HOW TO SHARE APPS ON ANDROID

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Sending or sharing apps from one android device to another is actually not as simple as one would think. Android apps are of the format '.apk' which are not meant to be shared from one device to another. These files are designed in such a way that if a user wants to use it, he has to visit the website or the play store to get it. But not many of us have the patients to go and actually download it. Or some of us might not have a mobile internet subscription to download apps on the go. So if was possible for a friend, who already has the app you want, to send the .apk file to you, it would be amazing wouldn't it? It would.

Not many people know this, but there are many apps that let you share apps to other phones. I don't know how these apps work, but they magically let you send apps. Who cares about how it works anyway? As long as it's getting the job done. Nobody ask how chocolate is made, they just eat it. As I said, there are many apps in the play store, but we are going to talk about on such app today.


Today morning, I was on the bus with a friend. He wanted to check whether his phone's magnetometer works. So he asked me if I had the 'compass' app. I did have it, but I didn't know how to send it to him. I knew that it was possible, but I didn't have the app that allows you to share files. But luckily he had the app. So he sent the sharing app to me using the sharing app itself so that I could share the app that he wanted. Too many “sharing” words in the last sentence, forgive me.
So I was now able to send the 'compass' app to him easily in seconds.

The 'sharing app' that we used is called “ShareCloud (share apps)”. Certainly not the most creative name but trust me it is very useful. This app lets us send apps via Bluetooth, face to face(p2p, by creating a wi-fi hotspot), WhatsApp, facebook, email and numerous other ways. I will talk about some of them further in the post. Basically all it does is, it copies the installation file and sends it through the specified way. So once the app is received on the other device, it needs to be installed. The file will only get installed is the device supports the app to function. Using this app is a child's play. It has a very easy-to-use interface. You literally have to just select the app and send it. It is as simple as that. This app is available for free to download on the google play store. This app doesn't take up much space and it works almost magically. The best part is, you don't have to root your phone to use this app.

Methods of sending apps:


  • Bluetooth: This method obviously uses the Bluetooth to send the .apk file. This is a very traditional way of transferring data to mobile devices. This has a limited range. We cannot transfer data from across the globe using Bluetooth. If you are reading this you probably know what Bluetooth transferring is. So I am not going to talk much about this.
  • Face-to-Face: This method uses WLAN by temporarily making your phone a wi-fi hotspot. As soon as the transfer of files is over, the wi-fi is disconnected. It is needless to say that you phone should be wi-fi enabled. Otherwise, this method won't work. This also works in a limited range. But it is much faster than Bluetooth (7 times faster). Because it creates a network between the two devices. This works like FTP if you know what that means. I would recommend this method over any other. Simply because it is much faster than the others.
  • Some of the other methods are by using email or social networking apps installed on your phone like whatsapp or facebook. You can also save the .apk file on your google drive. This method uses the internet so the range is obviously unlimited. But this requires a mobile data subscription or you should be in a wi-fi zone. If you have access to the internet, I'd rather recommend you to download the app instead. And this method is the slower compared to Face-to-Face.
So those are some of the ways in which one can easily send .apk files from one android device to another. This app has about 5 million downloads on the play store. There is also another app like this one called “SHAREit”. That is also very similar to this. You can give that a try as well. Although the user interface is very simple. I'll just briefly explain how to use the app.






How to use share cloud (share apps):


  • Once you have downloaded and installed the app, open it.
  • On the opening page, you can see a list of apps that are installed on your device.
  • Look for the file you want to send either by scrolling or by using the search bar located at the top right.
  • Once you have located it, press the share button located right below the icon of the app.
  • Now a popup menu will appear, asking for you to choose the method of sending.
  • Select any of the given methods.
  • Then select the device which will recive the file.
  • And wait for it to finish transfering.



That's about it. It's very easy to use. If you still have any doubts, comment below or contact me on the 'contact us' page. I've said it before, I am going to say it again, use the face-to-face method. It is really fast. It will amaze you with its speed.

That's about it for this post. If I have missed out anything, please tell me. I will try to update it as soon as possible. I hope you found this post useful. If you have any suggestions or know any other app similar to this one, please feel free to share it in the comments.

If you liked this post, share it with your friends to help them. If you didn't like it, still share it to humiliate me. But share. Please. Thank you!