Deliver client builds as a link, not a sideloading tutorial

You did the hard part — you built the app. Then delivery turns into a support call: download this file, find it in Downloads, allow unknown apps, ignore the security warning. PreviewAPK makes handover one link your client just opens, so the work looks as professional as it is.

Delivery is where clients judge you

Clients can't review your code, so they judge the project by the parts they can see — and handover is the most visible moment of the whole engagement. An email with an APK attached and a paragraph of installation instructions reads like a side project. A clean link that opens the running app reads like a studio with its act together.

The sideloading route costs you twice. First in perception: Android's unknown-apps permission and Play Protect warnings are designed to make installing a loose APK feel dangerous, and your client has that feeling about your deliverable. Then in hours: every client who stalls at a dialog becomes an unpaid support session — you, on the phone, narrating settings menus — repeated again for their partner, their assistant, or the one employee who'll actually use the app.

How handover works with PreviewAPK

1. Finish the build and upload it. Pick an Android version (10–15) and a device profile — Pixel 9 Pro or Galaxy S24. A real device boots in the cloud in about a minute, your app installed and launched.
2. Send one link. Email, chat, the same thread as your invoice — wherever you already talk to the client. Every build's run gets its own share link.
3. The client opens it and taps through the real app. Nothing to download, no settings to change, nothing installed on their side. On a call, they drive the app while you watch the same session live — no screen-share setup, no "can you see my screen?"

Revisions stay tidy without any effort from you. Build 7's link always opens build 7; build 8 gets a new link. When a client says "I liked how Tuesday's version handled this," Tuesday's version is one click away — for both of you.

One flat line item per client

PreviewAPK is $19/month per device with unlimited testing. For a freelancer, the shape of that price matters as much as the number:

• Predictable. No minute meters, so a client who leaves your build open over a weekend doesn't generate a surprise bill.
• Per app, not per seat. The client's whole team can watch from the link without you doing per-viewer math.
• Easy to place in a quote. One client project is one app — a small, known cost you can fold into your project price instead of absorbing tooling costs that scale with how much your clients test.

It's in private beta now; the waitlist locks in the launch price.

When the client wants it on their phone

Final acceptance sometimes belongs on the client's own device. Each device has an optional QR code and APK download for installing on a real phone — off by default, enabled per device when you choose. Your client scans the code, installs the exact APK you uploaded, and signs off on the same build they reviewed in the browser.

FAQ

How do I send a client a build without sideloading instructions?

Upload the APK to PreviewAPK and send the build's link. The app boots on a cloud Android device, already installed and launched — your client opens the link in any browser and taps through it. No file to download, no settings to change, nothing to install.

Can my client's team look at the same build?

Yes. Send the link to whoever needs to see it — one person drives the app and everyone else watches live in their browser. Viewers install nothing.

What does PreviewAPK cost a freelance developer?

$19 per month per device with unlimited testing. Pricing is per device rather than per seat or per minute — one device per client project, with builds swapped on it freely, so every engagement maps to one predictable line item.

What if my client wants the build on their own phone?

Enable the device's QR code and download option — it's off by default and controlled per device. Your client scans the code and installs the exact same APK on their real phone.

Keep going

• For client approvals — builds clients review without sideloading.
• For QA testers — device and version coverage without a device lab.
• For agencies — preview links across every client project.