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Unlike iOS, Android doesn’t offer a built-in means of easily sharing apps with your family and friends. However, there are a couple of workarounds that will save you all paying to use the same app.

You can let your friends and family enjoy your favourite mobile and Windows apps without needing to pay for them again. We explains the easiest ways to share One is to create a dedicated Google account solely for sharing apps between a set group of people. This means that specific apps will be available to everyone, but others are kept private in personal accounts, and you won’t have access to anything else on each other’s phones and tablet. This setup will also create a central Gmail inbox, where you can discuss the apps you’ve purchased or installed, or plan to. To add another account to your Android device, go to Settings, Accounts, tap ‘Add account’ and select Google. Choose ‘Or create a new account’; enter a name, username and password for your shared account; and set up payment info. Pass these details to the people you want to allow access to your apps.

Once this is done, you can browse the Google Play app on your Android device, tap the settings menu in the

top-left corner and choose the shared account instead of your usual one. Any apps you install will then be saved to this account and be available to everyone through ‘My apps’. Another method is to only share individual apps with other people, using the free app MyAppSharer (bit.ly/myappsharer). This lets you share

a direct link to an app or the actual APK file (the app’s full package) with friends via text message, Gmail, Facebook, Dropbox, QR code or Bluetooth. The easiest option, however, is Android Beam, which uses NFC to transfer files from one device to another when you touch them together (typically back to back). Simply launch MyAppSharer, find the APK file on your phone or tablet and choose your desired sharing method. Select the recipient and tap Share to send them the app.