Types of apps on Android devices

You can add the following kinds of apps for Android devices:

  • Google Play Store apps
  • In-house apps
  • Secure apps (Secure apps are available only if you have configured the device to support AppConnect.)
  • Web applications

For information about apps on Android Enterprise devices, see Managing mobile apps for Android Enterprise.

What are Google Play Store apps?

Google Play Store apps are apps available for download from Google Play Store. You can add app recommendations from the Play Store to the App Catalog. When you apply labels to the apps, the apps are made available to the devices that have those labels. Device users see the apps made available to them in Apps@Work on their device.

Ivanti EPMM can upload an Android Google Play Store app that has the same package name as a private in-house app, such as com.mobileiron.phoneatwork, that is already loaded on Ivanti EPMM. Also, you can import an in-house app with the same package name as a public app that is already loaded on Ivanti EPMM. This feature is always on and does not require any configuration in the user interface.

What are in-house apps?

In-house apps are mobile apps that you develop and distribute internally. Ivanti EPMM enables you to distribute and track in-house apps. You upload in-house apps to Ivanti EPMM. In-house apps appear in the Apps@Work list on the device for users to download.

For Android Enterprise, in-house apps are called “private apps” and you make them available after uploading them to your private Google Play Store for your domain. See also the Ivanti EPMM Device Management Guide for Android and Android Enterprise devices.

What are secure apps?

Secure apps, also known as AppConnect apps, are apps that are developed internally or by third-party developers using AppConnect for Android. Secure apps are always in-house apps, but in-house apps are not always secure apps.

Access to secure apps and their data on Android devices are protected by AppConnect. You distribute secure apps internally like in-house apps. Device users log in with a single sign-on secure apps passcode to access these apps, and the data associated with the apps is encrypted. Secure apps can share data only with other secure apps.

Distributed secure apps appear in the “Secure Apps” menu in Ivanti Mobile@Work for Android. Secure apps are not supported for Android Enterprise.

For detailed information about AppConnect for Android and secure apps, see AppConnect Guide for EPMM.