Non-Market Apps

[F1]

Hey guys. Is it safe to download apps that aren't from the market or the play store on android? Also, is this legal?
Cheers!

 

[CMvan46]

Yes and no. I've done it a few times legally but downloading paid apps from the Internet and installing them us definitely illegal.

Humble bundle had an Android bundle which was of course legal and were downloaded from non market source.

Downloading any apps from random places around the Internet however is definitely dangerous and definitely illegal.

 

[F1]

Yes and no. I've done it a few times legally but downloading paid apps from the Internet and installing them us definitely illegal.

Humble bundle had an Android bundle which was of course legal and were downloaded from non market source.

Downloading any apps from random places around the Internet however is definitely dangerous and definitely illegal.

Is the website, (a number that reads for) shared, safe? My contract runs out soon and I don't want to pay for apps which will become reduntant. Even though I am quite lucky with my finacial situation I don't like wasting money.
Cheers!

 

[Akira GT]

Is the website, (a number that reads for) shared, safe? My contract runs out soon and I don't want to pay for apps which will become reduntant. Even though I am quite lucky with my finacial situation I don't like wasting money.
Cheers!

No, that site is not legal at all. Although I do believe if you purchase the content legally on your phone it will be on your google account so if you do get a new android phone you can install the apps again at no cost.
Source.

 

[Submerged]

Yes and no. I've done it a few times legally but downloading paid apps from the Internet and installing them us definitely illegal.

Humble bundle had an Android bundle which was of course legal and were downloaded from non market source.

Downloading any apps from random places around the Internet however is definitely dangerous and definitely illegal.

Sorry, what?

Downloading applications from the internet to use on your phone is illegal?

If the applications are free of charge, then I cannot see why the applications that is downloaded from the internet would be illegal to use on the Android phone itself.

Even if the person paid for the application online, downloaded and then installed on their phone, that process (to my knowledge) is legal.

If it is pirated software from torrent sites and the like, then that would be illegal.

 

[CMvan46]

Sorry, what?

Downloading applications from the internet to use on your phone is illegal?

If the applications are free of charge, then I cannot see why the applications that is downloaded from the internet would be illegal to use on the Android phone itself.

Even if the person paid for the application online, downloaded and then installed on their phone, that process (to my knowledge) is legal.

If it is pirated software from torrent sites and the like, then that would be illegal.

Please reread the second sentence.

4shared is absolutely illegal yes.

 

[Submerged]

The second sentence of your own comment doesn't highlight that you were talking about "paid" apps that has been cracked to be allowed to be downloaded by people who hadn't paid for them.

So I was expanding on it to make it clearer as it was a bit ambiguous.

 

[Bluntified]

There are plenty of legitimate apps found on the internet that are safe and perfectly legal. If you're talking about cracked apps that you download via torrents or other illegal means, then absolutely not.

With that said, not everyone has money to publish their app on the market (iTunes or Google Play). A few members on here (GTPlanet) have apps that weren't on the market but provided a link to download, they were all safe and legal.

I download most, if not all, my apps from the internet. Nothing cracked or anything but rather earlier free open source versions of the app. Most of the time apps get un-needed updates and cause the apps to get bigger and slower, I look for an earlier stable version that isn't so bloated.

A tip for your safety is to always read the permissions that the app asks for before you grant them. If you see something odd about a permission, don't install it. Example, you download a Calculator app and it asks for Read/Write Contacts, don't install it, why would a calculator need that permission? I've actually came across an app like that.