The Google Play Store is the official Android app marketplace, home to millions of apps and games. And while Google's policies are more lenient compared to Apple's when it comes to what apps are allowed, not everything makes it onto the platform.
Sometimes it's because the app breaks one of Google's rules. Other times, the developer simply chooses not to upload it, maybe to avoid the Play Store's fees, or to keep the app open-source and free from restrictions.
So without further ado, here's my list of the top 5 Android apps I use every day that you won't find on the Play Store.
1. Metrolist
As you can probably tell from the icon above, this one is a music player, although a more accurate description would be an alternate YouTube Music frontend. It's called Metrolist, and it does pretty much everything you'd expect from a premium streaming app without the ads or extra fluff.
You can log in with your YouTube Music account to keep your playlists, library, and more in sync. There's also Discord Rich Presence support through KizzyRPC, so your friends can see what you're listening to, including the song and artist.
Since it uses InnerTube under the hood, the same internal API that powers the official YouTube Music app, you still get access to all the curated stuff like "Today's biggest hits", "All hits", your mixes, and everything else the platform usually offers. It supports background playback, offline downloads, and live lyrics that scroll in sync with the music.
The cool part is, you don't have to use an account at all. If you just want to browse and play music casually, that works too.
When it comes to search, you can look up individual tracks, artists, full albums, playlists, or even videos.
Recent versions added better Android Auto support, a more organized navigation bar, and faster loading times across the board. If you're looking for a lightweight but powerful music player that taps into YouTube Music without the annoying parts, Metrolist is one of the best options out there. You can grab the APK file here.
2. Chance
While I'm not a regular 4chan user, I do sometimes wander into the chaotic corners of boards like /g/, the platform's technology board. I've tried a few apps over the years, stuff like Omnichan and Clover, but most of them either looked outdated or felt clunky to use.
If you're like me, just looking for a decent mobile client to scroll through 4chan shitposts without feeling like you're using an app from 2012, Chance might be the one for you. It looks good, feels modern, and comes packed with features like media gallery view, swipe navigation, thread notifications, and more.
Although it's first and foremost a 4chan client, you can add other imageboards too. I don't really mess with that part, but it's nice to know it's there if you're into that. It also has a built-in CAPTCHA solver, which makes posting less annoying, and archive support so you can dig through deleted threads. Follow this link to download it for your device.
3. Revanced Manager
Revanced Manager is a handy app that lets you patch popular apps like YouTube to add extra features or remove annoying stuff. I use it to remove ads on the YouTube app, hide Shorts, bring back YouTube dislikes, add SponsorBlock to skip sponsors automatically, enable swipe gestures, and a bunch more.
It scans your phone for supported apps you already have installed and suggests patches that you can apply easily. This way, you don't have to hunt down APKs. You can also save your patched app for the future, so if you ever switch devices or reset your phone, you won't have to redo the whole process from scratch.
If this all sounds good, you can grab the APK file from the project's GitHub page.
4. YTDLnis
YTDLnis (yes, the name's a bit odd) is a media downloader for Android that wraps around yt-dlp, so it inherits all of yt-dlp's power while giving you a clean, touch-friendly interface. It's super straightforward to use. Just paste a YouTube link into the search bar at the top and you're good to go.
Because it's based on yt-dlp, it supports a massive number of sites, including YouTube, TikTok, Vimeo, SoundCloud, and more. Got a video with annoying sponsor segments? YTDLnis has SponsorBlock built in, so you can automatically cut those parts out during download. Want audio only? It handles that too. It even lets you embed subtitles, metadata, or split content by chapters. Check out the full list of supported websites here.
One of my favorite things about YTDLnis is how well it integrates with the YouTube app itself. Instead of copying the link, switching apps, and pasting manually, I can just hit a button while in YouTube and it handles the rest, like this:
To do this, you'll need a modified version of the YouTube app, which is where ReVanced Manager comes in. After installing the patched YouTube app, open it and navigate to Settings > ReVanced > Player > External downloads.
Enable Show external download button. Then, tap Downloader package name and enter com.deniscerri.ytdl.
Once that's done, restart the app. You should now see a download button in the video player that lets you send videos directly to YTDLnis.
If you're using the regular YouTube app, you can still use the Share option. It adds a few taps, but it works just as well. You can check out the releases here, and grab the most recent stable build.
5. Sync for Reddit
Back in the old days, when Reddit allowed third-party clients, Sync was my go-to. In my opinion, it was by far the best-looking Reddit client for Android, well designed and felt native to the platform. Much like how Apollo was the go-to third-party client for Reddit on iOS.
Ever since Reddit killed third-party clients, my usage of the platform, at least on mobile, has dropped significantly because I genuinely can't stand the official Reddit app.
Sync used to be available on the Play Store, but it was taken down during the great third party client purge. You can still get the last release APK from APKMirror, and when you install and open it, you'll see the following shutdown message:
Dear Sync users,
Unfortunately this will be the last update. Due to API changes Sync for Reddit will shutdown on June 30, 2023 and will no longer function.
But this isn't goodbye forever! I'm currently working on Sync for Lemmy to bring the same Sync look and feature set to Lemmy. I hope you will join us in this exciting new chapter.It's been an honour and a privilege. Thank you all
Lj
No worries, it turns out there's still a way to "revive" the app. For this, you'd need Revanced Manager and the Sync for Reddit APK file. Now follow these steps to breath life into Sync.
- Open your browser and go to https://old.reddit.com/prefs/apps.
- Click the "Are you a developer? Create an app..." button.
- Name it however you like and select Installed app as the type. For Redirect URI, use
http://redditsync/auth(Sync for Reddit's required URI). Complete the CAPTCHA and click Create app.
- After doing, that, you should see a section above the Create Application form, that contains details about your newly created app. Copy the client secret below the app name.
- Now, make sure you've grabbed the latest Sync for Reddit APK from a trusted source (like APKMirror). Don't install it yet.
- Open Revanced Manager and go to the Patcher tab.
- Tap Select an app, then choose Storage and pick your downloaded Sync APK.
- Now tap Selected patches, and make sure to check Spoof client
- Tap the gear icon beside the Spoof client option, paste the client secret you copied earlier, and click Save.
- Tap Done, then Patch. It will apply the patches, and when it's done, you install the patched APK. That's it. Sync is back!
If you'd rather not repeat this process on every Android device, you can save the patched app and reinstall it whenever you need to.
Do note that this method is not officially supported by the Sync developer. So, if you encounter any issues, your best bet is to check the Revanced and Reddit communities for help or troubleshooting tips.
That wraps up my list. Are there other apps you use every day that aren't available on the Play Store? Share them in the comments.
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