How to install apps from unverified developers on Android (2026)

What changed, and where

Dates from Google’s developer verification page, read 2026-09-30.

Google’s FAQ (last updated 27 August 2026) keeps the first phase to those stores: "if users sideload your app directly, these new verification requirements won't apply to your app yet." Some reporting reads it more broadly; The Hacker News wrote that certified phones in the four countries "will block normal installs" of unregistered apps. We go by Google’s FAQ and will update this page if what phones do turns out different.

Does it apply to your phone?

Only to certified Android phones. Google’s help page says "Android Open Source Project (AOSP) and non-certified devices are exempt from this requirement", and that it "does not apply in regions where Google Mobile Services are unsupported". The same page says the rule covers Android 8 and up; the developer FAQ says Android 7 or higher.

To check whether your phone is certified, open the Play Store, tap your profile picture, then Settings → About, and look at Play Protect certification (Google’s steps).

Install an APK the usual way

1. Download the APK on the phone.
2. Open it from the download notification or your file manager.
3. If Android says the app you opened it from isn't allowed to install unknown apps, tap Settings, turn on the switch for that app, and go back.
4. Tap Install.

Since Android 8.0 this permission is given to one app at a time, in Google’s words "to enable app installations from a particular location". You can take it back later under Install unknown apps in Settings; the menu that holds it differs between phone makers, so search Settings for it.

The advanced flow for apps from unverified developers

Where the check applies, an app from a developer who hasn't registered with Google needs this one-time setting. These are Google’s steps; we haven't gone through them ourselves, because none of our test phones is in the four first countries and Google is rolling the flow out gradually.

1. Turn on Developer options: open Settings → About phone and tap Build number seven times, until the phone says you are now a developer (where Build number is on other phones).
2. Open Settings → System → Developer options and turn on "Allow apps from unverified developers".
3. Follow the prompts. Google asks you to make sure no one is pressuring you: scammers "often pose as bank fraud agents, technical support, or delivery services".
4. Wait out the one-time 24-hour security delay.
5. Come back, confirm with your fingerprint, face or PIN, and choose seven days or indefinitely.
6. Install the app. A warning that it comes from an unverified developer still appears; tap Install anyway.

Updates count too: with the advanced flow turned off, Google’s FAQ says, "updates to unregistered apps will fail".

Install with adb from a computer

1. Install Android SDK Platform-Tools on the computer.
2. On the phone, turn on USB debugging in Developer options.
3. Connect the phone with a USB cable, allow debugging when the phone asks, and run adb install easemic.apk.

Google’s FAQ: "There are no changes to how ADB works," and the 24-hour wait "does not apply to ADB installs."

Installing Easemic

Easemic isn't on Google Play. The invite email has a download link that is just for you, and lists the version and its SHA-256 fingerprint. To check the file on a computer, run shasum -a 256 easemic.apk on a Mac or Linux, or certutil -hashfile easemic.apk SHA256 on Windows, and compare the result with the email. If they don't match, don't install it; reply to the invite email instead. Easemic needs Android 10 or later.

Google’s worldwide rule arrives in 2027. We will update this page when we have decided how Easemic handles it; until then the steps above work.

Questions people ask