Are you looking to install software programs or applications? You might be wondering where to download the APK files. This path, also known as shared storage, is where all applications (whether from the Play Store or downloaded from APK files) store their data. You can usually find the Android version in the Settings app, although in some cases it only shows device-specific software (such as Fire tablets), so you may need to use a third-party tool to find this information. When you install an application (either from the Google Play Store or through a downloaded APK file), Android places it in the device's applications folder.
Android 11 has the MANAGE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE permission, which allows write access to files that are outside the application-specific directory and MediaStore. If the APK file doesn't open, try searching for it with a file manager such as Astro File Manager or ES File Explorer File Manager. Any application that you download from Google Playstore, or any application that you download via APK, requires storing and retrieving data to actually work. An application installed via APK will store the files in the same paths as other applications (which are similar in nature to it).
The most recent versions of Android rely more on the purpose of a file than on its location to determine the ability of an application to access and write to a given file. First of all, if you want to install an APK on your Android device, you must connect your phone to your computer using a USB cable. Another way to force the installation location to sdcard is by using the adb install -s apk-to-install command. As with external storage, Android applications store their data in external storage in different directories depending on the nature of the data to be stored and the application.
To give users greater control over their files and limit file clutter, applications that target Android 10 (API level 2 and later) receive limited access to external storage (or storage with range) by default. If your phone's web browser doesn't give you the option to open the file after downloading it, open the file explorer app, go to the device's Downloads folder, and then tap the APK file. APK files downloaded outside the Google Play Store will not be installed automatically because the Android system blocks installations from external sources by default. So where do these applications store their data and what's more? If it is stored on the device, is it stored in internal storage or external storage? To answer these questions, let's take a look at how Android stores data for applications.
