The APK file is the final product produced after developing an Android app. It comes with .apk extension and is also known as Android App Bundle. It is similar to an .exe file used to install Windows Programs. As you know (or don’t know), extracting this APK file from an app is not an easy task. It might be easy if your phone is rooted, but not so much if you have a non-rooted Android device. The truth is, it’s not as hard as you might think. Today, I’m going to show you several methods by which you can extract the APK of an app installed on your phone.
Disclaimer: It is illegal to extract an APK of a paid Android app. If you do, you will be responsible for it yourself. This guide is written to share APK extraction knowledge for educational purposes. We do not support piracy.
Method 1: Using Advanced File Explorer
As mentioned above, if your device has root access, you can use an advanced file explorer that allows you to browse root folders. Usually, installed apps “/data/applications“. So from here you can copy and paste the APK files wherever you want. However, you can also extract the APK of installed apps using an advanced file explorer on a non-rooted Android phone.
we will use here ES File Explorer For this. You can use another file manager app if you want, but make sure it allows you to backup installed apps. Yes, that will be the key thing to help us extract the APK here.
The steps are simple. Open ES File Explorer and Tap on “Application” on the main page of the application, as shown in the screenshots below. Now, Long tap on the app you want to extract the APK from and Tap on “Backup” option available below.
The application will be backed up with the extracted .apk file. You will find the APK file in a folder named “.Support” in your internal storage. If you find this method simpler, the next method is even easier.
Method 2: Download APK Extractor App
Well, how about an app that can extract APKs? The APK Extractor app works exactly as its name suggests. Download the app Download and install from Play Store.
The operation of the application is very simple. The app’s home page shows all system and third-party apps on your phone. You can search for the app whose APK you want to extract. Next, tap on the app and that’s it. The APK will be extracted and saved in the folder named “.Extracted APKs” in your device’s internal storage.
In the app settings, you can change the destination folder of the extracted APKs. Moreover set name format. For example, you can set APK files to have the App name first and then the package name. You can also add the app version to the name for better understanding. Apart from that, you can even set up automatic backup APKs if you want. All available in settings.
Also, there is an option for you Share APK with others using the app itself. Just tap the dropdown icon next to the app and you will have the option to share it. The app will extract the APK first and then the share panel will open. Then you can select the app you want to share the APK with.
Method 3: APK Extraction Using ADB
If you are an avid Android User or an Android developer, you must know about ADB. this Android Debug Bridge It is basically a command line utility included in the Android SDK that allows you to control your phone and manage files in your storage using different commands. It can easily access root folders as its main purpose is to debug.
So, with a few sets of commands, you can easily extract the APK in the desired folder to our PC or Mac. Now, if you are not very aware of ADB, you might be thinking that Android SDK is required for ADB to work? No it is not. In fact, Google provides a separate suite of platform tools that includes ADB. You can download it from here.
After downloading the tools, extract the zip file and open the folder. You will find adb.exe in the folder with fastboot (we won’t be using it). Now, press the Shift key to get the “ option and right click on the folder.Open command window here” in the right-click menu.
Next, connect your phone to PC or Mac with USB cable and make sure USB debugging is ON in Developer Options. Now follow the commands given below.
First we will check if the device is connected to your computer. Enter the following command:
adb devices
Next, we will get the application package name. If you already know the package name, you can skip this step. Enter the command below.
adb shell pm list packages
Now only copy the package name you want to extract. And paste it in the next command. Do not copy the ‘package:’ prefix with it. Enter the command below. Here I extract the .apk file of Truecaller.
adb shell pm path com.truecaller
The above command will give you the path to the actual APK of the app. Now, you only need to perform one to pull The command to pull the .apk file from this path and save it to the location we want. Make sure to copy the path of your desired location and paste it in the command given below. Also copy the path of the actual .apk file we got in the previous command.
adb pull /data/app/com.truecaller-1/base.apk path/to/desired/location
The .apk file should now be stored in your desired location.
SEE ALSO: How to Unlock Mac with Android Device Fingerprint Scanner
Best Ways to Extract APKs from Android Apps
Whatever the reason for you to release an APK; Be sure to support the developers as they deserve to be rewarded for their hard work. Speaking of the best way, it is definitely the second method. The APK extractor basically performs the shell commands we perform in ADB. So, definitely the best way. However, if you know of another method, mention it in the comments.
