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These included the ability to initiate phone calls, record audio and read the user’s GPS location and body sensors. The methodology of the study makes it clear how widespread these shady privacy vault apps are the researchers analyzed the top 30 results on the Play Store when searching for a “privacy app.” 18 of these apps were based in China or Hong Kong, and on average they ask for four permissions that the app does not need to function – the biggest offender asked for 14 unnecessary permissions. And at least one app caught in this dragnet (Applock – Fingerprint Password) is from a developer who previously had a PayPal credential theft trojan present in another app. The developer, cxzh.ltd, has found great success in staying on the Play Store by simply changing one or two elements of this word salad and re-uploading the app every time it gets flagged.Īn app called “Video Hider – Privacy Lock” has the disturbing ability to access and activate the camera without permissions or notification, and uses this ability to snap a picture of the user whenever there is an unsuccessful attempt to unlock the device.
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While the clumsy name might initially make one think that this app couldn’t possibly be in widespread use, it has actually been downloaded 50 million times.
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Google has since removed the app from the Play Store.Īnother app called “Vault – Hide Pics & Videos, App Lock, Free Backup” was found to be exfiltrating personal data such as phone numbers, IMEIs and lists of apps on the device. It may be doing all of those things to some extent, but it is also logging and exfiltrating a variety of private user web browsing data (such as search engine queries and URLs visited) as well as harnessing devices for fake clicks as part of an ad fraud scheme. This app also claimed to provide a VPN and antivirus protection. One of the most commonly used is Security Master, which had over 500 million installs before being removed from the Play Store. Mikalauskas names and shames some specific privacy vault apps as prominent examples.