The possibility of updating applications installed from external sources in the Google Play Store.

Update Option for Apps Installed from Outside the Google Play Store is Coming

The Google Play Store currently does not allow updates for apps installed from outside or downloaded from third-party stores; however, this situation may change soon. Findings from the latest beta version of the Play Store suggest that Google plans to enable the ability to update sideloaded apps through the Play Store in the coming days.

According to a report by Android Authority, an APK Teardown review predicts that the Play Store version 42.0.18 will feature a new option on the app listing page that allows updating apps obtained from third-party stores. This will make updating apps downloaded from outside Google Play much simpler.

A new label seen in the latest version presents a button named “Update from Play” for sideloaded apps. Additionally, there is a warning in the app list stating, “The app installed on your device was not downloaded from Google Play. You can update the app from the original source or from Google Play.“

Currently, it remains unclear whether clicking the “Update from Play” button will set the Play Store as the default app store for future updates for that particular app. It is also worth mentioning that this new feature has not yet been made available to users. The feature is expected to be delivered to users soon via a server-side update.