RIP the only reliable website for grabbing APKs. I don’t even actually have an adblock on my side.

It’s still somewhat usable after you dismiss that message but CSS screws up.

Any good alternatives? I know I can use Aurora Store to get older versions of apps, but then I’ll have to find version codes for those somewhere. The advantage of APKMirror also was that it showed the minimum API required to run a specific version of an app (so I could find the last working version to install on Android 5 for example).

    • Moltz@lemm.eeEnglish
      36·
      1 year ago

      If there is a single APK site that can be trusted, it’s APKM. Owned and operated by the dude that started Android Police. Owned and operated privately in the US, following all laws that entails.

      APKM is nothing like the Russian and Chinese APK sites out there. It’s ran by a legit dude that personally checks every hash of the APKs he lists. It literally exists to catalog and store APKs for posterity, a huge help to the community at large. Why it was created, why it sill exists. It’s also why you won’t find paid APKs on there, the entire operation is run well above board, because that’s the kind of guy the owner is.

      I highly doubt Artem is happy to have to block adblockers. This is simply the reality of trying to own and operate a legit site that relys on ad money. You can thank Google for the amount of ads necessary to keep the site going. You can also thank Google for the demise of privately owned sites as the ad money keeps getting lower. There’s a reason he sold AP, and that’s because private sites can’t earn enough to keep going. Now a conglomerate owns it, and you see the clickbait results and what it actually takes to earn money with a tech site in 2023.

      • Arma@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
        9·
        1 year ago

        I don’t consider resorting to (any) ad trackers being an ethical way to earn revenue. First, because the site/app owner doesn’t really have much control over the relevancy or legitimacy of ads shown to users (ad network admins may be doing their best, but scams will still make their way through - hey there, Unity Ads). Second, no, I’m not letting you to fingerprint me across basically all websites I visit to enhance ad relevance, since most of it ends up being like intrusive thoughts anyway, with no real use for me. In the end, it’s just distracting, annoying garbage cluttering the view. I’m sorry I couldn’t explain my position better.

        The internet was better when the only kind of ads out there was contextual, for money or just by friendship. “Hey, so you’re on my site reviewing various types of coffee? Check out my aunt’s coffee shop in Prague, they’re making excellent cappuccino! Click here to visit their site!”

        Likewise, I would much rather prefer a service with limited functionality (e.g. ability to download only the latest version of an app in this case) in its free version to a service that throws a pile of shit at you, then asks if you want to clean yourself from it for a monthly (quarterly, yearly) fee.

        • Moltz@lemm.eeEnglish
          9·
          1 year ago

          Sadly the rest of us have to live in reality. Have fun railing against one of the few sites left that makes an effort. Soon there won’t be any and your fantasy world will magically come true. You’ve definitely thought this through. ;)

          • Arma@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
            4·
            1 year ago

            I do understand your point, however, the reality sucks and you’re sounding like not trying to do anything about it is the only possibly right thing to do. I certainly don’t feel like living in an infospace consisting of 90% of ads and possibly-maybe 10% of actually useful information

        • Moltz@lemm.eeEnglish
          8·
          1 year ago

          The fun of using AdSense or any other ad network. Surprise, Google doesn’t actually vet its ads.

          This is why blocking adblockers isn’t safe, Google still can’t guarantee its ads are safe. At the same time, the site doesn’t earn without doing this. Tough spot to be in. This is why so few private sites are left, Google and the rest ran em out of town by controlling the money flow, or buying em up. Valnet didn’t go on a buying spree of the remaining private tech sites for shits and giggles.

        • shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
          3·
          1 year ago

          Haha, I remember that unfortunate domain name! That said, some of the old respectable domains did become ad-ridden malware pushers - download, sourceforce, tucows .com for example.