It is not a secret that Android SDK is quite permissive - it provides rich set of APIs to developers. Some of this permissions can turn out to be very dangerous. Play Store is full of apps with very questionable activity. One example is GO Keyboard, which is spying on users.

Sometimes normal looking apps can turn to be malicious. Google can’t possibly catch and prevent such situations, so the responsibility is also on user to stay vigilant.

Installing unnecesary apps can cause a headache. To illustrate the point we can look at flashlight apps. They are pretty good example. In ancient times there was no standard flashlight app. But since Android 5.0 such app exist and there is almost no need for any special app.

So why would you need the app that can spy on you or steal your data?

Or asks for permissions it should’t ask?

Or simply is low-quality app infested with annoying ads?

Simple solution: use built-in app

On most phones build-in app can be accessed from the notification drawer. Just slide it down and find the flashlight icon.

Here it is on Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge:

Or on Google Pixel:



Or find how to do that on any of the countless number of websites: google it

Stay vigilant

Be careful what apps you install on on your phone. Information from the Play Store can’t be fully trusted: