Even though we try to solve all your questions on our website and social networks, we still get a handful of common questions from users about how Uptodown works. To hopefully solve this problem, we’ve put together a list of the 10 most frequently asked questions we get.

Uptodown App Home

Is Uptodown safe?

The million dollar question. Uptodown is an open marketplace that tries to be as nonrestrictive as possible. However, we constantly look out for the safety of our users at all times, utilizing the services of Virustotal on our platform. All the files that we host are analyzed by over 70 antiviruses, offering the complete report along with the download. If we detect any alert that compromises the the security of any device, the app is not published. Plus, our content team manually reviews everything just in case the automatic system fails.

Do I need the Uptodown app to download apps?

Of course not. In fact, you don’t even need to create an account to use our service, so you can download all the apps we offer directly from our web version using your regular browser. That said, certain Android apps that are packaged as XAPK require a compatible package installer (such as our official app or APK Installer). You can find more information here.

Uptodown apps

What is Uptodown’s business model?

Our main source of revenue comes web advertising from Google’s own Ads service and from other agencies. In no case are the apps we offer modified to add additional unwanted services. This practice was common a decade ago, but we abandoned it completely at that time since it didn’t comply with our commitment to transparency and reliability towards users.

Why do I get an error when downloading apps from Uptodown?

Even through we try our best to make the app downloading process as simple as possible, the distribution of Android apps has become more complicated over the years. One of the main reasons that an app doesn’t install correctly is because the version in question requires a device that supports that architecture. In most cases, the problem is with devices that don’t support ARM64. That said, we’ve detected some minor problems, such as incompatibilities with certain Xiaomi models. However, we’ve also found a solution as we explained in this post here.

How to avoid errors when installing apps from Uptodown on Xiaomi devices

If I install an app from Uptodown, will I keep getting updates?

Of course! In fact, we strongly encourage you to use our official app to be notified when one of your installed apps has an update available. That said, even if you’ve downloaded an app from Uptodown, you can update it normally from any other app store. There is no sort of incompatibility in the detection of new versions since the app itself is the same one that you’ll find in other app stores. 

Is this the same Uptodown that I downloaded Windows programs from 15 years ago?

That’s us. Uptodown was established in 2003 in Málaga, Spain as a “portal” (boy, does that word sound old!) for downloading desktop programs. Throughout the years, we’ve increased the available platforms and currently, Android is the main focus of our project (representing over 90% of our traffic), although we still distribute software for Windows and Mac, as well.

Can I make app purchases from Uptodown?

Thanks for asking. We currently only distribute Freemium apps, but we don’t yet have our own payment platform, so we depend on the creators of the apps and the methods they use in their apps. Luckily, this situation is soon to change. We’re currently working on it, so keep an eye out for big news coming soon. Exciting!

Can I publish my app on Uptodown?

Sure! In fact, we have our own platform for developers where you can send us your app and all the information about it you think is relevant. Registration and publication is a completely free process. You’ll find more information here.

Uptodown developers Zone

Why isn’t “such and such” app on Uptodown?

Uptodown is a one-stop shop for any app, but we are committed to staying on the right side of the law in terms of complying with any copyright claims. If an app disappears from Uptodown, it’s because its creators decided to take it down. Likewise, other developers ask us to take down older versions of their software to avoid incompatibility problems, and we strictly comply.

Can I link Uptodown on my website or YouTube channel?

Definitely! We actually urge you to let us know if you do, since we have some services that may help you enrich your content.  In fact, our widget lets you reliably link to any app to download it from Uptodown. In terms of links, you can post them freely as long as you mention us as a source.

12 COMMENTS

  1. If I downloaded and installed an earlier version of an app that I have on my Android phone, how do I use that version? I got an installation error. Do I need to delete the current version of the app? Thank you.

  2. I downloaded from the web 2 different old versions of Airline Commander, 1.2.7 and 1.3.3. I tried installing them multiple times, and on all occasions, I got the “status_failure_invalid” message. I uninstalled the current version (1.3.7), restarted the phone, deleted the .obb files, and tried installing older versions, and still got the “status_failure_invalid” message. What am I doing wrong? Thank you.

  3. I just recently bought a Huawei Phone and I’m pretty much aware that it has no Google apps and services. I saw a video on Youtube about where to find alternative appstore and Uptodown was recommended. Didn’t have an idea about this one but i just give it a try and find what is this appstore all about. So far, I am pretty much convince because Uptodown sounds legit just like APKMirror. I used to download apps on APKPure but i discontinued it because i find it very suspicious like they don’t have any single information of identity if who they are, what country they are based in and some other stuff. Currently, Uptodown and APKMirror are the ones i can rely on when it comes to downloading apps.

  4. May problem is. When I down load any app it’s not, app like whatsapp, it is. not. Can you help, to set my phone setup, and network settings, please help me, to set it, and I will appreaciate it, thenks

  5. Why does the Uptodown app show more available updates for installed apps than the Google Play Store? For example: Uptodown shows an update favailable or Gmail on Pixelbook, but there is no update on the Play Store on my Pixelbook.

    • It’s not just Google playstore either, If you check the website for the official developer of those apps it reccomends updating, there is no reference to a build number or version number matching the one uptodown is reccomending, which means it’s not an official release. I’m not saying I am 100% positive but I suspect this new version is malware that’s disguising itself as an update and it fools the system and the user into thinking it’s a legit update, its most likely the official app that’s someone had used to bind malware to in the back end. If you check the file size it’s usually larger by a small amount and that’s the sneaky program been added on.

    • You don’t have to. Uptodown is a completely free service, and all the apps we offer can be downloaded freely. If an app asks you for your credit card number, it depends on the Premium services provided by the developers themselves.

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