malware and bloaWith tware becoming an increasing problem on Android,

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 it is more important than ever to ensure that the apps you download do not pose a threat to you or your device. Here are the 8 most dangerous Android apps you should not install on your phone. Although Google periodically removes a lot of apps with adware and spyware from the Play Store, what about some of the most popular apps that aren’t actually malware but can still be major privacy nightmares? If you value your privacy, you should stay away from these eight Android apps, which we list here.

Dangerous Android Apps You Should Avoid Google Play is a great place to find great new apps, but you should be careful before downloading any new apps due to possible security issues. If you aren’t careful, even well-known older apps can be a security nightmare. Your personal information may be shared with third-party advertisers in exchange for payment by some apps, which can collect data from your phone. As a result, we’ve compiled a list of the eight most dangerous Android apps that you should delete right away.

Part I: The Contents UC Browser is one of the Android web browsers that has received the most downloads. It was developed by UCWeb, a subsidiary of Alibaba, a Chinese tech company. However, cybersecurity experts contend that it lacks adequate data transmission security, putting your personal information at risk of being intercepted by hackers and intelligence agencies. When transmitting keystrokes over the internet, the browser employs insufficient cryptography, or even no encryption at all, according to researchers. Because of this, it is an unsafe and risky app that should be removed from your phone right away.

 

Alternatives: DuckDuckGo career guidance + write for us, Google Chrome (free), and Mozilla Firefox (free). Firefox Focus (Free), an open-source privacy-focused browser that uses “Private” or “incognito mode” by default, is another option for users who are concerned about their privacy. If you’re a pro and know what you’re doing, there’s also the free Tor Browser.

  1. CLEANit CLEANit advertises itself as a junk file cleaner and has been downloaded millions of times on the Play Store. In modern Android devices with powerful hardware, the app not only requires a lot of permissions but also advertises services that are unnecessary. In point of fact, some of them might even be bad for your phone.

Clearing the cache, for instance, will only slow down your phone when it needs to be rebuilt, whereas closing applications running in the background will have no real-world effect on battery life. Unless, of course, these applications are scanning for files or playing music in the background, in which case you shouldn’t kill them.

Alternatives: Note: Greenify (free) and CCleaner (free) These “cleaner” and “optimizer” applications should be completely avoided if you have an Android phone that is relatively recent. They don’t help speed up your phone and frequently cause problems by changing core settings and other settings. However, if you absolutely have to use such apps, you should stick with the two listed above.

  1. Dolphin Browser is yet another extremely well-liked third-party browser application that makes a lot of promises but delivers very little. It is a browser that supports flash, is a nightmare to track, and needs to be removed right away. Dolphin, according to numerous reports over the years, not only saves your browsing sessions in incognito mode but also displays your original IP address even when connected to a VPN. Additionally, it includes a slew of additional “features,” such as speed boosters and video players, which only add to the bloat.

 

Alternatives: DuckDuckGo Browser, Google Chrome, and Mozilla Firefox (see [1] above for download links) Virus Cleaner – Antivirus Free & Phone Cleaner is an app from Super Cleaner Studio that is exactly what’s wrong with the Android ecosystem. It has more than 14 million installs. It comes with a lot of advertisements, many of which are for questionable brands and services. Additionally, it claims to be an “efficient security master, phone junk cleaner, WIFI security, super speed booster, battery saver, CPU cooler, and notification cleaner,” but none of these features can be seen to be achieved by any software. Personally, I’d steer clear of any app that claims to “cool the CPU.”

 

Alternatives: Kaspersky (for free), AVG (for free), and Avast

Note: The best anti-virus application for Android is Google Play Protect, which is enabled by default on all Android phones. It is best to avoid this category altogether.

  1. SuperVPN Free VPN Client SuperVPN is one of the most popular VPN apps for Android, with over 100 million installs. But cybersecurity experts said earlier this year that the app has critical flaws that could let hackers use MitM (Man-in-the-Middle) attacks to steal personal information like credit card numbers, pictures, and private chats. Criminals, according to reports, can also take advantage of the flaws to hijack a user’s connection to malicious websites, which could further jeopardize the privacy and security of the user.

 

Alternatives: SurfShark (for free), Nord VPN (for free), and Express VPN Additionally, you can check out our comprehensive list of the best VPN apps for Android.

