Images and comments from the users of Huawei phones are popping up on the internet lately. If you haven’t seen any of them, they are basically about the phones flagging the Google app as a virus.
To be exact, the notification on the Huawei phones says, “Security threat. Google appears to be affected. Immediate uninstallation is advised.” This notification comes with a button to uninstall the Google app. This has sparked discussions within the community, and here’s what you need to know regarding the matter.
What Virus Is Huawei Phones Flagging Google App As?
According to the screenshots shared by the users, Huawei phones are flagging the Google app as a TrojanSMS-PA virus. For those unaware, a Trojan program is malware that remains disguised as a legitimate app. This disguise makes the users install the infected apps without any concerns.
Once installed, these infected apps could give the attacker a high degree of control over the device. To be exact, Trojan-injected apps give the attackers the same level of control as the owner of the device. As a result, attackers can easily steal personal information, which includes passwords, baking information, and others.
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Another screenshot shared by a user shows that their Huawei phone is giving a warning against keeping the Google app installed. The warning says, “This app was detected sending SMS privately.” Also, the warning recommends the user to uninstall the app.
But Is the App Actually A Virus?
The thing is, Huawei phones aren’t supposed to have Google apps installed, especially the new phones. Considering this, Google is not commenting on the situation. And the screenshots shared by users are from old Huawei phones. These phones include the P30 and P30 Lite.
No matter what, there’s no need to worry. The official Google app isn’t a virus. So, why are Huawei phones flagging it as one? It’s most likely that Huawei software is incorrectly identifying it as a trojan. Something similar has happened with Google’s app protection system, Google Play Protect.
In case you missed it, Google Play Protect was flagging Samsung Messages and Wallet as malware apps. But Google confirmed that it was an error from Google’s end. You should see a similar explanation offered by Huawei. And we will get you updated when Huawei makes a comment regarding this.
i was using a dual SIM phone (motorola, android ) and found that google apps tryed to send hidden SMS .sms destinations was not a special number so it was not userd in order to bill me for anyhing. i only got notfified because the SIM card used had not been activated and the gsm services proveder sent back notifications that i am not allowed to send sms messages. most probably they (google?) have a data gathering agreemend signet with most operators not to bill sms sent to them and they use these tactics in order to track/connect users wth phone numbers. phone was brand new. it happened 2 (maybe 3?!) years ago. spying on users is called