What is a .APK file?
APK is the Android application package used to install apps. Installed on Android.
- Did you know
- APK is Android’s app package; Android first launched in 2008.
- An APK is a specialised JAR, and so a ZIP, containing classes.dex with the app’s code compiled to Android’s Dalvik bytecode.
- Android 7.0 added the v2 signature scheme, which signs the whole archive at once for stronger tamper protection.
- What Analyser reads
- Identify and read metadata from programs and installers: Windows (EXE, DLL, MSI), Android (APK), iOS (IPA), macOS (DMG), and Linux (AppImage). For Android APKs it decodes the binary AndroidManifest.xml - package name, version, min/target SDK, the full permission and feature list, launcher activity, signing scheme (v1/v2/v3) and the native-code ABIs.
- Depth of analysis
- .APK is an identification-grade format: Analyser recognises it from its bytes and decodes the header metadata it carries, rather than opening it in a full viewer. Formats that do get a full viewer are marked "Full" on the formats page.
- Open a .APK file
- Drag a .APK file onto the Analyser home page (or tap to pick one). It is identified entirely in your browser - nothing is uploaded, there is no account, and it works offline once installed.