one of the most powerful sideloading applications. Unfortunately, it is for rooted devices as it absolutely cannot work on non-rooted devices. The application allows you to install modules that improve, increase or otherwise change the functionality of your device. It’s a tool for advanced users, so we wouldn’t recommend it to anyone. That’s why it’s down here in the bonus area. Anyway, this is a great tool for root users as long as they don’t mind the learning curve and have backups ready in case something happens.