These 16 apps have been removed from Google Play Store. Know why

Google has reportedly removed 16 apps from Play Store as they were found to be draining the battery very fast and consuming a lot of data. The apps were also committing ad fraud by impersonating a user.

According to Ars Technica, the apps were facilitating background redirections to webpages and effecting clicks on the ads there.

The activity of the apps was reportedly identified by cybersecurity firm McAfee.

These apps fell into the category of utility apps. Many of them appeared to have simple functions like currency conversion, flashlight operation, QR code scanning and so on. However, these apps were found to have background functions.

Here is the list of apps removed from Google Play Store

• Quick Note

• Instagram Profile Downloader

• Ez Notes

• com.candlencom.flashlite

• com.doubleline.calcul

• com.dev.imagevault Flashlight+

• Joycode

• EzDica

• Currency Converter

• BusanBus

• 8K-Dictionary

• com.smh.memocalendar memocalendar

• Flashlight+

• Smart Task Manager

• High-Speed Camera

McAfee reportedly discovered that these apps would automatically download code and access websites without any notification to the user. The apps would also click links and ads.

The immense background activity not only drained battery and consumed network but also increased probability of the smartphone getting infected by malware.