What an app store actually is
Explain what an app store is and find one on your own device.
Every phone and tablet arrives with one store already on it. You did not choose it. It came with the device.
If your phone is an iPhone or iPad, the store is called the App Store, and Apple runs it. If your phone is an Android, the store is usually called Google Play, and Google runs it.
The company that runs the store does not make most of the apps inside it. A weather app might be made by a small team in Ohio. The store just carries it, the way a grocery store carries bread it did not bake.
Before an app is allowed on the shelf, the store reviews it. That review is not perfect, but it is real. It is why getting apps from the store is safer than getting them from a link somebody sent you.
Key points
- Your device came with one app store already on it.
- Apple runs the App Store. Google runs Google Play.
- Most apps are made by other companies entirely.
- The store reviews apps before stocking them.
- Get apps from the store, never from a link.
What to remember
- The store always tells you who made a thing, if you look.
- The store is always there. You never need a link to reach it.
- Knowing the maker is listed helps you judge whether an app is worth your time.
Try this
Open the app store on your device, search for the name of your local newspaper, and read who made the app without installing anything.
Practice: What an app store actually is. Your first lesson is free, with no account or card; the rest are part of a Lantern plan. Interactive lessons require JavaScript.