Selfie Android Apps with 1.5M+ Installs Push Ads, Can Record Audio

silversurfer

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Aug 17, 2014
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A couple of Android apps found in Google Play included functionality that stealthy recording audio without user consent. The apps posed as selfie camera filters and had been installed over 1.5 million times.
The main activity of the two apps was not spying on users but aggressively pushing adware that covered the entire screen of the Android device.
The two apps are Sun Pro Beauty Camera, which counted more than one million installations by the time it was discovered, and Funny Sweet Beauty Selfie Camera, which had been installed over 500,000 times.
Both apps were reported to Google on September 11 and have been kicked from the official Android store. However, they continue to make money and jeopardize user privacy on devices that still have them.The recommendation is to check for their presence in the Android Settings menu, under Apps, and remove them from there.
 
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upnorth

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Jul 27, 2015
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This is one reason why it's so important to actually check what permissions an app wants, before one install it. Then again, selfies? Not my cup of tea, so personal I don't need to worry much. :p:emoji_fingers_crossed:
 

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