Google removed 813 creepware apps from the Android Play Store

guest · May 12, 2020

Google removed 813 creepware apps from the Android Play Store
The applications were discovered with a new algorithm called CreepRank
May 12, 2020
https://www.zdnet.com/article/google-removed-813-creepware-apps-from-the-android-play-store/

Google has removed last year a batch of 813 "creepware" apps from the official Android Play Store following a report from a group of academics studying stalkerware-like apps.

The term creepware refers to mobile apps that don't possess the full features of a spyware or stalkerware product but they can still be used to stalk, harass, defraud, or threaten another person, directly or indirectly.
THE CREEPRANK ALGORITHM
The research team says it developed an algorithm named CreepRank that identifies creepware-like behavior inside mobile apps, and then assigns a creep score to each app.
ACADEMICS SEARCHED FOR CREEPWARE ON 50 MILLION DEVICES
After developing the CreepRank algorithm, the research team used it to identify creepware apps in the real world.
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Researchers said that an analysis of the Top 1,000 apps based on their CreepRank score found that 857 qualified as creepware, with the "creepware" functions taking a central role in the app and, sometimes, in its marketing.
This included apps that enable spoofing (114 apps), harassment (80 apps, including SMS bombers), hacking tutorials (63 apps), and others.

The research team said it notified Google about the 1,095 apps last summer, and the tech giant's security teams intervened and took down 813 for violating the Play Store's terms and conditions.
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Google removed 813 creepware apps from the Android Play Store

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Google removed 813 creepware apps from the Android Play Store

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