How often do you download those camera beautifications, VPN tunnels, and all other utility apps on your smartphone?
A warning from Google Play Store
Google has been using stern warning to its users on downloading untrusted apps into their smartphone. It has come to their awareness that several questionable applications have sneaked its way into the Google Play Store and acquired a hefty number of downloads before being discovered by the system.
Some of the most recent categories these applications belong are into camera beautification, video modification, VPN tunnel software, and other phone utility apps.
For those who are addicted to the latest camera apps, beware of the following: Sun Pro Beauty Camera and Funny Sweet Beauty Selfie, these camera apps are known for including adware in their app. However, top VPN providers ensure you get the best protection.
Adware is a form of malware that hides in your device and pops unwanted advertisement randomly. These advertisements generate income for the developer for every time it pops out in the app. Some of these adwares are a bit annoying when it redirects your search pages to unwanted advertisements, and it happens from time to time as you use the app.
VPN tunnels, a very popular app in several parts of Asia as a tool for bypassing internet service fees on network provider are also on the top list of wanted apps in the Google Play Store. VPN is widely used in Hongkong and China to bypass strict government regulation on internet services, but on some other parts of Asia, they use it as a way to avail free internet services by bypassing network provider security. This is considered to be a very risky app since it prompts the user to permit the app to access private information on their smartphones.
Smartphone users should be cautious
Most smartphone users aren’t that cautious when it comes to installing apps on their phones, they just follow what’s in and in the trend. Google warns users that they might have just compromised their privacy by allowing certain permission requests on their phones.
https://twitter.com/terabit7/status/1175021168673394689
Camera apps often ask for access to media content on smartphones. Media content includes camera access, microphone access, and sometimes even the phone’s contacts. Access granted to these media contents can greatly put your privacy at risk. Pictures, videos, and other recordings in your phone can be accessed by the app and possibly store it in their servers.
Battery draining apps are also common for VPN tunnels; it asks forces the phone’s system to allow the app to run in the background without detection that could consume that phone battery life immensely. Background applications can drain the battery quickly and heats the phone’s processor that may lead to its damage.
Always be wary with what you install in your smartphones. Be reminded that your privacy is always at risk when you grant random applications permission to tinker into private components of your smartphones.
