These Android apps are putting users’ data at risk, be aware [May 2021]

When software technology has reached the pinnacle in today’s era, it has been impossible to always stay protected from the virus and bugs. Because our day starts with the software applications as well as ends with them.

In other words, we can say that the Android Apps has been making a great place in our daily routine. We also can’t deny that they have almost every piece of information about us.

However, somewhere we need to feed our data in the Android applications to activate them. But have you ever think that if your data has been safe or not?

According to the latest report generated from Check Point Research, many popular Android apps have been harming users’ personal information because of third-party applications’ inadequate security arrangements.

The report points out that 23 different apps obtainable from Google Play Store have individual security problems. Shockingly, these apps have recorded 50,000 to 10 million downloads, which show their popularity.

How the data has been misused:

The data collected and stores through these apps are used by the hackers to modify it and further spread the malware, phishing links, misleading contents, and notifications.

What Android apps have security problems:

The research firm detected 23 Android apps that have these security problems. Among them, 13 apps are said to work on real-time database information.

The report individually pointed out 5 different Android apps with thousands of registered users, which are described as follows-

• Astro Guru- AstroGuru is an astrology app that claims gives you the best of palm reading by actually scanning your palm. It has over 10 million installs
• iFax- This app allows you to send faxes as you would from a fax machine. It’s using by more than 5 million people & 20,000 companies.
• Logo Maker- This graphic design app has more than 170,000 signups. The agency noticed that it can access user names, account IDs, emails, and passwords.
• Screen Recorder- With more than 10 million downloads it can track the users’ activity.
• T’Leva- This free app that allows you, in the passenger version, to comfortably call for a taxi based on location, has more than 50,000 downloads. It can obtain the location data, full names, and phone numbers.

How to prevent from:

Well, there is no permanent way to be safe from these phenomena, only the precaution steps can help in avoiding them.

1. In case you are using any of these applications, uninstall them
2. Try to use two-factor authentication
3. Set different passwords for different accounts
4. Try not to feed your exact location
5. Grant minimum permissions, if possible
6. Use services that notify you of breaches and compromised accounts

These precautions can not completely avoid the transgression but can help in mitigating your risk of identity theft, fraud, and other scams.