In the era of technology, maximum of people are fond of prettify their pictures with extra effects by using random photo editing applications but little do they know that it can be harmful to the person and smartphone too.
There are several photo editing apps available on Google Play store on android that guarantees transformation of quotidian pictures into extraordinary photos. But, not all of these beautifying or photo editing apps are not safe to use.
According to the recent report, Google removed about 29 malicious apps that were spying on the users, which was confirmed by Trend Micro.
According to Trend Micro, the identified 29 photo editing apps on Google play store pushed unwanted screen ads as well as managed to steal information such as private pictures.
Furthermore, it is important to note that certain Android apps were downloaded millions of times by the users, which is an immense number of download, particularly from India.
As per the report, the users will be able to find any inappropriate things on these apps at the time of installation. However, the apps start behaving unusually when the user attempts to uninstall these apps and could never do so. After being launched, these apps create a shortcut which is more often than not hidden from the app drawer, therefore it turns to be difficult for the users to uninstall them from the smartphone.
Some applications pushed full-screen ads on the phone screen like spam content as well as porn images via phone browser. It is as well reported that some applications also redirected the users to fake websites seeking private details such as phone number and address. The report further highlighted that a paid online pornography player was downloaded when clicked on the pop-up.
Below are 29 Malicious Photo Apps
1.Pro Camera Beauty
2.Cartoon Art Photo
3.Emoji Camera
4.Artistic effect Filter
5.Art Editor
6.Beauty Camera
7.Selfie Camera Pro
8.Horizon Beauty Camera
9.Super Camera
10.Art Effects for Photo
11.Awesome Cartoon Art
12.Art Filter Photo
13.Art Filter Photo Effects
14.Cartoon Effect
15.Art Effect
16.Photo Editor
17.Wallpapers HD
18.Magic Art Filter Photo Editor
19.Fill Art Photo Editor
20.ArtFlipPhotoEditing
21.Art Filter
22.Cartoon Art Photo
23.Prizma Photo Effect
24.Cartoon Art Photo Filter
25.Art Filter Photo Editor
26.Pixture
27.Art Effect
28.Photo Art Effect
29.Cartoon Photo Filter
These beauty apps were also found stealing photos of the users. The report claimed that these apps downloaded the images of the user to a private server instead of a designated server. Subsequently, these images were used for pornography websites or making fake social media accounts.
-Sowmya Sangam
