Wednesday, 20 August, 2025 UTC
Summary
Meta took down VR Android File Manager app from its Horizon Store, because it let you install APKs on your Quest without a PC.
VR Android File Manager launched on the store last month. It comes from the same developer as Quest Games Optimizer, a $10 sideloadable app popular with enthusiasts that lets you override the visual settings of VR games, such as resolution, refresh rate, foveation level, and more.
To be clear, it's been possible to sideload other file manager apps that let you install APKs for a long time now. But what made VR Android File Manager special was that it was available on the Horizon Store. That meant you didn't need to ever use a PC, not even to initially sideload a file manager. In fact, you didn't even need developer mode enabled.
Meta's message to the developer of VR Android File Manager.Meta's removal comment to the developer says that it "determined that your app facilitates the installation of other apps", so to "safeguard the integrity of the platform", he would need to remove the APK installation capability and resubmit the app.
It's not an unexpected outcome, mind you, as the same thing happened to an app called Mobile VR Station in June.
In a public statement today on X, the developer of VR Android File Manager decried Meta's decision and its "locked-down system":
"50K+ users enjoyed real freedom to install apps like on any Android device —something Meta’s locked-down system denies. Too much attention killed it. Meta doesn’t care about users or devs, only control.
When devs patch Meta’s failures, Meta’s response is to shut them down (not the first time anyway). A solid OS and real user experience will never be on Meta’s roadmap. The OS is years behind and doesn't even do the simplest things like a descent and file manager.
The biggest problem is that they don’t learn from the benefits it brings to users. Any Android device can install APKs natively. Meta would have so much to gain by opening up; a huge market would unfold."
If you're not sure what any of this means: Meta's Horizon OS is based on Android, and APK is the file format for Android apps. When you install an app from the Horizon Store, Meta's system automatically downloads and installs the APK in the background, without you ever needing to know what's going on, and handles updating it. But this isn't the only way to obtain apps for your Quest.
You can obtain APKs for popular free 2D Android apps on websites like APKMirror, or for VR Android apps distributed by individual developers off-store, but Horizon OS doesn't natively let you install them on-device. Instead, you need to either install them over USB via a PC, a process known as sideloading, or sideload an app that itself lets you install APKs.
ByteDance's Pico, in comparison, lets you use the built-in file manager to install APKs. On Apple Vision Pro, though, you can't sideload apps at all.
That's why having such an app on the store was so significant. However, it seems clear that Meta didn't realize it had this capability when approving it.