How to hide apps / bypass play store?

[Android Central Question]

I have an app on my phone that acts as a vault for private information. It is perfectly invisible on my phone until you enter the play store then it's obvious that I have an app installed on my phone.
How do you by pass the app store or hide from the app store but keep it on my phone? I've tried downloading .apk but that doesn't work. Thank you!

 

[ManiacJoe]

The Play Store list shows you what you have installed on your phone. Who else is looking at your list?

Having such a "vault" is a good thing.
Who are your worried about knowing you have the vault? Is that a conversation you need to have with them?

Or am I misunderstanding your question?

 

[Hts427]

The Play Store list shows you what you have installed on your phone. Who else is looking at your list?

Having such a "vault" is a good thing.
Who are your worried about knowing you have the vault? Is that a conversation you need to have with them?

Or am I misunderstanding your question?

Your first question is the question I am looking for an answer to. I'd rather not get to personal on the details but I am not committing a crime, or doing something imoral. My point being can it really be secure if someone had my phone and could look through my installed list on the play store and have a basic how to guide to acess my vault right in the description of the app store. Which is why I'd like to find a way to remove it from my list while still keeping the app if possible.

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central! I don't have a direct answer, but your point about what would happen if someone had your phone would be nullified if you had a good screen lock set up. Is your screen lock set to None or Swipe Only?

One possible workaround would be to install a good app locker app and then lock the Play Store.

 

[Hts427]

Thanks for the welcome! I suppose I'll give all the details so that people will not question my motives.
I am talking to a woman who is separated and in the process of finalizing her divorce. I have an app on her phone that hides our conversations and everything on the phones OS is perfectly hidden. My concern is that the ex is a bit crazy and abusive. I do not need him to take her phone and go through it and find the app in the play store. So there's my situation. if anyone can help me solve this problem it would be greatly appreciated. All I need is a way to use the app without it showing installed on Google play. I do not care how difficult of a task it will be if someone can lead me in right direction.
Thank you.

 

[ManiacJoe]

Now we are getting some where.

Big problems vs small problems.

First, solve the big problem: the EX getting access to the phone at all. As Diddy mentions, a lock screen with a good PIN of more than 4 digits is a great start.

I would not worry about anyone finding the "vault" app. There are plenty of good reasons to have such an app. The trick here is to make sure the "password" to open the vault is a strong one.

 

[Mooncatt]

Even if you could remove it from the Play store listing, I'm guessing it will still show up in the phone's app manager. That would also happen if you side loaded the apk. So I'm with the others in that you'll be better served with good security measures in place to prevent the ex from gaining access to the phone and/or vault in the first place.

Or avoid text conversations with her all together until she is separated and the divorce finalized with her ex?

 

[Hts427]

Thanks for the replies and suggestions.
The app I'm using has great security built in. It's a fully functional messaging app and when you go to your default dialer app you dial your personal pin and call the number it rings once then opens your vault up. So him actually finding the content I'm not worried about. What I don't like is in the play store the app gives a exact description of how the app works and he will know enough from reading that to get hostile at the very least if he ever found that.
The good news for the app is it lists it's self only as messanger pro in the app manager on the phone instead of listing itself as "secret sms box" like it does on the play store. Which leads me to believe if I knew a way to get the app on the phone that didnt show up in the play store it would be 100% hidden and secure and that is my goal. I'm hoping I'm making sense to you that are trying to help.

 

[Tim1954]

Delete the conversation as you go. Then there is nothing to find.

 

[Hts427]

@tim I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that you didnt read a single thing I said or you have zero reading comprehension. The actual content of our messages will never be found. The app store giving away the secrecy is enough to cause Unwanted and totally avoidable problems. I am not dealing with a rational man. This is a very mean demanding abusive person. Hes the kind of person to follow her into a store snatch her phone and take off he's done it before. I NEED total invisibility. I've given every detail possible if someone can help please reply but if it's useless information that does me no good then don't waste either of our time.

