These Android apps may be really popular, but they can compromise your security and privacy. If you have already installed them, please delete them.
Some Android apps promise a lot of fun and help, but in reality they only want to harm us. And if you're not careful, apps can track you, hack your phone, or otherwise bug you. The Google Play Store is often criticized for its less reliable approach to filtering out dangerous content, so you should be extra careful and check which apps are among the biggest security and privacy violators. Unfortunately, apps like these have millions of installs – make sure your smartphone isn't one of them!
QuickPic Gallery
QuickPic Gallery used to be a user-friendly and easy-to-use photo gallery that built a large user base with regular updates. But when it was bought by the infamous Chinese company Cheetah Mobile in 2015, it instantly became a harmful app - the company started upload user data to your server. Although QuickPic Gallery was pulled from the Play Store in 2018, it made a comeback in 2019. There are hundreds of incarnations of QuickPic available today, and it's hard to tell which is the original version. Do not install any!
If you want a gallery app, please choose instead Simple Gallery. This one has a photo editor, file manager and several themes.
ES File Explorer
ES File Explorer was probably the most popular file explorer application. This is because it used to work really well five years ago. The free version of this app is out today full of bloatware (annoying applications that serve as an end in themselves) and adware (a form of spyware), that constantly urge you to download additional applications with the help of pop-ups and notification bars that you cannot get rid of. In April 2019, the app was removed from the Google Store due to click fraud. It is a practice where the application itself clicks on advertising messages in the background, without the user being aware of it. Today, ES File Explorer APK and many imitators are appearing in the Play Store. All of them, from a to z, should be avoided!
If you need an easy-to-use file explorer, download it Files by Google, but if you want more customization, try the app Total Commander.
UC Browser
It is the most popular Android browser in China and India. They claim to be the fastest and will save you data using the file compression method. But you should be aware that this application follows. Unencrypted search queries are sent to Yahoo India and Google. Your IMSI, IMEI, Android ID and Wi-Fi MAC address are sent to Umeng (Alibaba's analytics tool) and your geolocation - including the street - to AMAP (Alibaba's mapping tool).
They are absolutely better for safer and faster browsing Chrome and Firefox, but if you're concerned about privacy, try using DuckDuckGo.
CLEANit
It's a junk file "cleaner" that's been installed over ten million times and has 85 percent four- or five-star ratings. But people don't realize that most of what they offer harms the phone. For example, clearing cache will eventually slow down your phone, clearing RAM will lead to more battery drain, and "killing" running apps won't save you even a percentage of battery as they like to claim.
A much better choice is an app Greenify, which will really help with less battery consumption, an application SD Maid however, it will prove to be more effective in cleaning junk files, etc.
The Hague
Hago is an all-in-one app for hanging out with friends, playing games, and chatting in real time. Is Hago safe in the traditional sense? Yes, we can conclude that, since there is no evidence of severe abuse. However, the app allows you to earn real money by playing games and participating in groups, which would make you all alarms should start ringing. Add to that the fact that you can earn more money if you don't download the app through the Play Store, but instead download the APK.
There is no shortage of free games for Android where you can play against strangers on the internet, apps such as messenger, Viber, etc. but they will be sufficient for conversations with friends.
DU Battery Saver & Fast Charge
DU Battery Saver & Fast Charge is an incredibly downloaded “battery saver” app with an almost unbelievable 7.6 million five-star ratings. Why is this app bad? Um, fast charging? Application it does not have the ability to change the charging speed of the device. Among other things, it is also "queen of ads" – these are even displayed on the lock screen and in the notification bar. And those fancy speed graphs and cool animations are a complete fake! The application was removed from the Play Store last April, as it was part of a click fraud scandal. But you can still find the APK on download sites and millions of people are still running it on their older devices. Moreover, its imitators have already appeared in the Play Store.
If you really care about your battery stats, go ahead GSM Battery Monitor. For proper battery saving, try Greenify mentioned above.
Dolphin Web Browser
It's an ad-free browser that supports Flash and an HTML 5 video plugin, and has over 50 million downloads. And like UC Browser, this app will also help you follows. More, even Browsing in no incognito mode saves on your phone. Users have found that even when using a VPN, the browser reveals your IP address. So don't believe the app's sweet promises and delete it immediately!
As mentioned earlier, Chrome, Firefox, and DuckDuck Go are your best choices.
Filda
It is illegal music download app, disguised as a music player. Fildo has long been associated with Chinese online entertainment company Netease. It used various API tricks to allow the user to download any song from the Netease server. Is this a safe app today? Maybe. Netease shut down access, causing many users to stop using the app. But the app has a really nefarious background and shouldn't be trusted – because of the potential data collection and other privacy violations.
If you want to listen to music, the obvious answer is a service like that Spotify, which is now also available in Slovenia. For music management check Cloud Player.
Clean Master
It is another popular one "a speed booster that saves battery and optimizes your phone". Before it was removed in 2019, it had 600 million users and 26 million five-star reviews. The APK is still available and people are still downloading it! He made CleanMaster Cheetah Mobile, which we pointed out earlier (bloatware, adware, etc.). In addition, the application did not work nothing useful: RAM saving apps may have been more useful once, but today you no longer need them. Android has its own manual RAM manager that makes sure everything is used in the most optimal way - in many cases it even deliberately keeps RAM loaded to help performance.
Honestly, you don't need any such app. But if you're still insistent, try the aforementioned SD Maid.
Almost any antivirus application
You have several such applications to choose from - namely, most of the well-known manufacturers of antivirus programs for computers now also have an offer for smartphones. These applications themselves they are not bad, but they are mostly unnecessary, causing the biggest names in the industry today to market their application capabilities as part of a larger security package. Nevertheless, it is worth noting: if you install software from third-party sources, i.e. not from the Google Play store, or if you have administrator rights for Android ("rooted" phone), you should consider these applications. In both cases, you can use them to fight against malicious software over which Google has no control.
Here, it is most important to install a full security package from a trusted provider. Companies applications when they are Avast and Avira, usually offer additional features such as password-locked apps, remote data wipe, and call blocking.
How to avoid dangerous apps on Google Play Store?
In reality, there are very few such applications that are completely "safe". Almost all developers are blood for at least some data collection. But be careful: there are some really harmful apps in the Play Store, and these ten above are just the tip of the iceberg.
Going a little deeper: downloading APKs poses an even greater risk. If you were once a loyal customer of certain app developers and apps themselves that are no longer in the Google Play Store, don't download them at all. They are probably even more dangerous today than they were before.
