As mobile phones have become more of a staple in everyday life, there has been an ongoing debate on which phone brand is superior – Android or iPhone? One argument loyal Android users make is that they have a more open operating system compared to their competition.
This operating system gives its users a wide range of ways to customise their devices and the ability to install more apps from unofficial sources such as straight from the web, explains the Express. As much as this may seem like a tick on the pro column for Android users, it can also leave them more vulnerable to cyberattacks.
Technology giant Google is seen to have had enough of this as they have announced a huge crackdown on apps that they view as dangerous. This comes after years of security experts continually releasing warnings that Android devices are being endlessly attacked by malware from these extra apps.
Over the last year, Google has blocked a mindblowing 2.36million apps from joining its Play Store due to them violating policy. An additional 158,000 “bad developer” accounts have also been banned from publishing their ‘work’ on the online marketplace.
In a blog post, a spokesperson from Google confirmed: “We prevented 2.36million policy-violating apps from being published on Google Play and banned more than 158,000 bad developer accounts that attempted to publish harmful apps.”
Google isn’t stopping at just preventing apps from being published, as their new security initiative has stopped over a million apps from being able to access unnecessary and excessive data. Therefore, users will have a higher chance of their personal information being protected and not ending up in the hands of a criminal.
While Google still prides itself on using human intervention to track down bad apps, the use of AI has really helped the company crackdown on millions of apps. Its enhancements mean that millions of apps on Play Store can be better monitored each year.
Google explained: “To keep out bad actors, we have always used a combination of human security experts and the latest threat-detection technology. In 2024, we used Google’s advanced AI to improve our systems’ ability to proactively identify malware, enabling us to detect and block bad apps more effectively.”
Android users have the added benefit of being able to download apps from the web that are not currently on Play Store, but these can lead to excess malware and an increased vulnerability to cyber-attacks. Google has said it is doing its best to alert users when they think a dangerous app has been downloaded – even if it’s not in the official app store.
Google continued: “While the Play Store offers best-in-class security, we know it’s not the only place users download Android apps – so it’s important that we also defend Android users from more generalized mobile threats.
“To do this in an open ecosystem, we’ve invested in sophisticated, real-time defences that protect against scams, malware, and abusive apps. These intelligent security measures help to keep users, user data, and devices safe, even if apps are installed from various sources with varying levels of security.”
Don’t miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond. Sign up to our daily newsletter.