This new option to protect Android smartphones is one of the best. Google assures that it must be installed.
Android may be highly customizable, but it suffers from one major flaw compared to its iPhone counterpart: security. Fake apps and malware are much more prevalent on Android phones because of the ease of bypassing the security protocols and safeguards of the main app store, the Google Play Store. Just recently, a new pirate app impersonated Google Chrome in order to be downloaded by users who fell for the trap.
However, it must be admitted that Google does not spare its efforts when it comes to the security of Android devices. The company regularly offers new updates to compatible smartphones in order to protect itself against the latest malicious attempts and techniques of the moment.
Among the best protections offered by Google for the protection of Android smartphones, we find the “Play Protect” option. The latter is directly integrated into the Google Play Store and allows you to protect yourself against malicious applications as well as fake applications that imitate real, more well-known ones.
The “Play Protect” option consists of a regular (or manual) scan of your applications already installed on your phone. It is accessible by opening the “Play Store” application and then clicking on your profile picture at the top right. It is possible to configure it with the cogwheel located there and which authorizes the “Play Protect” option to frequently analyze your smartphone to detect potential usurped or malicious applications and suggest that you deactivate them.
Note that if this option is not enabled or you have any doubts, it is still possible to perform a manual scan. We still recommend that you enable automatic scanning in the option settings. “Play Protect” also (and especially) scans applications that have been downloaded and installed from a source other than the Play Store, and which are often the most at risk.