 

[Mooncatt]

@tim I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that you didnt read a single thing I said or you have zero reading comprehension.

Sometimes the answers you need are not the answers you want. I've never heard of being able to hide an installed app from the Play store installed list unless it's side loaded (which you claim doesn't work), and already gave you my opinion on it. If this man is as irrational as you claim, then chances are he'll already assume there is something like that on the phone even with zero evidence. That is why we have been giving additional suggestions to prevent him from getting to that info in the first place.

Your girlfriend may also want to get a cheap burner phone that he wouldn't know about.

And if he is going so far as to steal her phone, then I hope she has gone to the police to report it and look into a restraining order.

 

[hallux]

As long as the ex doesn't have access to the phone (strong PIN as suggested previously), her Google account password should be changed (or an entirely new one created) with a strong password and two-factor authentication. That is the best you'll be able to do without him finding a new home, possibly with a cage door instead of a wood one.

 

[B. Diddy]

Let's keep this discussion civil, please. People are just trying to help. Tim1954's response seemed like a perfectly reasonable suggestion, and certainly carried no air of malice or indifference. If the suggestion doesn't work for you, simply say, "Thanks, but I don't think that's what I'm looking for."

 

[Almeuit]

@tim I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that you didnt read a single thing I said or you have zero reading comprehension. The actual content of our messages will never be found. The app store giving away the secrecy is enough to cause Unwanted and totally avoidable problems. I am not dealing with a rational man. This is a very mean demanding abusive person. Hes the kind of person to follow her into a store snatch her phone and take off he's done it before. I NEED total invisibility. I've given every detail possible if someone can help please reply but if it's useless information that does me no good then don't waste either of our time.

Hi. Please calm down and be civil. Some may misunderstand and correcting them is okay but literally insulting them is not... Tons of people post here daily and missing a detail or so isn't uncommon.. we are all human and these are people doing this for nothing except trying to help someone.

Any questions? Send me a PM.

 

[Hts427]

I apologize to everyone and to Tim in particular. I came off more rude than intended. Thanks to anyone who has helped or tried to help.
I believe I am going to try to download the apk through a non trusted site ( I understand the risks ) while using a 3rd party browser. I will post my results after I try for anyone that is interested. Again thank you to all who have taken time out of their lives to help me come up with a solution to my problem.

 

[Mooncatt]

I believe I am going to try to download the apk through a non trusted site ( I understand the risks ) while using a 3rd party browser.

Before you do that, have you tried contacting the developer about your concern? They may be able to provide you a direct download via their website or something. That way you don't have to worry about the wild west of random app sites that may give you an infected apk.

Good luck and I do hope you find a suitable resolution.

 

[B. Diddy]

Before you do that, have you tried contacting the developer about your concern? They may be able to provide you a direct download via their website or something. That way you don't have to worry about the wild west of random app sites that may give you an infected apk.

This is a good idea that I was considering as well, but if the app is installed via apk, doesn't it still show up in the Play Store app as "Installed"? If you install an app from the Amazon Appstore and then look up that app's page in the Play Store, I think it says that it's installed, but not through the Play Store.

 

[Mooncatt]

This is a good idea that I was considering as well, but if the app is installed via apk, doesn't it still show up in the Play Store app as "Installed"? If you install an app from the Amazon Appstore and then look up that app's page in the Play Store, I think it says that it's installed, but not through the Play Store.

I didn't think side loaded apps would show up in play. Worth a shot, though.

 

[Hts427]

I downloaded the app through an .apk on a "trusted" site by Google using chrome as my browser and it showed up in the play store that way. Which is why I was going to go the route I previously posted. Contacting the developer now, hopefully get a speedy response.

 

[Spawnlives]

Probably a bit late and afaik to hide installed apps from playstore from playstore listings either requires a rooted phone or exposed.
Side loading apps listed on playstore from other sources will show up in playstore listing.
Side loading apps not listed on playstore will not show up in playstore listing but does detect app through play protect when it scans your phone ( if enabled ).