Google Play Store might soon allow updates for apps installed from third-party app stores

The Google Play Store, the primary app store for most Android devices, frequently introduces new features to enhance user experience. Besides offering apps for smartphones and tablets, it also supports app downloads for Wear OS smartwatches and Android TVs.

Unlike Apple, which limits third-party app stores to specific regions, Google allows Android users to install apps from other sources easily. However, these sideloaded apps do not appear in the Google Play Store, requiring users to manually update them.

This may soon change, as an APK teardown by Android Authority indicates that Google is developing an update option for sideloaded apps. According to the screenshot, the Google Play Store will display an “Update from Play” button instead of the standard “Update” button for apps obtained from other sources. It remains unclear if updating a sideloaded app through this method will redirect all future updates to the Play Store.

With Android 14, Google has introduced a feature allowing an app store to set update ownership for apps. Although this doesn’t prevent users from updating apps via different stores, a pop-up message will inform them that the app was initially downloaded from another source and that updating it might alter its functionality.