Google removes twenty plus ‘dodgy’ apps

Globally preferred search engine, Google, has allegedly removed approximately thirty apps from its Play Store.

According to reports, Google has removed multiple android apps from its Play Store on the pretext that they were allegedly ‘dodgy’. Tech experts and security researchers suggest that people who have already downloaded the apps should delete them with priority to safeguard themselves against the ‘malicious applications’.

According to reports, Google recently learnt that the newly removed apps functioned on a software that could forward ‘unwarranted adverts and intrusive browser redirects’ to users without them having clicked any links. Moreover, the discovery was made by WhiteOps who expressed concerns that the developers of these apps were allegedly linked to a criminal group. They elaborated that the dodgy software was initially uploaded to primarily target the beauty and selfie market via Google’s Play Store in January of 2019.

It was further reported that although Google’s protection service had deleted most of the suspicious apps weeks into their initial uploads in lieu of their malicious nature, most such applications lasted for approximately seventeen days before they were eventually deleted. In addition to this, they still managed to amass almost 0.5 million [or 5 lakh] downloads which made the cyber attacks extremely serious. However, the criminal groups allegedly managed to bypass Google’s security by either deleting or hiding the malicious code(s), which meant that they could re-enable the suspicious app at any point.

According to reports of the Express, Google has permanently removed thirty-eight apps from its Play Store although they had reportedly been downloaded almost 20 million times by the smartphone user. Moreover, WhiteOps elaborated on their website that that White Ops Satori Threat Intelligence and Research Team has managed to identify and track a ‘fraud operation that rendered fraudulent advertising in users’ devices’. They clarified that the apps had been downloaded up to 20 million times.

They further added that apart from their fraudulent nature, these apps primarily targeted beauty as they purported to be selfie apps providing an array of beauty filters for users’ pictures while also showing unnecessary ads which made it nearly impossible to remove the apps, once downloaded. The apps which have reportedly been banned on Play Store include the following as confirmed by WhiteOps:

Yoroko Camera – INSTALLS 100,000
Solu Camera – INSTALLS 500,000
Lite Beauty Camera – INSTALLS 1 million
Beauty Collage Lite – INSTALLS 500,000
Beauty & Filters Camera – INSTALLS 1 million
Photo Collage & Beauty Camera – INSTALLS 100,0000
Beauty Camera Selfie Filter – INSTALLS 10,000
Gaty Beauty Camera – INSTALLS 500,000
Pand Selife Beauty Camera – INSTALLS 50,000
Catoon Photo Editor & Selfie Beauty Camera – INSTALLS 1 million
Benbu Selife Beauty Camera – INSTALLS 1 million
Pinut Selife Beauty Camera & Photo Editor – INSTALLS 1 million
Mood Photo Editor & Selife Beauty Camera – INSTALLS 500,000
Rose Photo Editor & Selfie Beauty Camera – INSTALLS 1 million
Selife Beauty Camera & Photo Editor – INSTALLS 100,000
Fog Selife Beauty Camera – INSTALLS 100,000
First Selife Beauty Camera & Photo Editor – INSTALLS 5000,000
Vanu Selife Beauty Camera – INSTALLS 100,000
Sun Pro Beauty Cameraa – INSTALLS 1 million
Funny Sweet Beauty Camera – INSTALLS 500,000
Little Bee Beauty Camera – INSTALLS 1 million
Beauty Camera & Photo Editor Pro – INSTALLS 1 million
Grass Beauty Camera – INSTALLS 1 million
Ele Beauty Camera – INSTALLS 1 million
Flower Beauty Camera – INSTALLS 100,000
Best Selfie Beauty Camera – INSTALLS 1 million
Orange Camera – INSTALLS 500,000
Sunny Beauty Camera – INSTALLS 1 million
Pro Selfie Beauty Camera – INSTALLS 500,000
Selfie Beauty Camera Pro – INSTALLS 1 million
Elegant Beauty Cam-2019 – INSTALLS 50,000

According to reports, security researchers suggest that before downloading any apps in the future, users should first check if the developer is a reputable one. They caution that reading reviews posted by other users can help to identify if the app should be ignored. They added that apps that often show low scores and complaints by user most probably suggest that it might be ‘dodgy’.

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