Popular Google Play Store Apps Are Abusing Permissions and Committing Ad Fraud

At least six of DU Group’s apps, which together have more than 90 million downloads from the Google Play store, have been fraudulently clicking on ads to generate revenue, and at least two of them contain code that could be used to engage in a different form of ad fraud, according to findings from security and ad fraud researchers Check Point and Method Media Intelligence. The findings demonstrate how Google’s Play store, the largest app store in the world, has been exploited by developers who easily conceal who they are from users, offer apps with invasive permissions, and use these permissions to commit ad fraud — all while collecting huge amounts of user data. DU Group’s ad fraud follows on previous BuzzFeed News reporting that revealed two other prominent Chinese Android app developers, Cheetah Mobile and Kika Tech, were abusing user permissions to engage in ad fraud.

Source: www.buzzfeednews.com