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Delete these red-flag apps ASAP
Are you a criminal, hacker, spy or scammer? Step right up! You can have your own app for anyone to download in the app store, and it won’t cost you a dime. Here’s a dirty secret: Apple tries to vet most apps. Google doesn’t even try to do that, but there is a setting that helps. More about that below.
I’ve rounded up some of the worst apps out there, along with tips to keep your data safe (and your wallet happy). This way, you won’t get taken.
Cheap thrills
Ultra-cheap shopping apps might have good deals, but you’ll pay for them somehow.
Shein (an app with ties to Communist China) is one of the world’s biggest manufacturers of “fast fashion,” aka really cheap clothes made with downright toxic materials.
- South Korean researchers tested two pairs of kids’ shoes. One pair had 428 times the permitted level of phthalates (used in plastics). The other had 1.8 times the permitted level of formaldehyde, which causes cancer at high enough concentrations.
- When they tested a “leather” belt, they found it contained 1.78 times more lead than legally allowed.
Temu (another app with ties to Communist China) doesn’t manufacture goods; it just sells them for cheap. In 2023, it was the most downloaded app in the U.S., with over 122 million downloads.
In June, the Arkansas attorney general filed a lawsuit against Temu, alleging the app is malware in sheep’s clothing. The suit claims Temu “gains unauthorized access to users’ personal data, including camera access, location, contacts, text messages and more.”
I know so many of you love TikTok (another app with ties to Communist China.) Let’s cut to the chase: It gets copies of every single thing you do on your phone. Here’s how to remove these commie apps from your phone.
Major malfunction
Sorry, Android pals, but there’s new spyware lurking in the Google Play Store. Mandrake spyware had been running undetected for up to two years in certain apps, collecting data, recording and monitoring screens, and installing other malicious apps.
Google has finally removed the Mandrake-infected apps from its Play Store so no one else can download them. Be sure to check your smartphone or tablet, and if you have one of these apps, delete it ASAP:
- AirFS
- Astro Explorer
- Amber
- CryptoPulsing
- Brain Matrix
Now is as good a time as any to make sure you have Google Play Protect enabled. It scans your new and existing apps for anything fishy.
- Open the Google Play Store app. At the top right, tap your profile icon.
- Tap Play Protect > Settings and turn on Scan apps with Play Protect.
Use it or lose it
While you’re deleting apps that are bad for your privacy and security, why not kick out anything you pay for and don’t need? Remember, just uninstalling an app doesn’t mean your subscription is canceled.
Here’s how to find and cancel app subscriptions on your iPhone. Go to Settings and tap your name > Subscriptions. On Android, go to play.google.com and click My subscriptions. Spoiler: This only finds app subscriptions.
⚡ ️Check how much you’re really shelling out. Everywhere you turn, it’s a buck or more a month here and there. Check your subscriptions to stop unnecessary payments and cancel those you no longer want the easy way with Rocket Money.* Rocket Money has an average rating of 4.5 stars (22,000 ratings!) on the iOS and Google Play stores. I use it, and you would like it, too.
Tags: Android, Apple, apps, Google, malware, security
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