Android is an operating system that gives you much more freedom and the level of control you have over your device than is the case with iOS, which is used by the Apple. This is a feature that plays a crucial role for many people when they have to choose between an Android and iOS phone. All those who like to completely customize their phone or other smart device complain about how “closed” the iOS system is, which gives you little options in terms of customization.
While on the iPhone only applications on the App Store can be officially downloaded, and the other option is jailbreak which is not recommended, on phones with Android operating system, alongside Google Play which is a counterpart of the App Store, you can also download apps from other locations as an APK file. This is even very simple process because all you have to do is enable unknown sources in the privacy settings and then download and install the APK file with the desired app. What worries users is how safe and reliable are modified apps, and we will give you an in-depth answer to that question in this article.
What are modified applications?
Modified applications are also called third-party applications. You will also come across them as APK apps, because APK is the type of file used for this type of apps. These are all applications that have been modified or edited in some way compared to the official version. Modified apps are edited by developers who are not working for the company which owns certain app, but they work as freelancers or for some other development company. The APK file can be modified to give you some brand new features or to unlock some features that are currently only available to premium members and so on.
That even includes the most popular apps such as Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and others. You will especially often come across modifications of WhatsApp, such as WhatsApp GB, which brings you a lot of different things compared to WhatsApp version which is available to you on Google Play. At whatsapp-gb.blog.br you can read the differences between official WhatsApp and WhatsApp GB.
Are modified apps legal?
Some modified apps are legal, while others are not. This primarily depends on whether the developers who edited the app made sure that they complied with all copyright laws or not.
Anyway, it is something you shouldn’t worry about. The company that owns the app is likely to check all modified apps that can be found on the Internet and determine if they are legal or if some further legal action needs to be taken. Even if they find that there are violations of copyright laws, the legal actions will be taking against developers, not against you as the end user.
You as an end user can be completely peaceful, because due to modified applications you will not have legal issues.
How safe and reliable are modified apps?
We cannot claim that all modified apps are safe and reliable because there are too many of them. Virtually anyone can upload an APK file to the internet that may contain malware or it may simply be unreliable because the developer did not do a good job.
However, most of the modified apps you will find are safe and reliable because it is a way for developers to make money, so they will do their best to offer you the best app possible and come back to them later and download a new app that they will edit. To make sure that you will not damage your phone with some malware or virus, there are things you should pay attention to before downloading the APK file.
Things to consider before downloading third-party app
To avoid worrying about whether you download the virus into your smartphone, consider the following things. If you do so, it is very unlikely that the untrustworthy app will end up in your phone.
1. Check the APK file
If you have some knowledge regarding developing apps, you can very easily check the file itself and find out if everything is OK with it. In case you don’t know anything about it, don’t worry, there are still plenty of ways you can check out the app.
2. Use online tools
For all those who know nothing about apps, there are great online tools that will do the whole job for you. All it takes is to upload the APK file and wait a few minutes while the tool checks to see if there is a virus in the file that could endanger you. VirusTotal and NViso APKScan are among the best tools you can use for this purpose. Results of check will be emailed to you and you will have complete insight.
3. Check source
If the app is on Google Play then you know it is a reliable source, but since you will not find modified apps on Google Play then it is important to check the source from which you will download it. Don’t be fooled by a well-designed website from which you are going to download modified app, but check reviews and use other similar authoritative ways. Pay attention to the terms of service also, because if terms of service are well-written it speaks of the reliability of the source.
4. Double-check developers
Source can be reliable but that still doesn’t guarantee you that app will be reliable. So you have to do your best and check who the developers are, what their previous work is and so on. If you see they’ve never done anything like this before, it’s the yellow flag.
Also if there is no information about them, then this is not an app that should end up in your phone. About reputable app developers you will be able to find all the necessary information as well as their website, customer support service, privacy policy and so on.
Conclusion:
Modified apps are a great thing that can bring you exactly what you would like a certain app to have, and that app doesn’t have it in the official version. However, you need to be careful that the app you download is safe and reliable and not full of viruses and bugs.