If you need another reminder to be careful when downloading new apps for your devices, a new batch of malicious apps has been discovered stealing both data and money from unsuspecting users.
As reported by Laptop Mag (opens in new tab), these 203 malicious iOS and Android apps were first discovered by Thailand’s Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (DES) and the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC). DES made the decision to inform the public about these bad apps on its Facebook page (opens in new tab) after they were found stealing personal information, draining users’ bank accounts, remotely taking control of infected smartphones and being used to commit identity theft.
The apps in question cover a wide variety of categories from chat apps to photo filters to custom keyboards and PDF convertors. However, the one thing they all share in common is the fact that they contain malware and perform other malicious actions once installed on your smartphone.
Neither DES or the NCSC has shared any additional info on which malware strain these apps are spreading to vulnerable smartphones, just that they’re dangerous. Both organizations are also working with Google and Apple to have these apps removed from their respective app stores.
For this reason, you should remove any of these apps if they’re installed on either your Android smartphone or iPhone. While the security researchers who have discovered large batches of bad apps like this in the past have differentiated which apps are for iOS or Android, that isn’t the case here, so you’ll need to go through the list of apps below yourself and see if any of them stick out.
Delete these apps now
To save you the trouble of having to go through DES’ Facebook post, we’ve compiled the full list of these 203 malicious apps below. If any of them are installed on your smartphone or tablet, it’s highly recommended that you remove them immediately.
- 4K Pro Camera
- 4K Wallpapers Auto Changer
- Advanced SMS
- aipic – Magic Photo Editor
- All Good PDF Scanner
- All Language Translate
- All Photo Translator
- Art Filters
- Astro + Horoscope & Astrology
- Astroline: The Daily Horoscope
- Auto Sticker Maker Studio
- Avatar Maker Character Creator
- Baby Sticker- Track Milestones
- Bass Booster Volume Power Amp
- Battery Charging Animations Battery Wallpaper
- Battery Charging Animations Bubble -Effects
- Beat.ly Music Video Maker
- Beat maker pro
- Beauty Filter
- Blood Pressure Checker
- Blood Pressure Diary
- Blue Scanner
- Blur Image
- Caller Theme
- CallMe Phone Themes
- Call Skins
- Camera Translator
- Care Message
- Cartoons Me
- Cashe Cleaner
- Chat Online
- Chat SMS
- Chat Text SMS
- Classic Emoji Keyboard
- Classic Game Messenger
- Coco camera v1.1
- Come Messages
- Contact Background
- Cool Keyboard
- Cool Messages
- Creative 3D Launcher
- Creative Emoji Keyboard
- Custom Themed Keyboard
- Cut, Paste
- Dazz Cam- D3D Photo Effect
- Dazzle – Insta stories editor
- Dazzling Keyboard
- Design Maker
- Desire Translate
- Direct Messenger
- Dizzi
- DJ it!
- Drink Water
- Drums: Play Beats & Drum Games
- Easy PDF Scanner
- edjing Mix
- edjing Pro
- EmojiOne Keyboard
- Emoji Theme Keyboard
- Equalizer+ HD music player
- Equalizer Fx: Bass Booster App
- Facelab
- FaceMe
- Facetory: Face Yoga & Exercise
- Fancy Charging
- Fancy SMS
- Flashlight Flash Alert On Call
- FLMX
- Fonts Emoji Keyboard
- Frame
- Frames
- Freeglow Camera 1.0.0
- Funny Caller
- Funny Camera
- Funny Emoji Message
- Funny Keyboard
- Funny Wallpapers – Live Scree
- Gif Emoji Keyboard
- Girl Games: Unicorn Slime
- Guitar Play – Games & Songs
- Guitar – real games & lessons
- Guitar Tuner – Ukulele & Bass
- Halloween Coloring
- Handset – Second Phone Number
- Heart Emoji Stickers
- Highlight Story Cover Maker!
