8 popular apps on Android secretly steal user data

KOMPAS.com – Eight Android apps collectively downloaded over two billion times on the Google Play Store are secretly stealing user data. At least the latest findings of the company Kochava application badysis.

"Cheetah Mobile" is a Chinese company listed as a limited company last year on the New York Stock Exchange.

Each application is a Clean Master downloaded over a billion times, Security Master (540 million downloads), CM Launcher 3D (225 million), Battery Doctor (200 million), Cheetah Keyboard (105 million), CM Locker (105 million), and CM File Manager (65 million).

Also read: Alert, Malware Android disguised so Play Store

Kika Keyboard is another application that has been identified as a cheat. No less than 205 million people download it through the Google Play Store.

Kika Keyboard was developed by "Kika Tech", a Chinese company based in Silicon Valley and received significant funding from Cheetah Mobile in 2016.

"This fraud is committed by large companies and not by random hackers," said Grant Simmons, head of customer badytics at Kochava.

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Cheetah Mobile and Kika Tech operate the authorization to use the application (permission of the application). From there, they can track which applications are then downloaded by users.

Then, Cheetah Mobile and Kika Tech cheat the system and claim to have caused the download of some applications.

This practice is only for the purpose of gaining percentages (install the premium), as compiled KompasTeknoOn Wednesday (28/11/2018), from BuzzFeed News.

Known, application developers often provide install bonuses partners who help penetrate new users. The range is 50 US cents (7,200 rupees) to 3 US dollars (43,000 rupees) per download.

Read also: Thousands of cheap Android phones are infected with malware

So, other developers are harmed by paying install bonuses to parties who should not accept. Google as a partner was at a disadvantage because it did not have install bonuses like it should be.

Losses of users are more of a travel experience. Users will find the device's battery and Internet data quickly exhausted as transactions take place in the system without their knowledge.

In addition, Cheetah Mobile and Kika technology applications also require authorizations others such as recording typing and monitoring activities Download application. I do not know what other user data was taken by these two companies.

"This is theft, there is no other way to explain it," Grant Simmons said.

Currently, two Cheetah Mobile apps are disabled from the Google Play Store, namely Battery Doctor and CM Locker. The rest is still under investigation.