How To Enable Unknown Sources To Sideload Apps

One of Android's biggest strengths relative to other mobile operating systems is how simple it is to sideload apps that aren't hosted on the Google Play Store. Rather than having to go through complicated jailbreaking procedures, all you need to do to allow for sideloading apps on your Android device is enable a single option.

Enabling 'Unknown Sources' on Android

The exact names of the settings entries listed below may vary slightly from device to device, but the overall process should be very similar. To begin, head to your phone's main settings menu, then look for an entry titled either "Security" or "Lock screen and security."

(1) Security menu on stock Android, (2) Lock screen and security menu on Samsung devices

From this menu, simply tick the box or toggle the switch next to the "Unknown sources" entry, then press "OK" on the popup.

Sideloading Apps

After that, you're all set up and ready to go. From now on, you can simply download any APK installer file directly to your Android device, then tap the Download complete notification to launch it. From there, press the "Install" button on the following screen, and within seconds, your sideloaded app will be ready to use.