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Extract apk of paid app from Google Play Store? (lemmy.ml)

submitted 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

8 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Apk extractor from F-Droid doesn't seem to work. App in question is Typewise Offline (android keyboard with hex-shaped keys).

EDIT: Probably worth a separate post at some point, but this is one of the few apps for which there is no open source equivalent, TTBOMK, and one of the few remaining proprietary apps that I rely on.

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Might be a split '.apk' file (aka '.apks'),
for which you can try SAI (Split APKs Installer, to backup + restore):
https://f-droid.org/packages/com.aefyr.sai.fdroid/

Might be due to a check to see if the app was installed from the PlayStore,
for which you can try KingInstaller (Spoofs as PlayStore, does not work for split APKs, to restore):
https://apt.izzysoft.de/fdroid/index/apk/com.example.kinginstaller

Might be due to custom licensing check,
then you'd need to decompile, reverse engineer and write a bypass.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 week ago

As far as I know you can do this only with a rooted device but I may be wrong

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Interestingly enough Files by Google has this functionality

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I just discovered that myself! I had everything Google-related that I could find on my phone disabled, which is why I couldn't figure this out right away. When I enabled Google files, I was able to go to Apps and download the apk by sharing it. However, it won't install on my wife's phone, which makes me think that when I switch to GrapheneOS that it may well not work there either. In any event, I won't have any scruples pirating it since I already paid for it!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Just tried it on GrapheneOS and it worked perfectly. You should be good to go

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 week ago

🙂👍

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 week ago

If you can install it you can use LuckyPatcher

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 week ago

I thought an APK file was basically a ZIP file with a standardized structure. You should just be able to rename the extension to ZIP to open it up and view the contents.

Not like that's going to decompile the code and all, but that's the first thing I'd start with.