Extract installed apk android

How to Extract APK File of Android App Without Root

An APK file is the final product that is produced after developing an Android app. It goes with the .apk extension and is also known as Android Application Package. It’s similar to an .exe file that is used to install Windows Programs. Now, as you might know (or not), it’s not an easy task to extract this APK file from an app. It might be easy if your phone is rooted but not so much if you’ve got non-rooted Android device. Well, the truth is it’s not as tough as you might have thought. Today, I’ll show you a few methods through which you can extract the APK of an installed app on your phone.

Disclaimer: It is illegal to extract the APK of a paid Android app. If you do so then you yourself will be responsible for it. This guide has been written with the soul purpose to share knowledge of extracting APK for education purposes. We don’t support piracy.

Method 1: Using an Advanced File Explorer

As mentioned above, if your device has root access then you can use an advanced file explorer that allows you to browse root folders. Generally, the installed apps are found in “/data/apps“. So, from here you can simply copy the APK files and paste it wherever you want. However, you can also extract APK of installed apps using an advanced file explorer on a non-rooted Android phone.

We’ll be using here ES File Explorer for that. You can use any other file manager app if you want but do make sure it allows you to backup installed apps. Yes, that’ll be the key thing here that will help us extract the APK.

The steps are simple. Open ES File Explorer and tap on “App” in the home page of the app, as shown in below screenshots. Now, long tap on the app that you want to extract the APK of and tap on the “Backup” option available at the bottom.

The app will be backed up with the extracted .apk file. You’ll find the APK file in a folder named “Backup” in your internal storage. IF you find this method simpler, the next method is even easier.

Method 2: Download the APK Extractor App

Well, what about an app that can extract APK? Well, the APK Extractor app works exactly as its name suggests. Download the app from Play Store and install it.

The working of the app is very simple. The home page of the app shows you all the system and third party apps on your phone. You can just search for the app you want to extraxt the APK of. Then, just tap on the app an that’s it. The APK will be extracted and saved in the folder called “ExtractedAPKs” in your device’s internal storage.

In the app settings, you can change the destination folder of the extracted APKs. You can also set the name format. For instance, you can set the APK files to first have the App name and then the package name. You can also add the app version in the name for better understanding. Apart from that, you can even set up automatic backup of APKs if you want. It’s all available in the settings.

Also, there is an option available for you to share the APK to others using the app itself. Just, tap on the drop-down icon next to the app and you’ll get the option to share it. The app will first extract the APK and then the share panel will pop up. You can then choose the app through which you’d like to share the APK.

Method 3: Extracting APK Using ADB

Well, if you’re an Avid Android User or an Android developer then you must be knowing about ADB. The Android Debug Bridge is basically a command line utility that is available with Android SDK, which allows you to control your phone and manage files inside your storage using different commands. It can access the root folders easily as the main purpose is for debugging.

So, with a few set of commands, you can easily extract APK to our PC or Mac in the desired folder. Now, if you’re not much aware of ADB then you might be thinking that is Android SDK necessary for ADB to work? Well no, it’s not. In fact, Google provides a separate package of platform-tools that contains the ADB. You can download it from here.

After you have downloaded the tools, just extract the zip and open the folder. You’ll find adb.exe file in the folder along with fastboot (we’ll not be using it). Now, press Shift and right click in the folder to get the option for “Open command window here” in the right-click menu.

Next, connect your phone to the PC or Mac via USB cable and make sure USB debugging is turned ON in the Developer Options. Now, follow the commands given below.

We’ll first check if the device is connected to your computer or not. Enter the following command:

Next, we’ll grab the app package name. If you already know the package name then you can skip this step. Enter the following command.

Now, just copy the package name that you’d like to extract. And paste it in the next command. Don’t copy ‘package:’ prefix along with it. Enter the following command. Here, I’m extracting .apk of Truecaller.

The above command will give you the path of the actual APK of the app. Now, you just have to perform a pull command to pull the .apk from this path and store it to our desired location. Make sure you copy the path of the desired location and paste it in the below-given command. Also, copy the path of the actual .apk that we got as result in the previous command.

The .apk file should now be stored in your desired location.

Best Ways to Extract APK of Android Apps

No matter what reason it might be for you to extract an APK; make sure you support the developers, as they deserve to be rewarded for their hard work. Talking about the best way, it’s surely the second method. The APK extractor is basically performing the same Shell commands that we performed in ADB. So, it’s the best way for sure. However, if you know any other method then do mention it down in the comments.

