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Why you should be careful downloading Fortnite on Android

Why you should be careful downloading Fortnite on Android
Justin Cabrera

Justin Cabrera

  • Updated:

Epic turned heads when they revealed their highly anticipated Android port of Fortnite would not be using the Google Play Store. When asked why, Epic stated that they want a “direct relationship with our customers on all platforms where that’s possible.”

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Presumably, Epic Games is doing this in order to bypass the 30% cut that Google receives from any revenue gained from Google Play Store apps. With Fortnite currently being the most popular game in the world, Epic is not eager to share their profits. Epic is able to do this on Android but not iOS, as Apple does not allow apps on their iOS platforms if they didn’t come from the App Store, giving them no other options and forcing them to share their revenue with Apple.

On Android, Google allows apps to come from sources other than the Google Play Store through a process called sideloading. Sideloading is when an apk (app) file is installed on an Android device from a source other than the Google Play Store. This is common practice among Android users who are tech-savvy. However, the problem is that with Fortnite’s mega-popularity, millions of people who have never sideloaded an app before are suddenly going to try.

When users sideload an app, the basically have to trust the developers not to include any malware or malicious content within it. Apps on the Google Play Store are much more rigorously tested for malware. Epic needs to make the process of sideloading Fortnite as simple and clear as possible. There will inevitably be thousands of copycat apps that look like Fortnite but will actually be malicious software in disguise. Children comprise a large portion of Fortnite’s userbase, and it will be hard for them to distinguish between the real Fortnite app and a virus-filled copy.

Basically, having to sideload Fortnite on Android is a security disaster waiting to happen. If you want to download Fortnite onto your Android device, you need to make absolutely sure that you’re downloading it from the official Epic Games website. Hackers will inevitably try to cash in on Fortnite’s popularity by making malware-infested lookalike sites, so be on your guard.

Justin Cabrera

Justin Cabrera

Justin Cabrera is a tech content writer with Softonic.com. Prior to joining Softonic, Justin was a overcaffeinated radio DJ and know-it-all music critic with WPGU 107.1. His two favorite things in the world are video games and music culture.

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