Dodgy Google Play apps found to compromise security
A survey of free apps offered on the Google Play app store has found that many carry nefarious code including some which covertly communicate with tracking services to follow an individual’s movements online.
Other apps studied were shown to infect the host smartphone with viruses or steal personal information whilst others were used as a conduit for downloading ‘excessive’ numbers of advertisements.
The findings, presented by France-based Eurecom, have spurred calls for greater quality control at the store, which now includes more than 1.2m apps on Android enabled smartphones and tablet computers.
Eurecom observed that Google had adopted more ‘libertarian’ principles and a ‘looser set of guidelines’ when it came to vetting content than Apple demanded of its content, resulting in a greater volume of malicious software on Google’s platform.
Google refused to comment when requested to do so by The Times.