HelloTalk app reportedly installed a malicious app called HT Coin on Android devices

guest · Sep 27, 2021

HelloTalk app reportedly installed a malicious app called HT Coin on Android devices
September 27, 2021
https://www.ghacks.net/2021/09/27/hellotalk-app-ht-coin-malware/

HelloTalk is a popular community-driven language learning app that is available on the Google Play Store. It has over 10 Million downloads. A couple of days ago, a reddit user claimed that a notification displayed by the app downloads a malware.

To be precise, it downloads a file called HTCoin.APK. This file seems to have been triggered as a malicious one. Interestingly, the HT Coin app is not available on the Play Store, which means HelloTalk downloaded it via a direct link from an unknown server.
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HelloTalk displayed ads occasionally, including full screen ads and gender-targeted ads. But I did not get the HT Coin notification while testing the app, so I couldn't tell for certain whether the HT Coin app is malicious or if it even exists.
However, looking at some reviews on the Google Play Store, there are a few users who have reported that HelloTalk installs the HT Coin app, and that their phone detected it as malware.
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The developer replied to one of these reviews, stating that the issue has been fixed, which basically confirms that the issue was real.

The app could now be devoid of malware, but the fact that it downloaded an APK outside the Google Play Store is in violation of the terms and services.
Google should review apps more strictly to ensure the security of its users, but it does not seem to be a priority for the company.
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HelloTalk app reportedly installed a malicious app called HT Coin on Android devices

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HelloTalk app reportedly installed a malicious app called HT Coin on Android devices

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