That sounds familiar. I tried a similar route when I couldn’t access the game through the Play Store. My experience was a bit better — I downloaded from a site a friend recommended, and I haven’t had issues so far. The game runs smoothly, no ads, no lag. I think the real danger comes when people grab the first APK link they see without checking anything. If anyone’s looking for a safe option, this site was helpful:
read more.
I still wouldn’t call any third-party app 100% safe, but sometimes there’s no choice, especially if the original version isn’t available in your country. Just be careful where you’re downloading from, and maybe scan the file before installing. That’s what helped me avoid trouble.