Recently, Google has removed 13 applications as they were found to be installing malware on people’s devices. A security researcher also tweeted that there exist about 13 malicious apps that didn’t show any legitimate use. Besides this, he also noted that these applications were also featured in the trending section on the Play Store.
Google believes that a majority of app developers have their audiences’ interest at heart and some bad apps enter the Play Store to put people and their devices in harm’s way. However, these applications are no longer available as Google has removed them. These malware apps are related to different things such as luxury car driving simulator, fire truck simulator, truck cargo simulator etc. Besides this, the thumbnail images of these applications were also made so that users can easily identify the legitimate applications.
These apps were made by the developer named Luiz Pinto. According to Stefanko, these apps were downloaded more than 560,000 times. The most surprising thing is that when a user installs and run the application, the app crashes and its icon also get hidden from the phone. Needless to mention, all 13 applications didn’t have any functionality but the most unbelievable thing is that 2 applications are trending on the Play Store.
Besides this, researchers recently zeroed down an application i.e., Couple Vow that allegedly exposed the login details of millions of users. This is not the first time when Google is hosting malware apps in the Play Store. In January 2018, Google also revealed in a blog post that the company has removed more than 700000 apps that are violating Google Play policies. The most unfortunate part of these apps is that these apps do not have any legitimate functionality but they request users to install AKP on their device known as Game Center. When this APK is launched, it hides and displays advertisements when the device is unlocked.
Google Play does not allow any kind of inappropriate content such as illegal activities, extreme violence, hate etc. The company claims that it’s advanced machine learning models help through app submissions and flag them for inappropriate content. Andrew Ahen, Product Manager at Google Play said that the company is continuously improving the capabilities to protect against abusive apps. He further added that the company is committed to making Google Play the most trusted and safest app store in the world.
In August 2018, Google kicked out 30 apps that were secretly using the devices to perform DDoS attacks. Not only that, but Google also removed 60 games from the Play store. Google also released a statement that the company will upgrade its methods as well as machine learning models that are trying to trick consumers with applications that violate its policies.

All the malicious apps are designed by app developers to take advantage of the device, including –
a) Waiting before undertaking the scam
b) Request admin privileges
c) Change launcher icon
d) Deliver profitable content
However, the most foolproof way to identify malware is that they involved a balanced combination of human expertise, data gathering, and machine learning. To protect against mobile malware, users have to take some precautions –
a) Don’t download apps from unfamiliar sites.
b) Pay attention to permissions requested by apps
c) Install a suitable mobile security application
d) Make the backup of important data
If you need any mobile security application for your business then you should hire a mobile app development company that understands your requirements.
About Fluper
Being in the industry with a vision to provide customized IT solutions, Fluper is one of the global pioneers in the mobile app industry. Not only mobile app development, but the company has also been building scalable IT solutions by ingenious methodologies. By taking the command of IOS app development, Android app development, Fluper is considered as the top-notch mobile app development firm.