There have been many articles written about the safety concerns around the apps on Google Play Store.
According to the reports, the open-source platform not able to control malware attacks allowing the harmful apps to find a way onto users’ smartphones.
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How Did This Happen?
Normally Google removes certain apps from the platform regularly, but the same kind of new ones keep popping up.
As per the reports, the latest one which has joined the list is a keyboard app that can steal all your money.
Researchers say that the mobile technology firm Upstream has a popular keyboard app called the ai.type keyboard. can be so malicious that it can rob its users.
What Does This App Do?
They have claimed that this app has been found to subscribe to users to premium third-party services that too without notifying in the background.
This means that the app has been making unauthorized transactions in the background and siphoning money from users.
Such kind of 14 million requests have been identified by the researchers and they have blocked with their Secure-D platform.
These requests were observed in 110,000 devices which was under scrutiny.
What Did Google Do About It?
According to Google, they had removed this app from its Play Store in June 2019, but it continues to find its way to smartphones.
The point to note here is that this app is still available for download on various third-party app stores on Android and various websites.
According to research, till now it has been installed on millions of devices.
The researchers also claim that the app started conducting more malicious activities after being blocked by Google.
What Is Advised For The Users?
They say that there has been a massive spike in requests for malicious transactions since then.
The crucial part is that the app is also giving away user data such as clicks on website and purchase details to advertising networks.
Dimitris Maniatis, head of Secure-D at Upstream said that “Innocent users are paying for these hidden, unauthorized purchases and related data consumption whose source is buried in the app,”. (Reference)
It would be great to check your mobile, If, by any chance, you have this keyboard app installed on your device, it is best to get rid of it right now.
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