Google already scans 125 billion apps daily to protect Android users from malware. If it finds an app that might be problematic, Google Play Protect can send you a warning, prevent you from installing said app, or, if already installed, it can disable the app automatically. The bad guys have their own plan to evade detection by changing features on apps in third-party app stores to hide their true identity as malware. This tricks users into sideloading what they think is a clean app but is malware in reality.
For example, if you received a text that appeared to come from your bank about a large withdrawal that it is looking to verify, many would be tricked into clicking on a link, revealing pertinent account information and more due to the fear of getting ripped off. Ironically, in this case, the fear of getting ripped off could actually lead someone into getting, well, ripped off. In this example, the text didn’t really come from the bank and was sent just to scare the user into revealing personal data.
Google Play Protect will do a code-level real-time app scan to help catch dangerous apps disguised to escape detection
Google says, “Our security protections and machine learning algorithms learn from each app submitted to Google for review and we look at thousands of signals and compare app behavior. Google Play Protect is constantly improving with each identified app, allowing us to strengthen our protections for the entire Android ecosystem.”
The enhanced version of Google Play Protect has started rolling out to all Android devices that use Google Play services. The rollout started in India and will broaden to include all markets in the months ahead.