This archive report was first published on 22 May 2020.
May 22, 2020 - Android smartphone users are being urged to reassess their installed apps after a new report revealed that Google has removed 813 'creepware' apps from the Google Play Store.
Researchers from New York University, Cornell Tech, and NortonLifeLock developed an algorithm called CreepRank to analyze the apps and identify potential threats.
Using the algorithm, the researchers analyzed over 50 million Android smartphone apps and identified 857 apps containing creepware, including 114 spoofing apps, 80 harassment apps, and 63 containing hacking tutorials.
According to the researchers, the apps were used for harassment, impersonation, fraud, information theft, concealment, and even claimed to defend victims against such threats.
Google removed the 813 apps for violating its terms and conditions after being notified by the researchers last summer.
As a result of the study, the Google Play Store has already removed hundreds of apps for policy violations, and the researchers hope that their findings and techniques will inform future efforts to mitigate interpersonal attacks.
