Installing EmberShare from a file
Why you might need this
EmberShare normally comes from Google Play. If you have little or no internet, or can't use Google Play, a friend can pass you the app as a file (an APK) and you install it straight from that file. This page walks you through it, and helps the person sharing it with you.
Phone makers use different wording and menus, so what you see may not match word for word. The steps and the names to look for are the same.
Before you start
You need an Android phone running Android 7.0 or later. There is no iPhone version yet.
The file is small, a few megabytes, so it is quick to send even over Bluetooth.
Installing from a file skips some of the checks Google Play does. Only install a file from someone you know and trust (see "Staying safe" below).
Getting the file
Any of these will do. The file is called EmberShare-1.00.apk (the number is the app's version).
Bluetooth from a friend's EmberShare. They send it from their list with the Bluetooth icon. On your phone turn Bluetooth on, make it visible, and accept the incoming file when asked. It appears as a notification and in the Downloads (or Bluetooth) folder of your Files app.
Over Wi-Fi from a friend's EmberShare. If they start EmberShare's web server, open the address they show you (or scan their QR code) in your phone's browser and tap the file to download it.
WhatsApp or another app. WhatsApp sends it as a document. Some email apps refuse files ending in .apk. If that happens, use another route.
An SD card or a computer. Copy the file onto the phone and find it in the Files app.
The EmberShare website, embershare.discoverapp.org, if you have a little internet.
Installing it
Open the Files app (or tap the "file received" notification) and tap EmberShare-1.00.apk.
If Android says your phone isn't allowed to install unknown apps from this source, tap Settings, turn on Allow from this source, then press Back. The source is the app you opened the file from (Files, your browser, WhatsApp).
Tap Install.
If Google Play Protect shows a warning or offers to scan the app, choose Scan if you have internet. If not, tap More details and then Install anyway. Play Protect warns about any app that did not come from Google Play, so the warning on its own does not mean something is wrong.
Tap Open.
Afterwards, switch the permission off again so other files can't install themselves: Settings, then Apps, then Special app access, then Install unknown apps, choose the app you used, and turn it off. Searching Settings for "install unknown apps" finds it on most phones.
On a phone running Android 7 the setting is different: Settings, then Security, then Unknown sources. Tick it before installing and untick it afterwards.
If it won't install
"App not installed". Common causes: there isn't enough free space (a few megabytes are needed); the file didn't finish copying, so ask the sender to send it again; or the phone is older than Android 7.0.
Android blocks it outright, or there is no "Allow from this source" switch. Some phones add their own protection. On Samsung phones look for Auto Blocker (Settings, then Security and privacy) and turn it off while you install. Google's Advanced Protection mode, a work or school phone, or parental controls can also block installing from files. If the phone belongs to someone else, ask them.
Developer verification. Google is introducing a rule that apps must come from verified developers. It started on 30 September 2026 in Brazil, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand, and is planned for the rest of the world in 2027. EmberShare's developer is verified and the app is registered, so it is meant to install as normal. If your phone still stops it with a message about developer verification, Google's "advanced flow" lets you install it anyway: in Developer options turn on the setting for apps from unverified developers, confirm nobody is pressuring you, restart the phone, wait 24 hours, then choose to allow it for 7 days or for good. This is a Google restriction, not something wrong with the file.
Your Files app says "This APK wasn't installed", but the app is there. Some file managers report this when the Play Protect scan screen appears, even though the install carried on. Check your app list before trying again.
"This file may be harmful" or it won't open. The file may be damaged. Ask for a fresh copy from the sender, or download it from the EmberShare website.
You already have EmberShare. Then you don't need this. Open the app you have.
Is it the right file?
It is called EmberShare- followed by a version number, ends in .apk, and is a few megabytes in size. Ask the sender for the version they have.
It came from someone you know, or from the EmberShare website.
After installing, the app is called EmberShare and shows its version at the top of the side menu.
You don't need to do anything more than that. Android and Google also check things for you: Android refuses to update an installed app with a file signed by a different publisher, Play Protect scans the file, and in countries where Google's developer verification applies, a phone blocks apps from publishers that aren't registered. EmberShare is registered.
For technical users who want to check the file themselves: if you downloaded it from the EmberShare website, the page shows the file's SHA-256 checksum, which a checksum app can compare. The app is also signed with this certificate (SHA-256 fingerprint): F8:86:49:9F:96:B8:1B:B7:9E:F9:F0:47:5E:3D:71:DD:43:2F:96:95:16:A2:FC:4C:53:3C:E3:0A:0A:C6:03:A6. The Android SDK's apksigner verify --print-certs shows a file's fingerprint to compare. It is the same one the Google Play version carries.
If you are the one sharing the app
Open EmberShare's side menu and tap Share this app (create APK). This adds a copy of the app to your list, named with its version, and a one-page PDF of install steps beside it. The entry is greyed out if that version is already in your list. If an older version is there you are asked whether to replace it or keep both.
Share both files like any other: Bluetooth, the web server, the Share button, or save them to an SD card. (If you pick both for WhatsApp, choose Share as zip for the APK on its own, since a zip would have to be opened first.)
Point the other person to this page (embershare.discoverapp.org/sideload) so they know to expect the Android prompts above. Tell them to look for the "Allow from this source" switch and the Play Protect screen.
The copy is the same app that is on Google Play, so nothing is changed or removed in it.
Updating later
If you can get to Google Play later, install EmberShare from there. Because it is the same app, it updates in place and keeps your files and tags.
Without Play, get the newer file from a friend and install it the same way. It installs over the old one and keeps your files.
Staying safe
Only install a file from someone you know, or from the EmberShare website. Don't install a file that claims to be EmberShare from anywhere else.
Turn "Install unknown apps" off again once you've installed it.
If Android shows a warning you don't understand, stop and ask the sender.
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