Gaming on our phones has become ubiquitous, and even picky gamers won't have to look far to satisfy their appetites. Most only ask for your attention… and money. However, some apps and games pose as others and may harm you or your device in various ways. Here’s what you should do to recognize and avoid such apps.
Don’t Trust Unofficial Sources
Sticking to apps present on official stores is the easiest and most effective way to play safely on mobile. Games distributed through shady means are rife for abuse since they don’t undergo official stores’ strict vetting procedures.
Hamster Kombat is a recent, infamous example. It’s a clicker game with crypto elements that blew up in the second half of 2024. Its Russian developers shared the game via Telegram links and got influencers to promote the associated coin. Not only did the coin lose 75% of its value, but the app also installed malware and disabled notifications for other apps for millions of affected players.
Check for Suspicious Permissions
Many ill-intentioned apps fly under the radar for a long time. The games themselves might play as intended, but they can also run suspicious activities in the background. Some collect your location data or other excessive information. Others may abuse permissions to gain access to core smartphone functions, send SMS messages to your contacts, and more.
Before installing a game, always make sure its permissions align with its features. For example, there’s no legit reason for a Wordle clone to need access to your contacts or camera. Trust your gut and skip any games whose permissions feel too intrusive.
Verify the Developer and Publisher are Legit
While it’s rare, fake games sometimes make it past security checks and appear on official store pages. Recently, the indie hit Blue Prince slid into the top ten most downloaded games on the App Store. The catch? No official mobile port of the game exists at the time of writing.
It’s easier to impersonate indie teams, especially in cases like Dogubomb’s, where it’s the studio’s first successful project. Even so, the absence of official news, desktop-only screenshots, and recently opened store accounts can usually give the fraud away.
See What the Community Has to Say
Apps don’t have to be fraudulent in the conventional sense to be harmful. A game can just be poorly made, extremely pay-to-win, or not get any more updates.
On the one hand, progress might become slow unless you buy in-game currency. This forces you to link a payment method and possibly share personal information, which may be stolen and exposed in data breaches. On the other, the longer a game goes without updates, the likelier it is that someone has figured out a way to bypass its defenses and maybe even affect users.
Reviews are often a good indication of a game’s state. Avoid games with poor review scores, especially if multiple users complain about shady practices. Don’t trust games with only a few reviews if they’re all positive and look like they were written by AI either.
Secure Your Internet Connection
Trusting unsafe internet connections like public Wi-Fi comes with its own risks. Someone who monitors the Wi-Fi, which is very easy to do, may intercept your requests and redirect you to fraudulent app sites. You could then download harmful apps or pick up malware just by visiting the wrong site.
While nothing replaces carefully vetting the apps you install, a VPN for Android, iOS, or other mobile systems will ensure you aren't accidentally exposed to harmful ones. It encrypts your connection, meaning no one else can see what you're doing or intercept and influence your traffic. Better yet, VPNs keep track of known malicious sites and may warn you if you try to access one.
Conclusion
Together, Apple and Google offer access to more than five million apps. Some harmful ones are impossible to avoid, let alone be available in the unregulated wastelands of the internet. Do your research, ignore offers that sound too good to be true, and practice safe browsing to prevent such apps from ruining your day.
