Will this APK work without the Play Store?

What this checks

Google offers app developers an automatic protection called PairIP, switched on when the app is built in the Play Console. Apps that use it contact the Play Store every time they start and ask whether the Google account on the device has acquired the app.

When that check fails, you get a "Get this app from Play Store" message instead of the app. It is compiled into the app itself, so no mirror, download source or file swap can remove it.

This tool reports Google Play Required when it finds any of four PairIP markers: the PairIP application class, the licence check activity, the libpairipcore.so native library, or a PairIP reference inside the app's compiled code. The com.android.vending.CHECK_LICENSE permission on its own is reported separately, because older licensing code often lets the app start anyway.

What to do about each answer

• Google Play Required, and you have Play. Open the Play Store, load the app's listing once so it registers against your account, then relaunch the app.
• Google Play Required, and you do not have Play. The app cannot run on that device. Look for a web version, or pick an alternative that works without Play Services.
• Not required. The app should start normally. Individual features may still want Play Services, but the app itself will open.

For the full picture - permissions, signing certificate, CPU architectures, screen densities - run the same file through our APK Checker.

Quick questions

• Why does my app say "Get this app from Play Store"? The app was built with Google's PairIP protection. It asks the Play Store on every launch whether your Google account owns the app, and refuses to start when the answer is no.
• Can the Play Store check be removed from an APK? No. The check is compiled into the app itself, so no download source, mirror or file can remove it. Where the app is protected this way, Google Play must be present on the device.
• Will the app work on a Huawei phone or an Android TV box? Not if this tool reports Google Play Required. Devices without Google Play Services cannot pass the licence check, so the app installs and then refuses to open. The same applies to de-Googled ROMs and stock Fire tablets.
• Is my file uploaded anywhere? No. The file is read in your browser and never leaves your computer.
• Does a large APK take long to check? The manifest is read first and answers most files in under a second. Only when the manifest shows nothing does the tool scan the app code for PairIP, which adds a few seconds on a large game.