This Android app store is now available inside Google Play for users
Last Updated: 2026-08-11 15:23:52
Google’s decision to allow third-party app stores inside the Play Store has made its first impact with the Aptoide app store now available to Android users in the US. This is a monumental shift in Google’s app play, and allowing third-party app stores has become possible after the recent legal order passed on the case filed by Epic Games and the tech giant deciding to settle to end the dispute.
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Aptoide app store now available on Google Play in US.- Google allows third-party app stores on Play Store.
- Change follows Epic Games legal settlement.
The new changes are only available to Android users in the United States but we expect more regions to adopt the new rules and allow people to sideload apps without actually doing it.
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Aptoide entering Google’s official app sphere is a big win for the users who can access more than 40,000 Android apps. Earlier you had to sideload the Aptoide app store through unofficial channels but now you don’t need to head out of the Play Store to access its apps and content.
Android users in the US are already seeing the Play Store informing them about Google distributing third-party Android app stores in the country. You simply have to open the Play Store on the Android device, search for the available app stores, and access them through the account menu itself.
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Will Android users in India get this support?
It is hard to say if Google plans to follow the US-linked order and adopt it in other regions but we do hope the company is forced to at least consider making these changes so that more users get to use the openness of Android the way it was meant to be.
What is sideloading of apps and app stores?
Sideloading of apps means you need to download the Android Package Kit or APK file of certain apps that are not available through the official Play Store from Google.
You can even do that to install other third-party app stores on Android devices but Google has warned users about the possible security risks of doing so. Which is why the new ruling and Google’s decision to allow third-party apps stores on Play Store is a big change that many would like.