> The Discovery team would like to add links to the Wikipedia apps near the bottom of the [[ https://www.wikipedia.org | wikipedia.org ]] portal page as this action will provide an introduction for our visitors who are interested in, or prefer to use, the platform-native mobile apps. [[ https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/File:Version_B-with_bg-01-Wiki-Mobile_Portrait_320w.png | Click here to view a sample mocked image that includes the app download badge for a mobile device ]].
> This particular ticket is to describe a blocker, or other concern, raised by the community on the [[ https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Talk:Wikipedia.org_add_mobile_app_badges | request for comment talk page ]] about [[ https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T135441 | adding in wikipedia branded app badges onto the wikipedia.org portal page ]].
**[[ https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Topic:T5xi9vdix1c49mjc | Concern ]] from talk page (there are multiple concerns, not all are copied here):**
What does this mean? Is it going to link directly to apk and ipa files? I assume you mean Google Play or the iOS App Store here?
**[[ https://www.mediawiki.org/w/index.php?title=Topic:T5xi9vdix1c49mjc&topic_showPostId=t5xsskya3riv2f8f#flow-post-t5xsskya3riv2f8f | Response ]] from talk page (there are multiple responses, not all are copied here):**
Most folks generally go to the google or apple store to get the apps that they're interested in which are verified virus free and also have the ability to get notifications of updates easily. Obviously, there are many other people that would rather bypass those stores (even for a free download) but I'm not sure that the Wikipedia Apps Team have the ability and/or time to create a separate download that can be loaded onto a mobile device.
**Consideration for moving forward**:
1. Investigate creating a page that has all the download links for the wikipedia apps, that would include Google Play store, Apple iTunes store, f-droid download and [[ https://releases.wikimedia.org/mobile/android/wikipedia/ | Wikipedia ]].
- Note that this would require an extra step for users to take, rather than just linking directly to the stores themselves
- Note that not using the industry-wide accepted app download portals (google and apple stores), we run the risk of alienating some users who want the security and update notification that these stores provide.
- Note that if we add a downloadable app into f-droid, we will need to contact them and arrange that this setup would be safe for downloading and to also to be sure we don't overload their servers
2. Investigate adding in additional links to the Wikimedia and f-droid app download badges along with the google and apple badges.
- Note that this would require contacting f-droid to ensure the app would be safe for download and to also to be sure we don't overload their servers
- Note that this addition would require showing the app download badges to all mobile device users, not just Android or iOS, to be sure we don't leave appear to have preferences on download methods.