Google Play Store offers a seamless way to install applications on any Android device that comes preinstalled with it. All it takes to install an app from the Play Store is that you sign in to your Google account on your Android device, head over to the Play Store and then install the app of your choice by tapping the green colored button labelled, you guessed it right, "Install".
Things start getting a bit complicated when you want to install an application from outside the Play Store, however. One might ask why they would ever need to install an application which is not available on the Play Store. While the average user might not feel much need to look for such adventures, slightly more tech savvy users often need it to rollback to previous versions of an app, a yet-to-be-published update of an app, an app that is not available at all on the Play Store (for there are several legitimate apps, such as mobiles casinos that are a fun way to spend your time and possibly earn money while doing so, but are either not allowed on Play Store, or they decide to not publish on Play Store themselves), etc.
To do this, first obtain the apk you want to install. You can do this by visiting the official website of the application you wish to download, or use a trusted website such as ApkMirror to find the apk you are looking for. After you download the apk of your choice, tap the downloaded file. Doing so will popup a message saying "For your security, your phone is not allowed to install apps from unknown sources.' If you trust the source from where you downloaded the apk file, you need not worry about this warning message. Press the "Settings" button on this popup menu. You'd be given the option to grant installation permission to your file manager (we recommend Solid Explorer) or browser. Do that, hit back, and you can now install the apk you wish by simply pressing the install button.
It wasn't as typical as it might have sounded at the thought of it, right? This is in stark contrast to how difficult achieving a similar outcome would be on an iPhone. But as the saying goes, with great power comes great responsibility. You should be wary of the sources you download your apk files from, so as to ensure that you do not end up installing a malicious malware on your Android device.
What use case did you find for installing apk files from outside the Play Store? Let us know in the comments section.
