Android users are a disadvantaged lot, as much as it pains me to admit it. Unlike iOS, Android’s open source nature has allowed smartphone manufacturers to taint its beauty all in the name of “differentiating themselves from the pack”. Developers, not all, have also contributed to this ferocious act of making Android look bad.

It is not once that I have heard an iPhone user come Android user complain that the same app they used on iOS, on Android has some annoying ads. Admittedly, Android, as an Operating System has little control over what apps can do once installed on a smartphone and mother Google, knows this and that is why they are now putting in measures like Google Play Protect to watch over rogue apps that somehow end up on the Play Store.

Read More: Android Devices to Receive Google Play Protect for Better Security

Anyway, below is a list of five apps that we highly recommend you avoid or if you already have them installed, uninstall as fast as possible. These apps either collect unnecessary data from your phone, lie about what they can do or show extremely annoying ads, even outside the app itself.

Truecaller

No, I have no vendetta against Truecaller, I was an avid user of the service until they decided that making money was more important than my privacy. The apps main purpose is to identify unknown callers and it does this by saving your phone number when you sign up and verify your identity. The story behind is that Truecaller uploads your entire contact list to its servers and the company does sell your data for the purpose of “advertising”.

The latest news was that the app would allow advertisers to reach you by targeting your phone number and other personal information. You should not only uninstall Truecaller but delist your number as well.

PS: There’s no better alternative for Truecaller, they all have privacy issues.

Touchpal

Why are you still using this keyboard? It’s outdated, ugly and an ad-house. Touchpal shows ads on the keyboard and on your lockscreen. There are numerous free, ad-free and better keyboard alternatives out there, I recommend GBoard – Swiftkey is alright as well.

DU Battery Saver

In the first place, you should not be using a battery saver app because most of them use up the same battery to allegedly extend it. But because ya’ll don’t listen, one more reason to stay away from DU Battery saver is the fact that it takes over your lockscreen and shows notifications on it.

Interestingly, the app claims that it can “speed up your charging”, lol! By a show of shame, how many of you believed that?

Clean Master

Another category of apps you should not be using, those that claim to clean up your device and “increase your performance”. This particular app, Clean Master is riddled with intrusive ads all over and does nothing to clean up your device. The “junk files” it purports to delete, will only be created again as they are deemed useful by the apps you have installed. Most importantly, cache files that this app deletes, are used by your phone to ensure that it runs faster and smoother.

Dolphin Web Browser

For a long while, I thought Dolphin web browser was a worthy alternative to Opera Mini, lo! On the surface, the app is great with feature such as ad blocking inbuilt. The problem is how much tracking occurs while you’re using the app. It has been reported that the app tracks all the websites you visit and saves them as a file.

Considering the app is free and does not have ads within it, I am not entirely surprised that they could be mining user data and selling it out to the highest bidder.

ES File Explorer

Yes, I know how to count. Those are six apps but I could not leave out ES File Explorer.

Once upon a time, ES File Explorer was one of the best file managers on the Play Store until they got greedy and joined the intrusive ads pack. Anyone who has used this app recently will let you that things aren’t what they used to be.

The ball is in your court, you have the knowledge, do with it as you please.

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Saruni Maina
I Google Bing until it Yahoos! | Email: [email protected]

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12 COMMENTS

  1. I am just laughing to this article. Thanks to you Saruni.
    Now I will have prove to my stubborn peeps that the Apps listed (their favorites) are not safe.

    I have always hated Truecaller & Du Battery Saver.

  3. Never like most of this apps except for es explorer which I ditched soon as I found MixPloxer on XDA forums.
    You should add UC browser on the list.

    • For Dolphine Browser there is Opera Browser, for ES File Explorer there are good ones like MiXplorer, Solid Explorer, FX File Explorer, Astro File Manager

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