The variety of programmes developed for Android is making this operating system particularly attractive to users of smartphones and other portable devices since they can choose among various functions and useful software in order to customise their devices the way the wish. Unfortunately, sometimes it can become rather dangerous since some of the programmes developed for Android and available even through official Google Play, can turn out to be harmful.
There are several categories of programmes which you absolutely should not install on your smartphone. in case you already have them, you should delete them immediately and never install again. Note that the problem is not in exactly particular programmes. It is just risky to use any programmes of the categories mentioned in this article.
Various flashlights
One of the most popular types of programmes installed by Android users is a flashlight. There is an entire range of programmes offering you torchlights.
It might be not obvious for a regular user what wrong can be with a torchlight on your phone. Well, in the reality not so long ago torchlights were a favourite type of software for Android developed by hackers. Usually, they extended the functionality of their torches in such a way as to keep a track of all of the data you are using on your phone sending it to a third party.
Resigning from such a programme will not be a problem for you if you have one of the modern versions of Android since all of them have their standard flashlight which is by no means worse than those which you can install separately. That is why there is really no point in risking by downloading such programmes which are in fact meaningless.
Scanning programmes like CamScanner
There is a range of programmes for Android which are, unlike the previously described programmes, actually have useful functionality. One of the best illustrations of such programmes are so-called scanners.
Unfortunately, many of them cannot be called trustworthy. It does not mean that all of them can harm you, however, there are a couple of them which should be avoided for sure. The bets example of such programme is CamScanner which is still popular today, even though his developers were caught for including a Trojan code into the programme which was overfilling the phone with advertisements and even make subscriptions without the knowledge of the owner of the device.
You do not have to risk using these programmes. Try for example such trustworthy apps as Microsoft Office Lens or Adobe Scan which are less prone to being hacked.
Music player
Interestingly, the name “music player” is particularly loved by the developers of various suspicious programmes. Some are calling obviously dangerous programmes with this name, whereas others are using this name for a variety of poorly made apps. Anyway, if you check the collection of “music players” available on Google Play, you will be overwhelmed by the amount of clones of the same programmes.
There is no need to download all these garbage and install it on your device. The standard Android player is not thus bad at all and is definitely better than all of that software of a poor quality available for installation. If you are still eager to switch to another player, you can download popular AIMP which is offered by the developers free of charge. You can also pay and get great PlayerPro.
By the way, you can always stream music online rather than store it on your phone.
Various suspicious Internet browsers
Google Play is also a place where you can download various Internet browsers which are not necessarily popular in your area. One of the best examples is UC Browser which is currently the most popular Internet browser is China and India.
It is not recommended to use this programme despite its popularity. UC Browser has access to a whole range of your information such as MAC address of your Wi-Fi, your geolocation, IMEI, Android ID and IMSI. This data is handed over to the Alibaba company.
You might have also come across another browser which used to be popular an loved by many users. This browser is known as Dolphin and it had been considered to be a great programme before it turned out that the browser was keeping a track of the data of its users even when they were using it in the incognito mode.
The problem is if you want to switch to some web browser different from Google Chrome, you will find an abundance of poorly made programmes available through Google Play. If you compare then to the browsers mentioned above, you will find Dolphin and UC Browser to be amazing products. Yet, there is no need to use these apps at all since there are various products of high quality available for Android.
For instance, you can choose Firefox for Android if you do not want to use Chrome. The users who wish to keep more privacy while surfing the Internet, can choose DuckDuckGo Privacy Browser which is the top web browser of such a kind.