Install the Android companion

Brilliant Hydration for Android is optional and free. It adds a 31-day local Pebble backup, phone-based hydration history, CSV import, restore tools, and optional Health Connect synchronization.

Before installing

The companion is distributed from the official Brilliant Hydration GitHub repository instead of Google Play. Android will therefore ask for permission to install an app from the browser or file manager you use. This permission applies only to that source and can be disabled again immediately after installation.

Android may show two separate safeguards:

  1. Allow from this source gives your browser or file manager permission to open APK installers.
  2. App blocked to protect your device is an additional Play Protect check. If the message says that the developer is unknown, expand More details and choose Install anyway. Do not continue if Android says that the APK contains harmful software.

Installation

  1. Open the latest Brilliant Hydration release.
  2. Under Assets, download the file named brilliant-hydration-companion-VERSION.apk.
  3. Open the downloaded APK.
  4. If Android blocks it, choose Settings and temporarily enable Allow from this source for your browser or file manager.
  5. Return to the installer and choose Install.
  6. If Play Protect says that the app or developer is unknown, expand More details, verify that you downloaded it from landostock/brilliant-hydration, and choose Install anyway.
  7. Open Brilliant Hydration on both the phone and Pebble once to create the first backup.
  8. Health Connect remains off until you enable it and approve hydration access.

The exact Android wording can vary by phone manufacturer. Brilliant Hydration never asks for the broad permission to install other apps itself. You should not need to disable Play Protect.

Updating

The companion checks the official GitHub releases at most once per day while it is in use. When a new version is available, open the release from inside Brilliant Hydration and install the new APK over the existing app.

Do not uninstall the existing companion before updating. Installing over it preserves the local Pebble backup. Android accepts the update only when it carries the same permanent Brilliant Hydration signature.

If Android says the developer is not verified

This warning can appear because Brilliant Hydration is distributed directly from GitHub and its signing identity is not yet registered with Google. It does not by itself mean that Play Protect found harmful behavior.

If Install anyway is immediately available under More details, use that option. On the standard Play Protect prompt, this option is normally independent of Android developer options. Devices already participating in the newer verification rollout may instead require the setup below.

Google is separately introducing Android developer verification. Its one-time Advanced Flow for unregistered apps begins rolling out in 2026 and does require enabling developer mode, restarting the phone, waiting one day, and confirming the change with the device PIN or biometrics. Once enabled, developer options do not need to remain active. Follow this flow only when Android presents it; do not disable Play Protect.

Some managed, supervised, or restricted devices may not permit installation outside an approved app store. In that case, the device owner or administrator controls whether the companion can be installed.

This does not affect Pebble tracking itself. The Android companion remains optional.

Health Connect

Health Connect is optional. Brilliant Hydration requests only hydration read and write permissions, writes daily water amounts, and reads only its own hydration records for recovery. Daily hydration targets remain local because Health Connect has no daily water-goal record.

The companion’s 31-day local backup limit does not apply to Health Connect. Older hydration records remain in Health Connect until the user deletes them or enables Health Connect’s own auto-delete setting.

This build is distributed independently of Google Play and has not passed Google Play’s health-app review. Permission availability can therefore vary with future Android and Health Connect policies. The Pebble backup, history, CSV import, and restore features do not require Health Connect.

Verify the download

Download APKs only from the landostock/brilliant-hydration release page. Every public update is signed with the same Brilliant Hydration release key. Android rejects a modified update carrying a different signature.

Official signing certificate SHA-256:

6D:5F:46:1A:6F:C6:60:C5:B4:E6:03:9A:8E:82:8D:42:A0:58:08:22:B2:DF:D4:9F:B9:FF:0F:12:4D:50:AA:1C

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