The First Third-Party App Store Arrives on Google Play - DTNS 5328

**Tom Merritt** (0:08)
This is the Daily Tech News for Monday, August 10th, 2026 We tell you what you need to know, give you important context and help each other understand.

**Rob Dunewood** (0:17)
Today, the first third party app store returns to Google Play and Dobie's grave avoids destruction.

**Tom Merritt** (0:25)
Harry Potter fans, you know what to say. I'm Tom Merritt.

**Rob Dunewood** (0:28)
And I'm Rob Dunewood.

**Tom Merritt** (0:29)
Let's start with what you need to know with the big story.
Google Play added Venmo as a payment option on Monday, but it also added a much more significant new option. Of course, Apptoid Games has become the first third party app store available through the Google Play store since Google decided to go along with the court ruling and allow third party app stores again. If you search for Apptoid Games, you have to know how to spell it. A P T O I D E. And you will then be directed to the third party app store page where you can download Apptoid Games after reading the following warning. Third party app stores operate under their own security and privacy practices. Google Play enforces its policies on these stores for your protection. But we do not review every app in these stores. Downloads, payments, and updates will not be managed by Google Play. That is very carefully selected words so they don't violate the court order and get Epic to drag them back in front of a judge, but to try to give the impression that like, hey, you're on your own, which is true. You're on your own. Google's not going to help you if you have a problem with these third party app stores, nor should they. The number one app in Apptoid Games when I looked this morning was Huawei Health.
Which made me think there are a lot of Huawei users out there, possibly even in China, that are using Android in a way that may or may not be entirely approved.
But the rest of them were games. I downloaded Clash of Kings, which was the number two on the charts.
And Robb had kind of installed like an app does. There was nothing unusual about how the app store itself works.

**Rob Dunewood** (2:21)
We knew this was common. If I'm honest, I'm not terribly upset with the warning that Google is giving.

**Tom Merritt** (2:29)
It's fine.

**Rob Dunewood** (2:31)
It's fine. You know, their toes are close to the line. They're not stepping over it. But they're saying, hey, if you download apps from this and there's a payment issue or there's anything like that that happens, don't come to us. We have nothing to do with it.

**Tom Merritt** (2:45)
It's not us. We didn't do that. And a lot of people wouldn't realize that, right? Because I downloaded it through the Play Store.

**Rob Dunewood** (2:50)
Right. So they're not going to avoid anything. They're just letting you know up front that if you complain in that way, they're going to say, there's nothing we can do for you.
I downloaded the app. It kind of reminds me of the Samsung store on Samsung devices, or even back in the day when you could download the Amazon App Store and put it on here. And you have to sideload that. But it just kind of reminds me of that. What's different here is that you are not sideloading any of these, or in this case, you're not sideloading Aptoide. It is part of the Google Play, or it's listed in Google Play. So you just go to Google Play and install it like you would any other application and then start using it. So that is a bit different. I wonder how many people will ultimately end up using it.
If the games there are significantly less expensive than they would be on, maybe the on Google Play, then maybe quite a few will. But I think that remains to be seen. I want to see how many people actually go and pick up the Apptoy game store, because the name of that store does not hold the weight of Google Play or Epic for that matter.

**Tom Merritt** (3:59)
They need to get an exclusive, I would guess. I assume Epic Store is going to be here, too. I'm curious what other third-party app stores we get. When Apple allowed third-party app stores in Europe, there were a few that have shown up and they don't make the news anymore, but they're quietly available if you're in the European Union and you want to grab them. And so, AppDroid is just the first. I assume it will not be the last.
If it were to get some exclusive games, I think that would be a bigger deal for it than just price differences, or if there's some other advantage there. The other thing about it is, like you said, like you used to have to sideload these even when Google did allow it, and now it's a little easier, but you still have to know to look for them.