One of the best things about Android is that you’re not limited to Play Store only. You can get a lot of apps from third-party sources by sideloading an APK. This is especially useful if some apps are not available in your region/device or you want to do a rollback to an older app version if you have issues with the current one. However, some users are a bit confused by the whole APK and Play Store apps differences and wonder how to uninstall APK files on Android. The answer is quite simple: just like any other app on your phone. Learn the details below.
How do I uninstall APK from Android?
You can uninstall APK from Android just like any other app you got on Play Store. All APKs with counterparts in Google Play Store can be uninstalled directly from Play Store. On the other hand, if you install an app from a different source and it doesn’t appear in Play Store, you can uninstall it straight from the Home Screen/App Drawer or navigate to Settings and uninstall it there. To update APK files on Android that are not in Play Store, you’ll need to download a newer version manually.
APKs are not different from Play Store apps except that they come from other sources. As a matter of fact, all Android apps are APKs (Android Package). And Play Store works as a package installer (or archiver) as it unpacks APKs in the background when you install apps from the Google Play library.
Ideally, you would download and install APKs from trusted sources. There’s a small but realistic possibility that modded/cracked apps are made with malicious intent or illegal to use due to piracy laws. So, act with caution and inform yourself before you get apps that offer premium options you usually need to pay for. But don’t let that dissuade you from looking for alternatives to Play Store offerings. Apps like Gcam ports that you can install on any Android device are a perfect example of a good and useful app that you can’t get on the Play Store. These APKs are perfectly safe to install and can be really beneficial.
With all of that out of the way, here’s the best way to uninstall APK from Android:
- Open Settings.
- Tap Apps. Expand All apps.
- Search for the APK or find it by hand on the list of available apps. If you can’t see it for some reason, enable Show system processes.
- Open the app.
- Tap Uninstall in the bottom tab.
If you only updated an app via an APK, you can just uninstall updates. Once in the App info screen, tap on the 3-dots menu and select Uninstall updates, and re-update the app in Play Store. You can usually find downloaded APKs in the Downloads folder under Internal storage where you can delete them or install the app again. If you can’t install APK files for some reason, allow installation and get an installer for APK bundles.
Some recommend using third-party uninstallers but we don’t deem those necessary. Just like with antivirus apps: uninstallers are more of bloatware than actually useful. Of course, that’s your choice and Android has many alternatives if you dislike first-party services.
That should conclude it. Thank you for reading and we hope we answered your question. What are your favorite apps that are not available in Play Store? Tell us in the comments section below.
