Be wary of downloading Apps from play store, Expert warns Android users

The founder of Digital Hub, Mr Joseph Dogo, has warned Android users to be careful of downloading Apps from the play store because such Apps could be ridden with harmful adware. Dogo, whose hub is based in Abuja, gave the advice on Friday during an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN). Digital Hub is […]

The founder of Digital Hub, Mr Joseph Dogo, has warned Android users to be careful of downloading Apps from the play store because such Apps could be ridden with harmful adware.

Dogo, whose hub is based in Abuja, gave the advice on Friday during an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

Digital Hub is into Software developing, training and maintenance.

According to him, some play store Apps are ridden with harmful adware, adding that they record audio which is a privacy breach, without user’s consent.

Dogo emphasised that some adware in question could also brick devices, drain battery life or completely infect them to the point that they might need replacement.

He said that users could identify such Apps by going through reviews written on the page of such Apps on the play store.

“Some of these Apps have been downloaded over a million times by people from the Google Play Store and android users can avoid downloading them.

“However, they must take time to read the cavalcade of negative reviews,’’ he said.

The expert also said that when some of these Apps were downloaded, they could come up with intrusive advertisements, upon use.

“ These Apps are capable of showing promotions on a user’s device sometimes, even if the former has not been opened.

“They will continue to run in the background, even if their shortcut is uninstalled.

“ Full-screen ads will start to pop up and are difficult to close, so users need to be careful to avoid downloading them in the first place.’’

“Adware can also infect handset; it can also be used to generate revenue and data for a third-party.

“Sometimes these Apps come up with commands for you to give permissions to record audio at any time without user confirmation, let mobile device users be warned.’’