Google has issued a warning not to download its apps (or any apps) outside of the Play Store's "safe" environment or install them on Huawei's new phones. And, of course, they are right.

The warning was issued as part of a letter from Google to users (via 9to5google) written by Tristan Ostrowski, Google's legal director for the Play Store. In it, he clarifies Mountain View's position on the Huawei ban, which prohibits companies like Google from installing their products on Huawei products.

Huawei has been accused by the U.S. government of basically being a spy agent for the Chinese government. Huawei has been banned from selling cell phones in the U.S. and U.S. companies have been ordered not to cooperate with Huawei in any way, except to support products shipped before the ban.

Google has essentially told Huawei and all Android users that they "may not use apps from anywhere other than the Google Play Store, and may not use any apps from the Google Play Store.

First, let me clarify for those who don't know what sideloading means.

Roughly speaking, it means downloading an application installation package (called an APK), opening it on your Android phone, and installing the app.

Using this method, any user can use any app, even though they do not have permission to use the Play Store; if they want to install Gmail, they can go to the site, download the APK for Gmail, install it, and use it.

However, downloading APKs online can lead to malware infection.

Ironically, the Google Play store has hosted rogue applications many times. In addition, Google Play's protection tools have been found to offer little protection to users.

APKMirror is probably the most popular and reliable of all the repository sites; it is run by a website called Android Police. I have used it several times and have never encountered any problems.

The APK FAQ says this about how to check that all app packages are secure:

"All APKMirror.com uploads are verified before publication. [i.e., you will know if the uploaded APK was signed by a real developer or by someone pretending to be a developer. Note: APKMirror.com has been protected against the Janus vulnerability in Android since day one."

Again, always exercise caution, but if you have a Huawei phone and want to sideload Google apps, this may be the way to do it.