Final week, we launched apkeep model 1.0.0, the newest version of our command-line Android package deal downloading software program. Slightly than indicating main modifications for the undertaking, this milestone as a substitute signifies arriving at a comparatively secure and mature place after gradual iteration on the undertaking over the course of over 4 years.
What’s New in 1.0.0
We do have a number of recent options we’ve packed into this newest launch, although—all centered on the Google Play Retailer:
- You can now download a dex metadata file related to an app containing a Cloud Profile, which offers info on app efficiency primarily based on actual utilization.
- Now you can present a token generated by the Aurora Store’s dispenser to log in anonymously for app downloads.
- Customers can specify their own device profiles when downloading apps from Google Play, which the shop makes use of to ship the app variant which works on your specific gadget specs.
- We’ve additionally fixed an authentication bug launched by the Play Retailer API.
Along with the varied Linux, Home windows, and Android environments we assist, we’re additionally completely happy to announce that because the final launch in October we’ve been included in Homebrew for macOS customers!
How Researchers Use apkeep to Perceive the Android App Panorama
Researchers and customers contributed a lot of the options of this launch, together with downloading dex metadata containing Google’s Cloud Profiles. This function helps them use the instrument in their own research of highlighting how these Android compilation profiles is usually a very important supply of data for evaluating dynamic testing. Quite a few different tasks have cited apkeep utilization in their very own workflows. For instance, Exodus Privacy makes use of it to energy the εxodus instrument’s downloads once they monitor the privateness properties of apps. Numerous analysis teams have noted their very own use of the instrument in whitepapers, together with one group who used the tool to obtain 21,154 apps in a widespread examine of Android evasive malware. We’re proud to supply a dependable instrument within the toolbox they use to energy their work.
What’s in Retailer for apkeep?
Our targets with apkeep have remained fixed: present a dependable, quick, and secure strategy to obtain apps from a number of app suppliers, not simply the Google Play Retailer. Whereas we’ve centered on it as the key Android app supplier of alternative throughout a lot of the world, we’ve expanded assist to different shops as nicely, comparable to F-Droid for downloading open supply apps. We’d prefer to proceed broadening apkeep’s record of supported suppliers, to make it simple to do comparative evaluation of apps offered in numerous contexts. For this, we’d love your contributions.
How You Can Assist
For those who’re utilizing apkeep as a part of your personal toolbox (whether or not utilizing it to do malware evaluation, auditing apps, or just utilizing it as an app archiving instrument), let us know! And when you like what we do, please think about donating to EFF to assist our work.