How to Fix “Internal App Sharing is Turned Off“ on Google Play

👤 Diwas Poudel 🕒 02 Sep 2023 📁 TECH

This error "Internal App Sharing is Turned Off" on Google Play means that "Internal App Sharing" features is not currently enabled for the app you are trying to access. If not enabled then you cannot installed Google Play Store app directly on your devices. So making this works you have to enable "Internet App Sharing" on your android device.

This feature Internal App Sharing on Google Play allows app developer to share their pre release version of their android apps for testing teams and users for the purpose of testing.So note that doing this is only preferable if you are testing the apps.

Some of your friend might request you by sharing Playstore link to test whether it works on your mobile or not. And you found the issue stating "Internal app sharing is turned off" as shown below.

Internal app sharing issue — **fig. Internal app sharing Turn off issue**

If you get this message then it could be various reason for this. Some of them are :

You might not have installed latest version of Google Play Store
You maynot have enabled Developer Options on your device.

So, lets fix this issue:

Open Play Store
Then Click on Profile icon at top right corner
Click on Settings.

fig. Click on Settings
Expand About section.

fig. Expand About option
Under Play Store version, tab on "Update Play Store". If it is already updated then it will update say already update else it will take you for update.

fig. Click on Update Play Store link
After that Tab on Play Store version 7 times. By doing this developer mode gets activate.

fig. Tab on Play Store version 7 times
Then on the same settings page , Expand General section

fig. Expand General
Then click on Developer options

fig. Select "Developer Options"
Next Toggle on "Internal app sharing"

fig. Toggle on Internal App Sharing
You will get message saying "You will be able to download and install versions of apps that are shared with you. Apps shared in this way may not conform with Google Play Policies or Terms of Service" . Just click on Turn on link.

fig. Click on Turn on link
Now you can go and install the app by clicking on the link send by your friend.

You might get these options only if :

You have Android 5.0 (Lollipop) or higher installed on their devices.
You must have Google Play Store app installed on your devices
You must have internet connection to install the software.
Download link send by your friend is less than 60 days otherwise it will expire.

FAQ:

Why Internal App Sharing is not enabled by default in every Android Device ?

Because not all the android users are developers. Only if developers or testers needs then they can enable this. For other general users you donot need to enable developer options.

Can I use Internal App Sharing for both Android and iOS apps on Google Play?

No you cannot do that . Internal App Sharing is available for Android only as this features is only provided by Google Play which is app distribution platform for android only.

What are the requirement for using Internal App Sharing in Google Play ?

Here are some of the requirements: