Android devices are more secure than ever, but bad actors are still releasing malicious apps. Google recently yanked nearly 600 apps from the Play Store for violating its policies on disruptive ads and interstitials, the company announced in a blog post.
There's an ongoing effort to stop these apps from entering the Play Store and getting distributed on a large number of smartphones and tablets. It's all part of mobile ad fraud, which Google labels as an industry-wide challenge harming users and advertisers.
BuzzFeed News reports the majority of the apps targeted English-speaking users but originated in Asia. Per Bjorke, Google's Senior Product Manager for Ad Traffic Quality, confirmed more than 4.5 billion installations of these malicious apps. He declined to name the apps or their developers, however.
Cheetah Mobile, a publicly traded company, reportedly had as many as 45 apps removed from the Play Store. It's also no longer listed in Google's ad networks. The blog post did state developers behind all malicious apps will get banned from AdMob and Ad Manager. Many developers took similar action to deliver the ads, but Google isn't sure if they engaged in a coordinated effort to trick the system.
In terms of disruptive ads, the Mountain View-based company describes these ads as "displayed to users in unexpected ways" that impair or interfere with usability. Disruptive ads can appear in-app, but they're also capable of surfacing while the user performs an action in another app. Google warns that full-screen pop-ups could get delivered while trying to make a call or follow turn-by-turn navigation.
Google's existing technologies aren't perfect, but it'll design improvements that detect and prevent future threats. Recently, a machine learning-based solution rolled out. It also has dedicated teams tasked with identifying developers who attempt to defraud the ecosystem. So there's a mixture of manual and automatic action while handling malicious apps and their developers. Users, meanwhile, can report apps to Google if they think there's a violation.
Google may have accidentally shared your private Google Photos videos with strangers
Get Our Best Stories!
Sign up for What's New Now to get our top stories delivered to your inbox every morning.
This newsletter may contain advertising, deals, or affiliate links. Subscribing to a newsletter indicates your consent to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe from the newsletters at any time.
Thanks for signing up!
Your subscription has been confirmed. Keep an eye on your inbox!
Sign up for other newsletters
