Google might have the biggest app store, but not all good apps are available there. Android makes it really easy to sideload apps from other sources, but there’s no stock functionality that can help you keep them up to date. However, there is a way you can receive updates for sideloaded Android apps.
Instead of completely ignoring updates for your sideloaded apps or manually searching for them only, there is now an app called APKUpdater that offers a simpler solution. With this app installed you will receive updates for sideloaded Android apps.
How to receive updates for sideloaded Android apps
You will get a notification when one of your sideloaded apps has an update as well as direct you to a page from where you can download it. APKUpdater uses trustworthy websites for app update sources such as APKMirror, APKPure and even Play Store.
APKUpdater is not available in the Play Store, so you will need to sideload it. Download the app from the link below, press on the Download Complete notifications then tap on “Install”.
Download APKUpdater (direct .APK download)
In the main window of the app, you can see a list of all your sideloaded apps. To customize APKUpdater’s behavior, tap on the gear icon located in the upper-right corner of the screen.
‘Skip experimental builds’ is one of the most important options here, which you should enable if you only want to install stable builds and avoid beta and alpha versions.
The ‘Check for updates’ section lets you set the frequency at which the app searches for updates. Also, under ‘Update sources’ you can set the sources used by APKUpdater. APKMirror is the default one, but you can also add Google Play and APKPure to the list.
Now all you have left to do is wait for APKUpdater to find some new builds for your sideloaded apps. When this happens you will receive a notifications. Simply tap on it and it will take you to APKUpdater’s interface in the ‘Updates’ tab.
If you tap on any entry you will be directed to the web page from where you can download the update which will be from one of the sources you enabled in the app’s Settings menu.
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