Play Market - Android

Android smartphones cannot be fully utilized without an app store. The official app store, Google Play Market, offers hundreds of thousands of applications and games designed for different tasks. It is convenient and easy to use, you do not need to download the Play Market separately - it comes with the operating system. There are games of all genres, and fitness applications for tracking calorie burning, and office programs for working with documents, and readers for books - it is harder to list what is not in the store than what is there. All of these Play Market apps are fully customized for the devices you use and are malware-free. The reason for this is Google's strict security and moderation policy for Play Market apps, which ensures 100% control over the apps added to the store. This policy has a downside - it completely excludes the appearance of modified programs in the store. There is no function for installing various modifications on applications and no manager for managing program versions, which would allow you to roll back to previous, stable versions, if a new update brought a bunch of bugs and made unwanted changes in the program's operation. It's these shortcomings that prompt some users to turn their attention to alternative Android app stores, rather than staying further in the official digital entertainment store and downloading for free in the Play Market. There, they will be able to manage the list of programs on their smartphone more flexibly.

Advantages and disadvantages of alternative stores

It should definitely be noted that alternative stores, like the official Play Market, have a number of their advantages and disadvantages. Therefore, it is up to each individual user to decide whether to use them or not, based on their needs.

Pros:

• Larger selection of available programs. Third-party stores often have more programs and their versions unlike the Google Play Market. In addition, it happens that in third-party sources you can find an application that was removed from the official store a long time ago. This often happens with some games.
• Openness. Some third-party stores are created and developed by a community of modders and enthusiasts who welcome an open ecosystem in the stores they create. For example, all users are free to create their own subcategories within the store and share access to them with everyone else.
• Service independence. Third-party stores are not affected by Google's policy changes regarding the Play Market on Android and its rules for creating and distributing programs. They are also not affected by changes in the geopolitical situation and bans by Google on the use of the store in some countries.

Cons:

• Security. Like any unofficial source of applications, even from big and famous companies, third-party stores do not have all the tools to ensure complete security of the programs available there. Therefore, there is always some probability of application crashes, malicious utilities and other security issues. In addition, they need to be downloaded and customized separately, while a separate installation of the Play Market is not required.
• Delayed updates. The vast majority of developers work with the official store, uploading there new versions of programs with improvements to old features and adding new ones. New updates arrive in alternative stores always with some delay, depriving users of new features.

Tips for choosing an alternative store

Choosing an alternative app store should be taken seriously, because the stability and security of your smartphone depends on it. The following tips will help an unsophisticated user to understand the available options.

1. Comments. Before downloading programs from third-party stores, it is important to familiarize yourself with the real reviews of users who use this service. They have information about the reliability and quality of applications.
2. Checking the source. When installing a program, it is important to choose a reliable and reputable alternative app store. The platforms should be reputable and trustworthy.
3. Working with permissions. You should pay attention to the permissions requested by the app and make sure that they match its functionality.
4. Backups. Care should be taken to create backups of data and programs to be able to restore them in case of any problems.

List of the best alternative app stores for Android

Grand-screen.com

Grand-screen is one of the first third-party, mobile app stores on Android. It has been on the market for a very long time. Thanks to its open structure, it allows you to create and manage your own app stores. Since its inception, it has accommodated a lot of users and enthusiasts. Here you can communicate with other buyers, rate apps and leave reviews for them.

Amazon App Store

This store is the brainchild of the world-famous giant in the field of online commerce and has been in the market of game applications for a long time. It boasts of having a huge number of apps that are regularly updated and supported. Is a great alternative for those who can't use the Play Market for free. Compared to the same Aptoide does not offer users wide freedom. The apps here are customized for a multitude of devices.

Yandex.Store

The domestic giant of the IT-industry managed to make a mark with its own mobile app store. Unlike the previous two services, this store is completely in Russian. The program must be separately downloaded to the device, after which it will please the user with a pleasant interface and many functions that make the process of downloading applications very simple and intuitive. Supports a variety of payment methods.

AppGallery

After Google restricted Huawei's access to its ecosystem of apps and games, the latter has taken some drastic steps to eliminate its dependence on Google. AppGallery was the first big step in this direction. The service has a completely similar functionality and has quickly become a good alternative to Play Market. It boasts a huge database of apps that is constantly growing. Developers also actively support this service, uploading all their fresh versions of applications there in time. The most interesting feature of AppGallery is the ability to download from there working applications that cannot be downloaded for free in Play Market.