WATCH out for four dangerous types of apps that might already be lurking on your phone.
A cyber-expert has revealed the warning signs that an Android app is risky – and potentially even criminal.
Most apps that you use on a day-to-day basis will be perfectly safe.
But dangerous apps can make their way on to the Google Play Store – or rival stores – with sinister aims.
A rogue app could spy on you, raid your bank, steal info and defraud you, or turn your device into a money-making machine for criminals – at the expense of your performance of battery life.
The U.S. Sun spoke to Paul Bischoff, Consumer Privacy Advocate at Comparitech, who revealed four types of apps that should set alarm bells ringing.
App type #1
“You downloaded the app from somewhere other than Google Play,” Paul warned.
This isn’t a guarantee that you’ve downloaded a rogue app.
But often people end up with malware on their Android phones by downloading apps from outside of the official Play Store.
Rival stores and app download websites aren’t vetted by Google, so there’s no guarantee that what you’re installing is safe.
Be very careful when downloading apps from anywhere that isn’t the Play Store.
And if you do download an app from elsewhere, keep a close eye on its activities.
App type #2
“The app requests a lot of permissions that are not necessary for the app to function,” Paul advised.
Apps are required to ask for your permission to access sensitive parts of your phone.
To work properly, Uber needs your location and Instagram requires camera access.
But if an app appears to be using suspicious permissions, it could be a sign that you’re being spied on.
You can go into your Android privacy settings to see which apps have access to sensitive permissions.
And you can block suspicious apps from accessing those permissions at any time.
App type #3
“The app uses the internet or system resources even when not active,” Paul explained.
If an app is using significant amounts of data, slowing your phone down with power-hungry activities, or draining your battery, that’s a bad sign.
It’s especially worrying if this is happening in the background, and you can’t really work out why.
The app may be committing so kind of fraudulent activity in the background, earning cash for crooks at your expense.
Consider deleting apps that do this.
App type #4
“The app doesn’t have customer support or any way to contact the developer,” Paul revealed.
The final type of app that you should be concerned about is one that has no clear means of contacting the creators.
If an app intentionally hides who made it, that’s a warning sign.
And if you can’t get in touch with them, you need to question why.
This could be a clear sign that the app is a scam or is committing some kind of criminal activity.
Don’t risk handing money over to any app that is set up like this.
