In a bid to make the Google Play Store and the Android space safer in general, Google went on a crusade against applications that caught its suspicion for being dodgy — some of them having already been established in the platform, based on the number of installs.
One class of applications that specifically caught Google’s attention is one that has been casting “disruptive ads” to users. Of this category, 600 were reportedly removed last February, including the notable web browser Cheetah Mobile.
In another case of app ditching that shook app developers left and right in the Google Play Store is a cluster of developers, suspected to be from China, whose accumulated 103 apps have generated a total of 69 million installs.
READ: Android is now more secure than iPhone, Cybersecurity experts say
As of writing, all 103 applications were already out of the Google Play Store.
The suspicion that the said groups work in tandem, however, holds weight. According to a finding made by the researcher group, CyberNews, these developers may only seem independent from one another at the outset but, at closer inspection, sees a relation that makes them truly a network of interdependent function.
One telling connection between the developers lies on the formatting of the Gmail accounts they used and the URLs of their websites—all of which also underpinned by a similar landing page.
If you have any of the apps listed below, make sure to delete them immediately.
Source: CyberNews Via: Forbes
