Quick backstory - tired of Google knowing everything about me and seeing targetted adverts everywhere i go, I've bought a little Moto G as a project and decided not to install google play services on it, and use open source alternatives to google's apps.
While alternative stores like F-Droid are great, there are certain apps that are only on the play store, which I can no longer download since I don't have the play store installed. This is where apk downloader comes in. You do still need a google account to authenticate with, and a google services framework ID from a device that has been activated with google play services (you can ignore this if you have play services installed, you can find your gsfid using my app or an app called "Android ID" in the market), but after that you're free from google!
The app adds a "share" button to app pages in browsers, so you can search for apps using your browser and then click share to download, completely bypassing google play.
I've spent a lot of time trying to get requests and responses to work using protobuf (the system the play store uses) but have been unable to do so since it's just guesswork really, so it's constructing requests manually, the same way as the chrome extension which does this very same thing.
It's nowhere near finished, but I just thought I'd share this in case anyone finds it useful. You can also use this app to download apks that the play store may have blocked from your device, for example.
IF YOU DO NOT HAVE PLAY SERVICES INSTALLED:
Use an app like this to get your google services framework ID, and enter it in the settings.
Source: https://github.com/jackpf/ApkDownloader
Download: https://github.com/jackpf/ApkDownloader/blob/release/bin/ApkDownloader.apk?raw=true (Ad free)
Play store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jackpf.apkdownloader
While alternative stores like F-Droid are great, there are certain apps that are only on the play store, which I can no longer download since I don't have the play store installed. This is where apk downloader comes in. You do still need a google account to authenticate with, and a google services framework ID from a device that has been activated with google play services (you can ignore this if you have play services installed, you can find your gsfid using my app or an app called "Android ID" in the market), but after that you're free from google!
The app adds a "share" button to app pages in browsers, so you can search for apps using your browser and then click share to download, completely bypassing google play.
I've spent a lot of time trying to get requests and responses to work using protobuf (the system the play store uses) but have been unable to do so since it's just guesswork really, so it's constructing requests manually, the same way as the chrome extension which does this very same thing.
It's nowhere near finished, but I just thought I'd share this in case anyone finds it useful. You can also use this app to download apks that the play store may have blocked from your device, for example.
IF YOU DO NOT HAVE PLAY SERVICES INSTALLED:
Use an app like this to get your google services framework ID, and enter it in the settings.
Source: https://github.com/jackpf/ApkDownloader
Download: https://github.com/jackpf/ApkDownloader/blob/release/bin/ApkDownloader.apk?raw=true (Ad free)
Play store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jackpf.apkdownloader
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