GOOGLE has removed 16 apps with more than 20million downloads combined from the Google Play app store.
The dodgy downloads, which were disguised as flashlight, camera and QR reader apps, were found to be riddled with malware.
That malware can used up the monthly data allowance of a device and drain its battery without the user’s knowledge.
The sneaky software was discovered by cyber researchers at security firm McAfee.
It’s advised that anyone who had installed the apps delete them from their Android devices immediately.
McAfee wrote in a blog post on Wednesday that the apps provided legitimate functions.
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They included flashlight, camera, QR reading, and measurement conversions, and could easily be found on the Google Play store.
Once installed, this malware lurks under the surface and will bombard your phone with adverts.
Infected devices receive messages through the Google-owned Firebase Cloud Messaging platform (FCM), researchers found.
The messages instructed them to open specific web pages in the background and select links to clicks on ads.
Worryingly, the apps can run the malicious services automatically, without needing the app to be opened in the first place.
“Mainly, it is visiting websites which are delivered by FCM message and browsing them successively in the background while mimicking user’s behavior,” McAfee’s SangRyol Ryu wrote.
“This may cause heavy network traffic and consume power without user awareness during the time it generates profit for the threat actor behind this malware.”
Google said in a statement that all of the apps highlighted by McAfee had been removed from the Play store.
The company added: “Users are also protected by Google Play Protect, which blocks these apps on Android devices.”
Though they’ve now been removed from the app store, anyone who had already downloaded them is still at risk until they’re fully uninstalled.
If you have downloaded any of these Android apps, it's recommended that you delete them from your device now.
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