What do you think about 3-party APK provider?

[Kurt Pattinson]

I think APK files is quite convenient for game downloader due to the fact that many games demand large amount of space. This issue could be resolved by using the modification of APK files.

But there are few controversial disagreements toward this, some people said that it's illegal besides it could increase the risk of malware injection and personal information invasion.

What's your point of view?
I'm not in favor of intellectual property violation. This is opened discussion for everyone

 

[Hadron]

Well if you are not in favour of IP violation then "modification of APK files" is going to be problematic, as I would guess it's unlikely that many game developers will give their consent to this. And if they don't that's a violation of copyright law, pure and simple.

And that's before we get into the question of "what if the game isn't free?": if your download provider modifies licensing or in-app payment code to deprive the developer of income then that's illegal for certain - there is no controversy there, it's simply a fact.

And yes, modifications don't have to be limited to harmless ones, so there is a malware/privacy risk here. As with anything you install, it's a matter of how much you can trust the source.

Bottom line: the developer holds the copyright. If they agree to an alternative distribution, and to any of the modifications you want, then that's cool. If they don't then it's not.