Android Apps with Over 700,000 Installs Use New Trick to Escape Full Removal

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Three apps published on the Google Play Store and used to display unwanted ads have been caught using a clever technique to avoid being uninstalled by the user.

The apps, which are called Super Camera Lite, Excellent Camera, and Ideal Camera: Full, had over 700,000 installs on the Play store alone, according to ESET security researcher Lukas Stefanko.

Once one of the apps is installed on an Android device, the system automatically creates an icon to launch it. However, after the first run, the main icon of the app is deleted and a second one is created only featuring an option to “Remove” the app, and not to uninstall it.

This method is specifically supposed to trick people into believing that they are actually uninstalling the app from their device, when, in fact, it remains on the device and keeps showing unwanted ads because only the second icon is deleted.

“When user realizes app is not as described, he can only remove the app icon not uninstall the app itself. Uninstall these apps not just remove them! These 3 apps use simple but effective way to stay installed on device even though user might think they were removed. Their purpose is to display unwanted ads,” the researcher explains in a series of tweets.