  1. Russia Today (RT), funded by the Kremlin, is the official government mouthpiece. The network caters to western viewers with English-language news channels, blogs, and numerous mobile apps. Despite its claims to be a high-quality journalism project, it is frequently utilized as a propaganda vehicle for the government of Vladimir Putin and cited by western security agencies like the CIA and MI6 as a significant source of disinformation regarding US politics and Brexit. If you don’t want to be bombarded with fake news, you should stay away from this news app.

 

Alternatives: BBC (free) and CNN (free) 7. Another “cleaner” app, Super Clean – Master of Cleaner, had to be on our list due to its widespread popularity. Over 26 million people have downloaded Super Clean by Video Assignment Tips from the Play Store; however, unlike the majority of other cleaner apps, it does very little to actually speed up your phone. It promises, like other apps in its category, to save battery life, delete junk files, and increase memory without requiring a third-party app. In any case, most Android phones come with a security and cleaning app that should do the job most of the time.

 

Alternatives: Greenify and CCleaner (for download links, see [3] above).

Note: As previously stated, “speed booster” or “cleaner” apps do more harm than good to your phone. If your phone supports microSD, uninstall applications that you aren’t using and move multimedia files to a fast Class 10/U3/V90 card to really boost your phone’s speed. Otherwise, move them to a computer or USB drive to free up space on your phone.

  1. Fildo Music is the final app on our list. Fildo was once a local music player disguised as an illegal music downloading app. After being scrutinized, the app reorients itself as a music management app and has since discontinued its music downloading feature.

However, we are skeptical of apps that claim to do one thing but do another. Additionally, it is rumored to be associated with the contentious Chinese entertainment company Netease, which ought to raise yet another red flag for users. If you want to listen to music, you should use a different app.

Alternatives: Bonus: VLC, AIMP, and Poweramp are all free. S.M.T.H. (Send Me To Heaven) Last but not least is S.M.T.H., which is a cool little game app that can be harmful to your phone in unexpected ways. The app uses the built-in sensors of a smartphone to determine how high you can throw it. Yes, in order for the game to function at all, you must raise your phone in the air.

When it was first released almost a decade ago, the app received a lot of attention. Sincerely, the game can be enjoyable, but for obvious reasons, this app has caused the deaths of numerous devices. You are free to install it, but don’t say we didn’t warn you!

We only included apps that are currently available on the Play Store for the purposes of the preceding list. Other Dangerous Apps You Should Not Install However, hundreds more apps have been removed from the Play Store due to issues such as click fraud, illegal data mining, and “disruptive ads.” Clean Master, DU Battery Saver, ES File Explorer, Quick Pic Gallery, and a slew of other software come from Cheetah Mobile, a well-known Chinese developer.

Various websites and third-party Android app stores still offer APK downloads for many of these. Therefore, you should avoid downloading a particular app on your device if you are unsure of its developer or background.

How to Tell Good Apps From Bad Apps Sometimes it’s hard to tell good apps from bad ones. However, the number of unnecessary permissions requested by an app is the one telltale sign that ought to always cause concern. Does a flashlight app require permission from your location? Does a cleaning app require access to a camera or microphone?

Is a photo editing app requesting permission via SMS or phone? If they are, such software should be avoided at all costs. Even though an app that asks for more permissions isn’t always a sign of danger, you should always research the app before installing it on your phone.

Cleaners, antivirus programs, RAM boosters, etc., should be avoided at all costs. because, in most cases, they don’t offer any real-world performance enhancements. Weather apps and scanner apps, which have the potential to collect personally identifiable information and sensitive location data from your phones, should also be avoided.

Yes, numerous photo editing and emoji application programs are nothing more than glorified adware, if not worse. In the end, it’s best to stay away from apps that ask for a lot of permissions for things that have nothing to do with what they say they can do.

Avoid these risky apps to keep your Android safe. Despite Google’s constant efforts, the Play Store contains thousands of malware, adware, spyware, and bloatware apps. However, our list includes the aforementioned apps because they are among Android’s most frequently used dangerous applications. Therefore, if any of the aforementioned Android apps pose a threat to you, you should immediately uninstall them and download an alternative.

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