- Hi Text SMS
- Horoscope 2019 and Palm Reader
- Hub – Story Templates Maker
- Hummingbird PDF Converter – Photo to PDF
- Hyper Cleaner: Clean Phone
- iCons – Icon Changer App +
- iMessager
- Impresso
- Instant Messenger
- iWidget Pro
- Jambl: DJ Band & Beat Maker
- Jigsaw Puzzle
- Karaoke Songs
- Life Palmistry
- Lift: Story Maker
- Light Messages
- Live Wallpaper Maker: 4K Theme
- Loop Maker Pro
- Lucky Life
- MagicFX – Magic Video Effects
- Magic Photo Editor
- Memoristo: Brain Test, IQ Game
- Memory Silent Camera
- Menu Maker!
- Meticulous Scanner
- Metronome Pro – Beat & Tempo
- Metronome – Tap Tempo & Rhythm
- Mini PDF Scanner
- Mint Leaf Message-Your Private Message
- Mood Balance: Self Care Tracker
- Music Zen – Relaxing Sounds
- MyCall – Call Personalization
- Nebula: Horoscope & Astrology
- Neon Theme Keyboar
- NewScrean: 4D Wallpapers
- Notes – reminders and lists
- Now QRcode Scan
- One Sentence Translator – Multifunctional Translator
- Painting Photo Editor
- Paper Doc Scanner
- Part Message
- Password Manager
- Path – Horoscope & Astrology
- PDF Scanner: Document Scan
- Personal Message
- Photo Collage
- Photo Editor & Background Eraser
- Photo Editor – Filters Effects
- Photo & Exif Editor
- Photo Filters & Effects
- Photoly Remove Object & Editor
- Photo To Sketch
- Piano Crush
- Piano
- Pista
- Pixomatic
- Poco Launcher
- Premium SMS
- Presets for Lightroom
- Private Game Messages
- Private Messenger
- Private SMS
- Professional Messenger
- Quick Talk Message
- Razer Keyboard & Theme
- RECOLLECT
- Retouch & Cutout
- Rich Theme Message
- Ringtones HD
- ScanGuru
- Scanner App
- Send SMS
- Simple Note Scanner
- SlidePic
- Slimy
- Smart Messages
- Smart SMS Messages
- Smart TV remote
- Smile Emoji
- Social Message
- SpeedPro Slow speed video edit
- Stickerfy: Sticker Maker
- Sticker Maker
- Stickers & GIF
- Stock Wallpapers & Backgrounds
- Style Message
- Style Photo Collage
- Super Hero-Effect
- Sweet Pics – Baby Photo Edito
- Talent Photo Editor – Blur focus
- Tangram App Lock
- TeasEar: ASMR Slime Antistress
- Text Emoji SMS
- Text SMS
- Themes Chat Messenger
- Themes Photo Keyboard
- Timestamp Camera
- ToonApp Cartoon Photo Editor
- Translate Camera – Speak On
- Translator Guru: Voice & Text
- UltraFX – Effect Video Maker
- Unicc QR Scanner
- Unique Keyboard
- Universal PDF Scanner
- Vanilla Snap Camera
- Video Puzzles – Magic Puzzle
- Ringtones HD ∙ Ringtone Maker
- VOCHI Video Effects Editor
- Volume Booster Hearing Aid
- Volume Booster Louder Sound Equalizer
- Water Reminder
- WeDrum: Drums, Real Drum Games
- Widget PLUS+ – Photo & Weather
- Wow Beauty Camera
- Wow Translator
- Yoga- For Beginner to Advanced
- YouToon – AI Cartoon Effect
How to stay safe from malicious apps on Android and iOS
When it comes to staying safe from malicious apps, the first thing you need to do is to be extremely cautious when installing new software on your smartphone. Even if you’re downloading an app from an official app store, it could still be malicious. As such, you should always check app reviews and ratings in the store first before downloading anything. As app reviews can be faked though, you should also look for external reviews on other sites or even better — video reviews showing the app in action.
If you use one of the best Android phones, you should ensure that Google Play Protect is enabled as it continually scans your existing apps as well as any new ones you download for malware. At the same time, you may also want to install one of the best Android antivirus apps for additional protection.
Despite Google and Apple’s best efforts, bad apps will likely continue to slip through their defenses. For this reason, you should keep the old adage “if something seems too good to be true, it probably is” in mind. An app that promises to let you stream paid content for free or claims to pay out big rewards for using it is likely a scam and these apps need to be avoided at all costs.
For your own security, it’s also worth sticking to more popular apps from established companies rather than downloading an app from a developer without a proven track record.