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How to Extract APK File from Installed App on Android

APK (Android Package Kit) is the package file format used by Android operating system for distribution and installation of mobile apps. If you are a loyal user of stock Android OS, you may be used to Google Play when it comes to installing apps, thus have never see APK files. Actually, it is very convenient and sometimes necessary to install Android apps without Google Play, but with APK file, instead. Furthermore, APK file is useful in many more aspects. You could get APK files in various ways. In this article, you’ll learn how to extract APK from installed apps on Android.

Benefits of Extracting APK from Installed App

1. Uninstall seldom-used apps to free up space while keeping APK files for future installation.
2. Save APK files of installed apps as backup.
3. Share system apps or apps no available on Google Play to another Android device.
4. Install apps without internet connection.
5. Stay with old and familiar system apps after OS upgrade.
6. Keep old version apps when Google Play only shows the latest version.

Method 1. Get APK from Installed App Android with File Manager

Some advanced file manager apps can extract APK files from installed user apps as well as system apps, such as Solid Explorer File Manager and ES File Explorer. Here we take Solid Explorer File Manager as example.
Step 1. Install and run Solid Explorer on your Android device.
Download from Google Play
Download from APKMirror

Step 2. Tap the menu button on the upper left corner.
Step 3. Scroll down and choose Applications.
Step 4. Tap User apps, then long press the app you need. (You can also choose from System apps.)
Step 5. Select the three-dot icon on the upper right corner, and choose Share.

Step 6. There should have several options to share app. Here we choose Save to… (On the bottom, you should see SELECT “USER APPS”, which is the current location.)
Step 7. Tap the menu button on upper left corner, and select Internal memory (or other storages), then open a folder.
Step 8. Tap the bottom bar to save the extracted APK file to the folder.

You should be able to find the extracted APK files from the folder you selected on Step 7. However, the file names may be different from the installed apps. You could identify them according to icons.

Note: As you can see from the image on Step 6, Solid Explorer allows users to save APK files to Google Drive or send the files via Bluetooth and other ways.

Method 2. Download APK Extractor to Extract APK from Android Phone

You could also use APK extractor apps to extract APK files from mobile phone. Here we choose APK Extractor (with Ads), which can only extract APK files to phone internal memory or SD card. You could also find and download more APK extractor apps from Google.

Step 1. Download APK Extractor to your phone, then install and run it.
Download from Google Play
Download from APKMirror

Step 2. Tap the three-dot icon on the upper right corner, and choose Settings, then you should see Saved path, which is the folder that extracted APK files will go.
Step 3. Find the app you need from the list and select the three-dot icon next to it, then tap share.
Step 4. A transient message shows that the APK file has been saved to the default path. Depending on your device, there may have other methods to share or save the file.

Notes:

1. To install APK files on Android, you need to turn on Unknown source on Settings> Security first, then just tap the APK file and finish the installation step by step.
2. Many people may want to install Android apps on PC, so you can move the extracted APK files to computer. However, in order to install APK and use Android apps in computer, you also need to install an emulator to your PC, like BlueStacks.

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Top 5 Ways to Extract APK File of Any App on Your Android Phone

There are many ways to extract the APK file from an Android Device. Some of them are as simple as copy-pasting a URL, while others require you to root your smartphone. But, why take a difficult route when there are simpler ones, right? So here are five simple ways to extract APK files from your Android smartphone and tablet.

But before we start, let us first understand the basics.

What is an APK File? Android application package file (or .apk in short) is a format we use to distribute software to Android. In simple words, APK is the program installer for Android. Just like what .exe is for Windows and .dmg for MacOS.

However, when you install any app from Play Store, you don’t see the actual APK file. Instead, the Play Store will do the installation internally without giving you access to the actual APK file. Much like installing apps from the App Store on macOS or Windows store on PC. But, if you install apps from outside Google Play Store, you’ll need the APK file.

You can use the APK file for several things such as:

1. Transfer apps to other Android devices that have no internet connectivity.

2. Take a backup of your favourite apps and store them on your computer.

3. Saving phone memory by taking a backup of less used apps. Whenever you want to use the app all you have to do is install them on your device. Once you are done using, you can uninstall the app.

4. Installing apps that are not available on Google Play. For instance, most Android tablets can run WhatsApp without any hitch. But you cannot download it from Play Store. Therefore, you have to install such apps directly using an APK file. The same is applicable to geo-restricted apps.

