Getting hold of the Android Bundle Kit or APK is sometimes the best way to get apps on your Android device, especially when it comes to VPN services. It’s the file format that ensures the VPN software will be compatible with your Android device, but going down the APK’s path isn’t usually done through the more commonly used Google Play store.
Overall, you’ll find that VPN APKs can be found through third-party providers, which also means you’ll need to be a little more cautious about what you find. For example, some packages may look very appealing, but they may also contain malicious content, which is obvious you’ll want to avoid.
However, there are many reasons why you might want to install apps this way (instead of through Google Play). This can range from the ability to install any version of any app (not just the latest) to testing unreleased versions. Therefore, this can be a good way to do things differently, as long as you take your time and double-check anything that may not be what it’s meant to be.
You’ll definitely want to be cautious about the legality of your downloads. As is the case with Windows software, make sure the APK you download is not a pirated copy, does not contain malware, and has not been compromised in any way.
To help you with this, on this page we have listed recommended APK sources to help you fix VPN providers. Please note that while the APK may be free, in many cases you will still need to pay for the actual service from the respective VPN provider. Fear not, though, because we also have a list best VPN service (opens in a new tab) handy, when it happens. Meanwhile, at the bottom of the page, we explain the benefits of using a VPN APK for some users.
Pure APK (opens in a new tab) has one of the largest VPN APK stores on the web with over 250 results listed. Sadly there’s no way to sort them (by date or price) but you could theoretically filter the results by area, although at the time of writing that functionality appears to be broken. .
Each VPN page has a very small description, prominent download button (with file size), a few screenshots, version number, OS requirements, list of latest features, release date and a list of previous VPN APKs.
As expected, there is also a list of related VPN services (mostly competitors), and APK Pure provides a discussion forum for each product with a rating system. The download site claims to be 100% safe as it manually manages and verifies all apps before publishing.
It may not have as many VPNs (only about 200) as its competitors but Mirror APK (opens in a new tab) offers a variety of VPNs that you can’t find anywhere else. For example, it’s the only service we’ve listed here that offers Samsung’s Enterprise VPN service for download. So, as you might have guessed, it’s not a bad idea to combine this repository and the aforementioned one (APK Pure) together to fix your VPN APKs.
APK Mirror allows you to sort APKs by app name or by developer name. It shows download count and download size, but unlike APK Pure, it doesn’t have a discussion forum or user rating system, only a standard Disqus based comments area. However, it shows the certificate file prints as well as the hash of each file. Nice! There are also a bunch of options that make downloading files easier: QR Code, PushBullet, and even RSS Feed.
At the time of writing, APK4Fun’s (opens in a new tab) the search facility seems to have been broken. Run by Google’s Custom Search Engine, this archive lists over 6,000 results for VPNs, an impressive number. Unfortunately you can only access 100 (editor: You can also use your search provider’s website: www.apk4func.com “VPN” to discover about 400 VPNs).
As for the competition, it uses a star rating system pulled directly from Google Play (rather than user-generated on the site). It provides the usual details to check the integrity of the file you are downloading and offers up to six sources to download your file from.
Note that we encountered some dead links to external servers, but not APK4fun’s own servers. Why this is the case is still a mystery and unfortunately you won’t be able to download older versions easily (archived versions are not on the central site).
This is the only site we’ve highlighted here that has used an infinity scroll layout instead of the classic next/previous navigation model. Doing so allows Up and down (opens in a new tab) suits its target audience – smartphone users in particular – especially given its narrow design, making it a great choice to sift through the 140+ VPN providers listed .
The filtering options are limited to specifying the platform only. You can’t sort by date or by type (whether they’re free or not). The product page provides previous versions of the APK and details the permissions required for installation, giving a brief description as well as the usual screenshots and sharing buttons.
This site has its own comments and ‘ask questions’ sections, but we found them to be quite empty. Uptodown uses VirusTotal to scan for malware or spyware with 57 massive antivirus solutions.
There are more VPN APKs on Aptoide (opens in a new tab) than anywhere else. Indeed, we counted to 500 before giving up. That said, our latest global VPN test shows there are 340 providers worldwide – so we’re pretty skeptical of Aptoide’s search results claims here.
Either way, Aptoide – which uses a narrow page layout similar to Uptodown – does not curate content from Google Play, instead operating its own rating and commenting system (with some success), also add your own details like MD5 and SHA1 signatures.
Downloading the APK is a pretty straightforward process, and we like the fact that it shows how many downloads each brand has had. All the main features are here: you can download older versions, you can share the site with others, you get access to other alternative VPN APKs easily, and A list of permissions requested by each application is presented.
Benefits of VPN APK
There can be a lot of upside to using a VPN APK, as long as you’re diligent about the resources you’re using and stick with the more well-known ones listed above. The great thing about a VPN that works seamlessly with the Android operating system is that you’ll be able to enjoy the same level of privacy and security as on other popular computing platforms.
The added benefit is that you’ll be able to browse online knowing you also have an extra level of security, which is always a good thing. VPNs also offer more freedom, with the ability to bypass geographic boundaries by not letting services know where you are. This can be useful for services like streaming TV shows, which can often prevent users from accessing their content if they’re overseas or in an unusual location.
Having the ability to effectively cover your tracks as you browse the internet can also have the benefit of avoiding the dreaded targeted ads that are the source of many browser sessions. While all of this sounds fine and dandy, you should still exercise extreme caution when considering a VPN APK arrangement.
If you’re in doubt about anything, you’re probably better off ignoring what seems decent enough. Free VPN (opens in a new tab) and aim for a reputable, paid VPN. Service from things like ExpressVPN (opens in a new tab), NordVPN (opens in a new tab) and surf sharks (opens in a new tab) have achieved their top reputation for good reason, so parting with some cash might be the way to go if you want a fuss-free online life.
