One of the most convenient features on Android that sets it apart from the mobile competition is the ability to install apps outside of the Play Store. APK installation is why you can still play Fortnite – even though Epic’s legal battle with Google continues – and this’s how you can skip the wait for automatic updates to bring the latest features to your favorite apps. Unfortunately, one of Android’s most trusted file browsers has removed the ability to install APKs after receiving removal warnings from Google.
Total Commander has been around since the 90s, and eventually expanded to Android after the platform launched over a decade ago. The app has more than 10 million downloads in the Play Store and still supports OS versions as far back as Android 2.2. With a new update, developer Christian Ghisler has removed the ability to install APK files on Android, blaming Google Play’s policies for the patch notes for the app. This is a shocking twist for the service and apparently a bad omen for upcoming stuff for other mobile file managers.
A forum post from Ghisler sheds more light on what’s going on here when Google sent him a warning that his app would be removed from the Play Store within a week if the app remained unchanged. The company’s automatic response pointed the developer to the “Device and Network Abuse” policy – specifically these two sections:
An app distributed through Google Play may not modify, replace, or update itself using methods other than the Google Play update mechanism. Likewise, an app may not download executable code (e.g. dex, JAR, .so files) from a source other than Google Play. This restriction does not apply to code running in a virtual machine or an interpreter that either provides indirect access to Android APIs (such as JavaScript in a webview or browser).
Apps or third-party code (such as SDKs) with interpreted languages (JavaScript, Python, Lua, etc.) loaded while running (for example, not packaged with the app) must not allow potential violations of Google Play policies .
Based on these rules, Play Store’s moderation system may believe that Total Commander is trying to update itself, thus completely passing the Google Play update service. Ghisler says he tried to block Total Commander’s own APK from being installed when you click on it, but automated systems that checked his app for potential abuse did not catch the change. He resubmitted, only to receive this vague message in return:
As mentioned earlier, your app (APK versions 1031, 1032, 1033, 1034, 1035 and 1036) causes users to download or install applications from unknown sources outside of Google Play.
According to Ghisler, he then made the decision to remove APK installations completely for fear of losing access to his account after a third warning – as has happened to other developers in a similar situation.
It is possible that this blocking may have far-reaching consequences on file and web browsers in the Play Store, although the language used – not to mention Google’s bad reputation for fake removals – seems to suggest something less insidious. Based on the information from Ghisler, it appears that Google either believes that Total Commander updates itself from within, accidentally links to specific APK hosting sites, or uses a custom app installation process before the user navigates to Android’s default installer . Either way, it sounds like a situation that requires clarification from the company. Google should either clarify what Total Commander is doing wrong, which other file browsers have avoided, or should allow the app back into the Play Store in its previous state.
We’ve contacted for a comment from Google and will update when we hear back. For now, you may want to block Total Commander updates if you rely on the routine APK installation app.
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