Google Play Protect, the equivalent of an antivirus on Android, changes its operation and now offers automatic real-time scanning of applications that you download outside the Play Store.
Maybe you never noticed it, but your Android smartphone has by default a malware detection application. It’s called Google Play Protect, launched in 2017 to protect your device. Despite a difficult start and certain studies showing that Google Play Protect let a lot of spyware through, we learned in 2019 that it analyzes every day 50 billion apps from the Play Store.
Much improved since then, the app receives a welcome update in the version 37.5 of the Play Storeinto which it is integrated. Google Play Protect will now scan apps installed outside the Play Store in real time. In real time meaning at the time of their installation. Until now, this scan was only possible by triggering it manually from your smartphone.
Google Play Protect now acts in real time, like an antivirus on PC
Once the update is complete, Google Play Protect will check for the presence of a threat automatically, during the process of installing an APK. It’s the same principle as a computer antivirus that launches when you install software. Note that by default, the APKs you download are sent to Google to strengthen its protection system. It is possible to disable this behavior if you wish:
- Go to the Settings of the mobile.
- Touch Security And Google Play Protect.
- Tap the gear at the top right.
- Disable Improve detection of dangerous apps.
The feature is not yet widely deployed. Since this is an update to the Play Store and its associated systems, you probably won’t notice it. In theory, it should arrive in the during the month of September.
Interesting: Google Play Protect will apparently soon perform real-time threat detection for newly installed “unknown” apps.
Currently, if you sideload an app that hasn’t already been scanned by Play Protect, Google Play will ask you to submit the app to Google for analysis. It… pic.twitter.com/mtqa2IfPCx
— Mishaal Rahman (@MishaalRahman) September 11, 2023