Chrome for Android to Allow Bypassing Malware Warnings for APK Downloads -Here's How

In February, we reported that Google was testing the ability to scan APK downloads in Chrome on Android for malware. This feature is available to users who have Play Protect enabled on their Android devices. The company is now working to allow users to bypass such warnings for downloads by Play Protect that are deemed dangerous and let users download them anyway at their will.

While bypassing the security warning is not recommended, Google Chrome will provide a “Learn more” link that takes users to a help page on the Chrome Help Center, which currently does nothing as the feature is still being implemented.

Download APKs anyway despite Malware warnings

Going forward, when you try to download an APK file, Chrome will block that download but allow you to “download anyway” with a discouraging message: “The file contains malware or comes from a suspicious site.”

See also: Chrome for Android Will Soon Let You Pin Tabs Like on Desktop for “Quick and Persistent Access”

The latest commit message reads: “[MaliciousApkDownloadCheck] Implement warning bypass flow.” This implements the UI flow for bypassing a dangerous APK download warning. A new modal dialog, DownloadWarningBypassDialog, is added to allow the user to bypass.

“Choosing to bypass from this dialog calls ValidateDangerousDownload() via the OfflineContentProvider, which validates the download and updates observers (which causes the Download Home UI to update automatically).

The dialog is hooked up to the Download Home list row for the item. The user can open the bypass dialog by tapping the row or by choosing “Download” from the 3-dot menu for the item.”

Google is also adding a “Delete from history” option for dangerous downloads in the menu as well as a Download option.

Also See: Chrome Tab Groups Colors on Android are getting a Material You Design makeover

Chrome for Android Prepares Picture-in-Picture Support for Documents

So, security shouldn’t block APK downloads that could be safe or when a user wants to download them—Chrome now allows overriding the warning and letting users download such APKs.