Extract APK File of Any App on Your Android

The logic is simple — take a backup of the apps. Now, by backup, I don’t mean to take a full backup (which also includes the app data) rather a regular backup, which will only include the APK file. Alternatively, you can also download APK from third party sources. We’ll cover both methods here.

1. APK Extractor

Before we move on to other apps and methods, I’m sure, most of you just need to extract APKs once or twice. Hence it doesn’t make sense to spend time and energy on apps on methods that have more features that you might never use. This app shows you a list of all apps installed on your phone, including system applications. All you have to do is tap and it’s saved.

The app also allows you to extract Split APKs which is great if you are looking to sideload to other platforms due to compatibility error or Play Store unavailability

Other bits of features include a dark mode, multiple apk extract, change saved path, share apks, in-app file directory, and more. There is but one drawback that the app shows banner ads which you can easily by-pass with your net off. If you want to remove ads for a day, there is a watch reward video option or you can go premium in under $1.

2. Using File Explorer

In Android you can easily backup all your apps using a free file manager app called File Explorer, a popular app to manage all your files and folders. If you haven’t already installed it.

Go ahead and download File Manager from Flashlight + Clock on Play Store. Once installed, launch it from the menu.

In the main screen, tap on the option “Apps.” This is where all the apps will be listed by File Explorer.

Now, tap and hold the app you want to backup. You can even select multiple apps if need be. After selecting, tap on the option “Backup” appearing at the bottom navbar.

This action will backup the selected apps, tap on the option “Open” to see the backed up apps.

This action will take you to the backup location on your Android device.

3. Using AirDroid

This is the best method if you want to store the APK on your computer. Since it’s a browser-based service, it is platform-independent and works on all platforms like Windows, macOS, Linux, or anything else as long as you have a browser in it.

AirDroid is a free app that lets you manage your Android device using a computer’s browser. Other than that, you can also use it to take a backup of your installed apps.

Start by installing AirDroid from Google Play Store. After installing, open the app. It will ask you to Sign in, this is optional both your computer and Android are connected to the same WiFi Network. Else you will have to create a free Airdroid account. For this instance, I’ve my phone and computer on the same network, so I’ll tap on Skip option on the top right to bypass the sign-in process. Once done, give it all the necessary permission.

And follow the simple instructions to connect your Android device to the Computer’s browser. In general, if both your computer and Android are connected to the same WiFi network, you’ll see an IP address when you open the app.

Type the displayed IP address in the computer’s address bar and press Enter to connect and open AirDrod on your computer.

Once connected, click on the “Apps” icon, select all the apps you want to back up to your computer and click on the “Download” button. As soon as you click on the button, AirDroid will extract the APK files of all the selected apps and downloads them to your computer as a single zip file.

That’s it. It is that simple to extract APK from an app using AirDroid.

4. Extracting APK directly from Google play

Unlike other methods on this list which extracts the APK files directly from the installed apps on your Android device, this method lets you extract the APK directly from the Google Play Store.

To get the APK file, go to this web tool, copy and paste the Google Play URL of the app and click on the button “Generate Download Link.”

As soon as you click on the button, the web app will fetch the APK file and gives you the download link. Just click on it to download the APK file.

Since it is fetching the APK file directly from Play Store, you don’t have to worry about infected files. However, you may face some problems on the website due to annoying pop-up ads. But overall, I am using this online tool for months and it always works flawlessly.

5. Download from Online Sources

Well, guess what, if you need an APK, you don’t really have to extract it from the app. Chances are you can find that APK online. Just do a simple google search with the app name followed by “APK.” This method will save you some time if you need just one APK file.

There are many online sources that bundle APK files of popular apps with malware. So, make sure you download the APK from only the legitimate sources. A good place to look will be sites like APKmirror. The good thing about these online repositories is that you can find any version of the app you want, even if is a 2-year-old one.

How to Find APK Files on Android Phone

If you have a rooted Android device, there is no need to download any third-party app to extract APK files. Simply open the File Manager on your Android, give it Root access and navigate to the following directory depending on what Android phone you have.

Overall these were some of the best ways to extract apk from Android phones. If you want to extract APK to your Android smartphone or tablet then use the file explorer method. If you want to transfer the APK to a computer then use Airdroid. So, which is your favourite method to extract APK from an Android phone? Share in the comments below.

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