The phrase describes the process of acquiring and installing a mobile application and its associated data files outside of official app stores. This commonly involves obtaining the application package file (APK) and its corresponding OBB data, which contains additional media and large files required for the app to function correctly. The manual installation is performed after acquiring these files from a source other than the designated marketplace.
This method offers users the ability to access application versions not yet available in their region or potentially install older versions of an application. Benefits may include circumventing geographical restrictions or accessing specific features removed in later updates. Historically, this approach was more common before widespread availability of reliable and consistent digital distribution platforms for mobile applications.