Security News > 2020 > June > More ad fraud apps found hiding on Google Play Store

The apps were among a small haul of 38 beauty-themed apps the company detected from the same developer which were reported to Google for bombarding users with unwanted ads.

As well as serving out of context ads at every opportunity, the apps also sent users to websites and made it difficult to de-install the apps using techniques such as hiding icons from the home screen and apps folder.

A security vendor or researcher spots multiple apps on the Play Store doing something bad, tells Google, which eventually removes the apps after confirming they're malevolent.

Even with an average of less than three weeks of time on the Play Store, the apps found an audience: the average number of installs for the apps we analyzed was 565,833.

Google took down the apps discovered by White Ops in 2019 but it's hard not to be left with the impression that Google's ongoing battle to banish bad apps has a struggle ahead of it.

News URL

https://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2020/06/17/more-ad-fraud-apps-found-hiding-on-google-play-store/