Security News > 2020 > January > ‘Fleeceware’ Apps Downloaded 600M Times from Google Play

Google has made a concerted effort in recent months to try to eliminate bad apps for its Android mobile platform on the Google Play store-something the company historically has battled.

These type of apps have been installed nearly 600 million times on 100 million plus devices, according to a Sophos report, which said it pulled the numbers from Google's own Google Play marketplace.

Researchers did inform Google that these type of apps were active on the site back in September, and the company did take down the offending apps.

While an earlier Sophos report found that fleeceware apps often charge a very large amount attributed to an annual subscription-such as $200 or more that can be broken down into "Only" $16.67 per month, for example-the latest research found developers of these apps using more clever and financially damaging tactics.

Researchers posted a list of known fleeceware apps, which they recommended users avoid when downloading from Google Play.

News URL

https://threatpost.com/fleeceware-apps-from-google-play/151927/