XPost: comp.mobile.android, alt.comp.os.windows-10   
   From: mariasophia@comprehension.com   
      
   PSA: Using a PC to download Google Play Store APKs w/o a Google Account   
      
   This cross-platform PSA is about browsing the Google Play Store APK   
   repository from a Windows PC and downloading the official APK files   
   directly from the Google Play Store repository and then installing that   
   official Google Play Store APK onto your Android device, without the need   
   to create a Google mothership account on your phone or on your Windows PC.   
      
   There are many ways to install an APK to Android, but this PSA is not   
   about:   
    1. APK mirrors or alternative app stores   
       (Amazon, F-Droid, Galaxy, APK Mirror, etc.)   
    2. Sideloading APKs from another phone   
       (although remember, the APK on Android is NEVER deleted!)   
    3. Using adb to install an APK you already have   
       (C:\> adb install myapp.apk)   
    4. Finding and using older versions of the APK   
    5. Modifying build.prop or spoofing device identity   
       (which requires root on Android anyway)   
       etc.   
      
   Instead, this PSA is about using a Windows program to   
    A. Browse the Google Play Store catalog from a PC   
    B. Download the official APKs directly from Google   
    C. Use anonymous login so your Google account is not exposed   
    D. Save those official APKs for archiving or later installation   
    E. Manage those APKs on a Windows computer instead of on a phone   
      
   Note that you do not need to create a Google Account on Windows (nor on   
   Android), and, be advised, if you use the official Google Play Store app on   
   Android, it automatically creates a Google Account on the phone!   
      
   You do not want that! (for privacy anyway).   
   You NEVER need a Google Account on your phone. Ever!   
      
   This method does NOT need or create a Google Account on your PC or phone!   
      
   The PC version identifies itself as a generic "no-device" client.   
   Google Play then returns whatever catalog it gives to a client with no   
   device profile at all. So it generally shows *fewer* APKs than if you ran   
   the FOSS Google Play Store client equivalent (Aurora Store) on Android.   
      
   However, a quirk of the process is that for older Android devices, the PC   
   version may actually show more apps than the Play Store app on the phone,   
   because the phone's outdated device profile may hide apps unnecessarily.   
      
   Download the PC version here:   
       
      
   Official project links to the Android Google Play Store client replacement:   
       
       
       
       
      
   Once the APK is on the PC, you can install it on Android in several ways:   
    1. Copy the APK from Windows to the phone and install it directly   
              
    2. Run Windows adb to install from the PC to the phone over USB or Wi-Fi:   
           C:\> adb install myapp.apk   
    3. Use Windows scrcpy and drag the APK into the mirrored Android screen   
              
   --   
   My posts aim to explore how the system actually works beneath the surface,   
   in ways most users may never understand because it's a subtle hidden path.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)