Use a Separate Device Profile Before Testing New Apps

Our APK safety checklist briefly suggests testing unfamiliar platforms on a device or profile you don’t use for banking. This page is the practical version of how to actually do that.

Why isolation is worth the extra step

Even with careful checks, an unfamiliar APK is still less trustworthy than an app vetted through an official store. A separate profile means that in the realistic worst case — a malicious permission being abused, or the app behaving differently than expected — it has no path to your banking apps, saved passwords, or personal accounts, because they were never on that profile to begin with.

How to set one up on Android

• Go to Settings, then Users (sometimes under “System” or “Users & accounts,” depending on your device).
• Add a new user profile — this creates a genuinely separate space on the device, not just a folder.
• Switch to that profile before installing anything you want to test, and set it up with only what’s needed to evaluate the app — not your primary email, banking apps, or saved passwords.

If a separate profile isn’t practical for you

A secondary, low-value device serves the same purpose if you have one available. What matters is the underlying principle — keep unfamiliar apps away from your primary accounts and payment methods — not the specific method you use to achieve it.

This is a habit worth adopting before you need it, not something to set up after you’re already unsure about an app you’ve installed — at that point, see our guide on what to do if you’ve already installed a suspicious app instead.