While there are malicious apps on the Play Store, you should stay away from sideloading apps from 3rd party sources by downloading the APK files.
Of course, you must be knowing about the risks when you install an app from an unknown source.
However, there are certain popular apps which people still rely on (even if they are not available on the Play Store). One of the examples for that is – “Snaptube“, which helps you to download music/video onto your Android device.
Tech Crunch reports that a security firm has found evidence against Snaptube to generate fake ad clicks and make unauthorized purchases from its active users.
In case you did not know, the app has seen more than a billion times of download and almost 40 million active users.
Techniques like background clicks (to make unwanted purchases) and silent ads that utilize your mobile data/power to help Snaptube to generate ad revenue.
However, the company failed to acknowledge the problem – so they passed on the issues and blamed it on a third-party software development kit.
Whatever be the case, there was definitely a fraudulent activity going on with Snaptube either way.
So, this tells us that we should totally avoid 3rd party apps as well that require sideloading. What’s your take on it?
Let us know your thoughts about this story in the comments below.