Android install — 60 seconds, one tap
The APK installs with the same friction as a Google Play install. We document the four taps and the install-time permissions prompt.
Tap 'Download APK'
Download starts immediately. The 22MB file arrives in 8-14 seconds on 4G and 22-40 seconds on 3G. We support resume from interrupted downloads.
Allow 'Install from this source'
Android prompts the first time you install any APK outside the Play Store. Tap Settings, toggle Allow for this source, return. The toggle persists for the session.
Tap 'Install'
Standard Android install dialog. ~4 seconds to install on mid-range devices, ~7 seconds on entry-level. The app icon appears in the launcher as 'FCL' on a teal background.
Open & sign up
Tap the FCL icon. First screen is mobile-number entry. First-time sign-up takes 60-90 seconds; returning reader OTP login takes 11 seconds.
iOS install — zero download
iOS readers add PlayExch to the home screen as a PWA. The 'install' is one tap + one 'Add to Home Screen' selection.
Open Safari
Visit playexch.com/app — the URL auto-redirects to the mobile-web surface. The page detects iOS and offers 'Add to Home Screen' instructions inline.
Tap Share, then 'Add to Home Screen'
Two-tap sequence. The app icon appears immediately and reads 'FCL' on a teal background, matching the Android visual identity.
Open from home screen
Tap the FCL icon. The PWA launches fullscreen without Safari chrome. Service worker registers for offline access on the second launch.
Enable Web Push for notifications
iOS 16.4+ supports Web Push from the home-screen PWA. Tap 'Enable Notifications' on the live-matches tab to receive match-alerts. Older iOS gets SMS alerts instead.
APK verification — SHA-256 hash for every release
We publish the SHA-256 hash of every APK release. Verify the download before installing to confirm no third party has modified the file.
| Release | Date | Size | SHA-256 (first 16 chars) |
|---|---|---|---|
| v8.2.1 | Jul 8 2026 | 22.4MB | a4f9e2b9c7d14e62 |
| v8.2.0 | Jun 24 2026 | 22.3MB | b3e8d1a4c6f52093 |
| v8.1.4 | Jun 10 2026 | 21.9MB | c2d7b3a8e4f16721 |
| v8.1.3 | May 27 2026 | 21.7MB | d1c6a2b7e3f04810 |
The hash is computed at build time, signed with our release key, and published On the site before the APK goes live. If you re-download the same version twice and the hashes match, the file is unmodified. We do not push silent updates — every version change is announced in the lab release-notes email to opted-in readers, with a 48-hour opt-out window before forced-update ships.
What installs with us, what doesn't
We don't pre-install third-party SDKs. The install manifest is 22.4MB and we publish it below.
What installs
22.4MB total — 14.2MB app code, 4.8MB fonts + icons, 3.4MB lab-report templates cached offline. No analytics SDK, no advertising SDK, no third-party crash reporter.
What we don't ship
No AdMob or Meta SDKs. No Firebase Analytics outside the FCM push channel. No third-party crash reporter — we run our own Sentry-style stack on-premise and never share app logs.
What updates
Push channels auto-update independently. The lab-report content refreshes every Monday; contest data refreshes every 5 minutes during matches; captain matrices refresh every 6 hours the day before matches.
What you control
Background data: opt-out for non-live matches (saves 8-12% data per week). Push opt-out for non-essential channels. Location: only used during contest entry to enforce geo-restriction — never stored.
Frequently asked questions
Common questions our research desk fields about this page.Download readers should note that common questions our research desk fields about this page.
Why not on Google Play?
Direct APK download removes the 4-8 week Google Play review window for every release. We can ship same-day fixes for live-match issues. The trade-off is install friction ('Install from this source' prompt), which we mitigate with one-tap instructions On the site. We re-evaluate the Play Store path every quarter — currently the direct-APK path wins on release cadence and contest economics.
Is the APK safe to install?
Yes. Every release is SHA-256 hashed above and signed with our release key. The install manifest contains no third-party SDKs — no ads, no analytics, no crash reporters. We publish the manifest for every version so readers can audit the file before installing. If a reader prefers the Play Store version for the auto-update convenience, we publish a Play Store listing once a quarter for that audience.
Can I download on a low-storage phone?
Yes — 22.4MB APK + 60MB cache after 6 months = 82MB total, well under WhatsApp's footprint. The app supports Android 8.0+ on devices with as little as 1GB RAM. We use ProGuard aggressively and download fonts/icons lazily to keep the APK footprint minimal.
What happens after you tap install
The first-launch flow, the in-app onboarding, and the lab's recommended settings for the smoothest experience.
First-launch permissions
The first-launch flow requests three permissions: SMS (for OTP auto-fill), notifications (for captain-pick alerts and match reminders), and storage (for offline lab-report caching). The lab does not request location, contacts, microphone, or camera. Permissions can be revoked at any time from Android Settings.
In-app onboarding
The in-app onboarding walks through the captain-pick dashboard, the lab-report library, the wallet screen, and the contest lobby. The onboarding takes under two minutes. The onboarding can be skipped and revisited from the help menu.
Lab's recommended settings
The lab recommends enabling all three permissions, opting in to captain-pick alerts, opting in to contest-lock reminders, and opting in to weekly retrospective emails. The recommended settings balance signal and noise — the user is alerted to the most important events without alert fatigue.
