When it comes to downloading apps to your Android device, you’re free to get them anywhere. The Play Store is the most popular source and likely the safest, but you can use any store or even download APKs and install them directly.
However, downloading apps from outside of the Play Store presents risks. Many APKs can be tampered with, so getting malware is a real possibility. With Android 7.0 Nougat, you can see exactly where your apps came from.
Under App Info, you will now see where your app has come from. It uses the getInstallerPackageName method, which works with the Play Store and Amazon Appstore. If the app was downloaded outside of those two stores (or other stores that fill out that string), you’ll just see “Package Installer.”
This will be a good way to diagnose problems with someone’s smartphone. You can now see if your grandma has been downloading Candy Crush from shady websites rather than the Play Store. Will Google use this for evil? Will it track where we download our apps? Leave your thoughts in the comments!
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