“30 selfie and beauty camera apps on the Google Play store have been found to collect data, send phishing links, run background ads, and more”
According to a new report, certain camera apps available on the Google Play store have been secretly collecting your data, running malicious ads, spying, and sending you to other phishing websites. The report comes from Cybernews, which analysed about 30 selfie and beauty camera apps and discovered that these apps are collecting data from users. These apps have been collectively downloaded on more than 1.4 billion devices, and are still available on the Google Play store. Most of these apps are from developers based in China and Hong Kong. One of the developers, Meitu, maintains a top rank on the Google Play store and has one of its apps installed on more than 300 million devices.
It was also discovered that one of the apps in the list would automatically turn on the camera without asking for permission. Another app was found to have sent pornographic links to users and ultimately redirect them to phishing sites. Some of the apps request for more than 7 permissions, most of which are irrelevant to any beauty app. One such app asks for 40 permissions from the user. Permissions for recording audio, location, reading phone status, etc, are being requested as well.
Below is a list of the apps that you must delete from your phone immediately:
- BeautyPlus – Easy Photo Editor & Selfie Camera
- BeautyCam
- Beauty Camera – Selfie Camera
- Selfie Camera – Beauty Camera & Photo Editor
- Beauty Camera Plus – Sweet Camera Makeup Photo
- Beauty Camera – Selfie Camera & Photo Editor
- YouCam Perfect – Best Selfie Camera & Photo Editor
- Sweet Snap – Beauty Selfie Camera & Face Filter
- Sweet Selfie Snap – Sweet Camera, Beauty Cam Snap
- Beauty Camera – Selfie Camera with Photo Editor
- Beauty Camera – Best Selfie Camera & Photo Editor
- B612 – Beauty & Filter Camera
- Face Makeup Camera & Beauty Photo Makeup Editor
- Sweet Selfie – Selfie Camera & Makeup Photo Editor
- Selfie camera – Beauty Camera & Makeup camera
- YouCam Perfect – Best Photo Editor & Selfie Camera
- Beauty Camera Makeup Face Selfie, Photo Editor
- Selfie Camera – Beauty Camera
- Z Beauty Camera
- HD Camera Selfie Beauty Camera
- Candy Camera – Selfie, Beauty Camera, Photo Editor
- Makeup Camera-Selfie Beauty Filter Photo Editor
- Beauty Selfie Plus – Sweet Camera Wonder HD Camera
- Selfie Camera – Beauty Camera & AR Stickers
- Pretty Makeup, Beauty Photo Editor & Selfie Camera
- Beauty Camera
- Bestie – Camera360 Beauty Cam
- Photo Editor – Beauty Camera
- Beauty Makeup, Selfie Camera Effects, Photo Editor
- Selfie cam – Bestie Makeup Beauty Camera & Filters
