# Flashlight App infected your smartphone?



## simr (May 13, 2013)

*Snoopwall* released a *Threat Assessment Report* that the top 10 searched flashlight apps in the Google Play Store are malware and infect all phones they're installed on.
Here's an excerpt from a *tripwire* article:


> A group of researchers at Snoopwall-a technology solution that detects and blocks spyware and malware on a variety of platforms-found that the most widely used flashlight apps are furtively stealing personal information stored on users' mobile devices...
> 
> ...These seemingly harmless apps, which have accumulated half a billion downloads, have put the privacy and security of users at risk simply by requesting overzealous permissions that users unknowingly adhere to, including permission to:
> Modify or delete the contents of your USB storage
> ...


From Snoopwall:


> Because some of the Flashlight Apps write settings and have access to your device storage, it may be to install additional backdoors or remote access Trojans (RATs), therefore you might need to reset your phone completely after an uninstall of your favorite Flashlight App. Some might even wish to go to FACTORY RESET or a WIPE.


Check this article out as well, from *McAfee*.

There are also those who disagree with the articles linked to above.

What do you think?


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## mpeet611 (Dec 16, 2013)

Thanks for posting this article. I didn't know until now that flashlight apps were being used to spy on us. In the Snoopwall article it says they made a flashlight app that will never spy on us because the only things it can access is your screen & the light in your phones webcam. I'm telling everybody i know to use this app if they need a flashlight on there phones.


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