Install and use Android apps on your Chromebook

You can download Android apps from the Google Play Store app and use them on your Chromebook.

Currently, the Google Play Store is available for only some Chromebooks. Learn which Chromebooks support Android apps.

Important: If you use your Chromebook at work or school, you might not be able to add the Google Play Store or download Android apps. For more information, contact your administrator.

Step 1: Get the Google Play Store app

Important: To get Android apps on your Chromebook, make sure that your ChromeOS version is up to date. Learn how to update the operating system of your Chromebook.

At the bottom right, select the time.
Select Settings Apps Manage Google Play preferences.
- If you can't find this option, your Chromebook doesn't work with Android apps.
In the window that opens, select More.
To agree to the Terms of Service, follow the on-screen instructions.

Step 2: Get Android apps

You can find and download Android apps on your Chromebook.

Your Chromebook doesn't automatically download the same Android apps that are on your phone or tablet, so you must download them again. Also, some apps don’t work with some Chromebooks, so you can't download them.

Tip: The Google Play Store and any Android apps that you download are only available for the account that signed in first. To use them with a different account, sign out of your accounts and sign in with the account that you want to use.

Use Android apps on Chromebook

Resize Android apps

Important: You can only resize new apps that you've downloaded.

To touch and hold Android apps on Chromebook with a mouse, right-click on the apps.

To make Android apps appear on your Chromebook as they do on your tablet or Android phone, you can change the size of the apps.

On your Chromebook, open an Android app.
At the top, select the Down arrow .
To resize the app, select:
- Tablet
- Phone

Tip: To set a custom size for the app, you can select Resizable

Play games with your keyboard and mouse

You can play a variety of games with your keyboard and mouse. Games with this feature have visual overlays to show you which actions map to which keystrokes or mouse clicks.

To edit keyboard and mouse controls:

Open the game settings menu when you start your game.
Press Ctrl + 8 .
Next to 'Key mapping', select Customise.
In Edit mode, select an existing keystroke and enter your preferred new keystroke.
- To change the output type from a keystroke to a mouse button click, select More Left mouse click or Right mouse click.
If you choose a duplicate keystroke, it overwrites and replaces the keystroke from other overlays.

Tip: You can only choose single keystrokes to map.

Update your app version, permissions or settings

Install app updates

If you get a notification on the bottom right of your screen that says 'Updates available', select Update or Update all.

If you don’t get this notification:

In the corner of your screen, select the Launcher Up arrow .
Select Play Store .
To update your apps, follow the on-screen instructions.

You can also set up automatic updates for apps and the Play Store.

Change permissions

Change app permissions

After you install an Android app, you can control which capabilities or information the app can find or use, known as permissions:

At the bottom right, select the time.
Select Settings .
From the left side menu, select Apps Manage Google Play preferences Android settings.
From the pop-up menu, select Apps and notifications.
Select Permission manager the feature whose permission you want to change.
Check which apps are 'Allowed' or 'Not allowed'.
Add apps into the 'Allow' or 'Don't allow' spaces.

Share or unshare your location

Important: If you use your Chromebook at work or school, you may not be able to choose whether to share your location.

When you choose to use Android apps on your Chromebook, you can decide to let Google know your location.

At the bottom right, select the time.
Select Settings .
In the 'Google Play Store' section, select Google Play Store.
Select Manage Android preferences.
In the 'Personal' section, turn Location on or off.
Optional: To turn location permissions on or off for a specific app, select the app, then select Permissions. Then turn Location on or off.

Back up and sync your apps

Back up and restore your app data

By default, Chromebooks automatically back up and restore Android app data. This way, if you move to a new Chromebook, you can restore your Android app data.

To turn backup and restore on or off:

At the bottom right, select the time.
Select Settings .
In the 'Google Play Store' section, select Google Play Store.
Select Manage Android preferences.
In the 'Personal' section, turn Back up my data on or off.

Tip: If your Chromebook has sync turned off, but backup and restore turned on, it can still back up your Android apps. If you have more than one Chromebook, your Android apps and their data might not sync across your Chromebooks fully.

Sync your apps across Chromebooks

By default, your Chromebook syncs the Android apps on your Chromebook across your other Chromebooks. If your Chromebook doesn't sync your apps, check your sync settings and select Sync everything or turn on Apps syncing. Learn how to change your sync settings.

Learn how ChromeOS handles your Android app data

What Android apps can find

Apps can download files to and read files from your Chromebook’s downloads location. To change this setting, you can open the permissions page of an app, then turn off Storage.
Some Android apps that have permission to know your location might also use Bluetooth on your Chromebook.
If you browse privately, but click on a link within an app, the link opens in a regular browser tab, not a private one.
If you turn off the Google Play Store on your Chromebook, your Android app data and settings are erased from your device.
You can review other Android app privacy and security settings which come with using Android apps. Some of these settings might not apply or show up on your Chromebook.

What Google can find

When you opt in to use the Google Play Store, some system apps and features may send Google information about how you use those apps.

If you opt to send Google data about the usage and performance of your Chromebook, Google gets diagnostic and usage data about your app activity. Google also receives crash reports. Any crash reports that Chrome sends to Google may also include some sensitive information about your Android apps.

Developers: Optimise Android apps for Chromebooks

To make the apps that you develop work more efficiently on Chromebooks, learn how to optimise your Android apps

Was this helpful?

How can we improve it?