Updates and security are the two pillars on which the vast majority of claims for Android are based. If the critics don't talk about the interruptions in updates, then they are either sleeping or talking about security problems. Personally, I do not consider myself a fan of the 'green robot', and I have not received the status of a lawyer, but I consider it necessary to defend the mobile operating system from Google when I face unfounded criticism, backed up exclusively by stereotypes and opinions of not the most authoritative people. But if we have already figured out the updates, then we have not even approached security issues yet. Therefore, Google itself came to the rescue.
Google deals with security Android and this is not a joke
Despite the apparent negligence of Google in relation to user safety Android, the company is constantly working to improve the operating system's security mechanisms and improve the efficiency of checking applications that enter Google Play. Of course, it is impossible to notice this with the naked eye, especially using a device five or six years ago, but Google could not help but boast of its achievements.
Why use Google Play
Apps from Google Play are many times safer than anywhere else
A year ago, Google declared war on the developers of applications that unnecessarily ask users for access to SMS, calls and contacts. The wording 'unnecessarily' referred to all software unrelated to these smartphone functions. That is, applications for sending messages could get access to them, but some calculator no longer exists. As a result, in just one year, the number of programs requesting privileges for no reason was reduced by 98%. Yes, 2% still remain, but these include those to which the developers added the corresponding functions after the publication in the catalog, or those that Google Play censors simply missed.
In order to avoid cases where children gain access to programs with adult content, Google obliged developers to set an accessibility limit. Due to this, minors will not be able to download the application, which is intended only for users who have reached the age of 18. And those programs, whose developers simply ignored the requirement, were successfully expelled from Google Play. I don’t know how much this will actually help protect children from unwanted content, but the fact that work in this direction is being carried out is already encouraging.
Why you can't download apps from the Internet
However, Google seeks to protect users not only from careless developers who publish their software on Google Play, but also from real attackers who host applications on third-party sites. It just so happened, but according to statistics, the vast majority of malicious programs were downloaded by users outside of Google Play. It would seem that this is where Google's powers end, because people themselves put themselves at risk by downloading hacked versions of paid applications, just not to pay.
But the company understands that leaving everything as it is would be criticizing itself. Therefore, the developers of the search giant have further improved the Google Play Protect antivirus. Today, it analyzes more than 100 million applications per day to ensure the safety of users, and at this rate in the past year alone, it has prevented the installation of almost 2 billion malware, including those downloaded from outside.
How to protect Android from hacking
I have said before and will probably never stop saying that the cause of all security problems Android is the users themselves. They are not at all afraid to download software from unreliable sources, do not check reviews on Google Play, and generally behave as if a guardian angel is flying over them, which takes all malicious attacks on itself. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Therefore, you need to not only monitor what you download, because the number of downloaded programs may be viral, but also carefully and carefully follow the links and play videos sent by someone who is not clear. After all, if you remember, it was the video that caused Jeff Bezos' smartphone to be hacked, which was sent to him via WhatsApp. And if he had not turned it on, then his data would not have flowed anywhere.