Researchers find three apps with adware and millions of downloads on Google Play Store

As mentioned by the researchers, one of them was a “popular interactive questionnaire with millions of downloads”.

One of the apps used post-installation delay before it started bombarding ads to users. (Pixabay-edited)

Google is often strict with the app guidelines and does a thorough check before they hit the Play Store for millions of users to download. However, it always happens that some manage to make their way to the app market. And three of them, which were termed as adware, were found on the Play Store by Kaspersky researchers in the past three months. It is worth adding that adware is a popular ‘non-virus' software that is often used to dupe users for money.

As mentioned by the researchers, one of them was a “popular interactive questionnaire with millions of downloads”. This app used post-installation delay before it started bombarding ads to users. “This long delay from installation of the application to the first advertisement appearing made it much harder for the user to find the culprit for all the ads that suddenly appeared on the screen,” said the researchers in a statement.

However, the developer of the app removed the adware when informed about it.

Other such adware applications were said to have been downloaded a 100 million times. These apps used to send people half screen ads once the device was unlocked, regardless whether they were running in the background or not. The developers of both these apps have not yet replied or have taken steps to remove the adware.

As a precaution, users can follow some basic steps to keep their smartphones safe. First is to remove unwanted apps or those apps that are acting unusual or are showing unwanted apps, taking up your screen. Second is to always read before blindly accepting all the permissions that the app shows to you before it becomes operational. And third is to use a reliable mobile security solution or an antivirus software that keeps scanning the handset for malware and other such apps from time to time.