Backup and restore
The app respects Android's auto-backup feature. Lab-report bookmarks, captain-pick history, and wallet preferences are backed up to Google Drive. On a new device, signing in with the same Google account restores the app's state. The restore flow takes under thirty seconds.
The lab's extended perspective
A longer-form walk-through of the underlying dynamics, the data behind the recommendations, and the lab's analytical approach.Cricket readers should note that a longer-form walk-through of the underlying dynamics, the data behind the recommendations, and the lab's analytical approach.
Methodology in depth
The lab's methodology is built on a five-stage pipeline. Every published report passes through framing, dataset pull, analysis, assumption-risk documentation, and re-test. The pipeline is published in full on the methodology page. The lab's edge comes from data freshness and analyst expertise, not from a secret formula. Other analysts can re-run the experiments with the published datasets and the published model code. The lab publishes every dataset version and every model version. The lab never quietly updates a dataset after the conclusion lands.Cricket readers should note that the lab's methodology is built on a five-stage pipeline. Every published report passes through framing, dataset pull, analysis, assumption-risk documentation, and re-test This is why the download test desk treats it as a baseline. The pipeline is published in full on the methodology page. On download test, the lab's edge comes from data freshness and analyst expertise, not from a secret formula. For the download test desk, other analysts can re-run the experiments with the published datasets and the published model code. Within the PlayExch framework, the lab publishes every dataset version and every model version. Cricket readers should note that the lab never quietly updates a dataset after the conclusion lands.
Data sources in depth
The lab pulls data from four primary sources. Match data comes from official tournament data partners, cross-checked against broadcast records. Ownership data comes from public contest-platform feeds, sampled every 30 seconds during contest open windows. Contest result archives come from publicly published leaderboards. Self-collected squad logs come from volunteer readers who submit their picks at lock time. Each source has a published quality score and a published latency benchmark. The lab's data-quality framework is reviewed quarterly by the statistics team.Cricket readers should note that the lab pulls data from four primary sources. Match data comes from official tournament data partners, cross-checked against broadcast records This is why the download test desk treats it as a baseline. Ownership data comes from public contest-platform feeds, sampled every 30 seconds during contest open windows. On download test, contest result archives come from publicly published leaderboards. For the download test desk, self-collected squad logs come from volunteer readers who submit their picks at lock time. Within the PlayExch framework, each source has a published quality score and a published latency benchmark. Cricket readers should note that the lab's data-quality framework is reviewed quarterly by the statistics team.
Reader-safety commitments
The lab's reader-safety commitments cover deposit limits, self-exclusion, play-time alerts, loss trackers, cool-down reminders, and family-controls integration. The lab publishes the safety commitments on the responsible-play page. The lab refuses to partner with operators that do not enforce responsible-play defaults. The lab's reader-safety framework is reviewed annually by an external auditor.Cricket readers should note that the lab's reader-safety commitments cover deposit limits, self-exclusion, play-time alerts, loss trackers, cool-down reminders, and family-controls integration. The lab publishes the safety commitments on the responsible-play page This is why the download test desk treats it as a baseline. The lab refuses to partner with operators that do not enforce responsible-play defaults. On download test, the lab's reader-safety framework is reviewed annually by an external auditor.
Editorial principles
The lab operates by five public editorial principles. No sponsored picks — no contest operator, brand, or individual can pay the lab to feature a captain pick. Methodology is public — every model's code is published on the methodology page. Misses are published — every Monday morning the lab publishes the previous week's misses alongside the hits. Reader-funded economics — the lab's long-term economics rely on reader subscriptions and contest-entry referrals, not on advertising. Responsible play by default — every contest lobby on the lab's partner platforms shows a responsible-play banner.Cricket readers should note that the lab operates by five public editorial principles. No sponsored picks — no contest operator, brand, or individual can pay the lab to feature a captain pick This is why the download test desk treats it as a baseline. Methodology is public — every model's code is published on the methodology page. On download test, misses are published — every Monday morning the lab publishes the previous week's misses alongside the hits. For the download test desk, reader-funded economics — the lab's long-term economics rely on reader subscriptions and contest-entry referrals, not on advertising. Within the PlayExch framework, responsible play by default — every contest lobby on the lab's partner platforms shows a responsible-play banner.
Quarterly transparency
Every quarter the lab publishes a transparency report covering methodology changes, hit-rate recalibrations, partner-operator relationships, and revenue mix. The report is published on the 15th of the month following quarter end. The most recent report covers Q1 2026 and shows a 61% captain hit rate over the trailing 90 days, a 48/47/5 revenue split between subscriptions, referrals, and other, and four partner operators. The report is available on the disclosure page.Cricket readers should note that every quarter the lab publishes a transparency report covering methodology changes, hit-rate recalibrations, partner-operator relationships, and revenue mix. The report is published on the 15th of the month following quarter end This is why the download test desk treats it as a baseline. The most recent report covers Q1 2026 and shows a 61% captain hit rate over the trailing 90 days, a 48/47/5 revenue split between subscriptions, referrals, and other, and four partner operators. On download test, the report is available on the disclosure page.
