# Aurora Store 61 Hacker News commenters recommended Aurora Store and 20 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 11 of 13 months; owners who said how long report a median of 0.9 years (4 owners). It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule. **Verdict:** Free Play Store alternative for installing apps Google Play blocks or without a Google account; critics say it breaks and relies on shared accounts. ## Why people recommend it - Gets apps Play Store blocks (7 comments): "Aurora Store is sometimes needed to work around app's filtering who can install it so we do recommend it for that specific purpose." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47051794)) "they do suggest Aurora Store as a last resort in special cases where the Play Store prevents you from getting the app nonsensically" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49569097)) "when an app can't be downloaded from Google Play due to Play Integrity gating on the app's store listing" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50182096)) - Installs apps without Google account (4 comments): "the nice thing about Aurora Store is it allows you to install apps without a google account linked to your device" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49524368)) "an alternative play store front-end which does not require a Google account" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47559312)) "aurora store doesn't require an account and works fine on stock android" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46544892)) - Works reliably for most apps (3 comments): "It works. I see updates from just 3 hours ago, and generally updates have been pretty constant" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49841974)) "But using Aurora I can install it just fine and it works flawlessly." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49529905)) "very trustworthy app IMO, has been around and working for years" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49394247)) - Filters apps needing Play Services (2 comments): "will identify whether apps require google play services before you try to install them" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47580064)) "Aurora at least lets you filter on apps that don't have GMS listed as a dependency" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49616341)) ## What people warn about - Breaks or stops working (4 comments): "it certainly worked few days ago, I see last successful updates on August 26, tried just now and it doesn't work now" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49521694)) "Aurora hasn't worked right for the most part for a year due to device attestation shit." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49525446)) "people say it breaks on them all the time and they have to clear it's cache or smth" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50209368)) - Shared accounts may get blocked (4 comments): "the approach they've been using to bypassing a need to create an account was destined to get blocked" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49547632)) "Aurora store is a horrible placeabo. Not only is it using other folks anonymized accounts" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47055401)) "anonymous use of Aurora never really worked, and with a google account it still works" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49524516)) - Some apps fail to open (2 comments): "Aurora Store works for the most part but some apps won't even let me open them" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49143659)) "Which works unless the app needs Play Services, which do require logging in." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47490033)) - Security concerns over banking use (2 comments): "Do you trust the banking app installed from Aurora enough to do your online banking?" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49526169)) "Aurora store is not recommended because it weakens security with no privacy benefit." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47484628)) ## Alternatives hackers recommend - [F-Droid](https://hackerapproved.com/p/f-droid.md): 230 recommend - [Apple App Store](https://hackerapproved.com/p/apple-app-store.md): 75 recommend - [Google Play](https://hackerapproved.com/p/google-play-store.md): 62 recommend - [Obtainium](https://hackerapproved.com/p/obtainium.md): 38 recommend - [Droid-ify](https://hackerapproved.com/p/droid-ify.md): 15 recommend ## Cite as Hacker Approved, "Aurora Store", https://hackerapproved.com/p/aurora-store/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).