[How to] Backup apps on Android phones?

One basic feature which is not available with “Android Market” is the ability to backup / restore applications from SD card. There are apps in the market using which we can backup / restore other apps. Some of the common use cases of this would be – 1. When there are less memory on your phone, you might want to uninstall certain apps but want to take a backup so that you can install it later. 2. When you want to share the .apk file with your friends / peers. Here are the steps to do that:

• Install the application “EStrongs File Explorer” from the Android Market and open it.
• EStrongs File explorer is an application to browse through the list of files on the SD card and also on the Android System. In short it is a file manager, application manager, & task manager.
• Once the application is launched, it will show the list of files from the SD Card (/sdcard/).
• Click on the “Applications” icon from the toolbar. This will list all the applications installed on your device.
• Long pressing on an application will show a list of operations that can be performed on the application. Operations include Uninstall, Backup, Shortcut, Detail, Restore.
• Click on the “Backup” operation to backup the application. The application (.apk) file will be stored in the location /sdcard/backups/apps/.
• To restore the application, choose the “Restore” option and select the .apk file which you had already backed up.

Similar applications on market: aTrackDog, Astro.

-- Varun