Some Apps Skirt Google Policies And Charge Users For Simple Services Like Calculators

We have heard of all kind of malware with different ways to sneak in the Google Play Store, and here is another with an elaborate scheme.

Recently, Fleeceware, a whole new category of apps, has been revealed on Google’s store. They abuse its policies and charge users a hefty amount of hundreds of dollars for simple services like QR Code scanners and calculator.

These apps are not exactly malware, but they obviously scam users of their money. And so far, they have amounted around 20 million downloads.

This Fleeceware was caught red-handed by Sophos’s researchers. The developers of these apps were found to exploit the free trial period to scam users around $100 to $240 when the trial ends.

In most cases, the free trial means to encourage users to try out the app’s features without being charged anything. Google lets developers offer this for at least three days after the app is installed.

The policies also say that users must first cancel the trial and then uninstall the app. Some people will automatically translate uninstallation to cancelation; however, others will find a way to skirt Google’s policies by charging users when the trial period ends even if they have uninstalled the app. These apps exist in a grey area so they are not exactly malware or PUA (short for potentially unwanted app). This is why they call them fleeceware, apps that charge a hefty amount for free services.

After Google was informed about some developers bending its rules, 14 out of 15 of said apps have been pulled from its Play Store. However, the researchers found out about nine more apps that use the same scheme. For now, they are still available to download. These apps can avoid the screening of Google and they take advantage of the fact that most people will not read the terms of use. That is not all, they are not even unique or effective.