Huawei Phones Mark Google Apps as Malware

A number of Huawei smartphone users have reported problems with their phones. The problems are related to the Google app that Huawei has marked as a virus. Affected users received a notification stating that the Google app is a virus. Huawei even advised users to immediately delete the Google app. This incident seems to have happened to Huawei phone users randomly, as complained about on the Google support site. Some of those who experienced it were users of Huawei P10, Huawei Mate 10 Pro, Huawei P30 Pro to Mate 20 X phones. It should be noted that all of the mentioned phone models have built-in Google apps because they are still supported by Google Mobile Service. The Huawei P30 Pro, for example, was released in April 2019, several months before Huawei was blacklisted by the US and banned from using various Google services. Likewise with the Huawei P10, Mate 10 Pro and Mate 20 X which were released before the Huawei P30 Pro.

One Huawei P10 user said he received a notification that the Google app on his phone was detected as malware. “My Android phone, (Huawei P10) detected Google apps as trojans, specifically TrojanSMS-PA, I uninstalled the app and changed the password, then when I re-downloaded it, the app was marked again with the same problem,” said one user with the name SM SM 7012 on the Google Support website. View Photo Huawei marks Google apps as malware (Gizchina) Technically, Huawei considers Google apps as TrojanSMS-PA viruses. This virus is a kind of malware that disguises itself as an official application, but is actually a malicious program. Malware in general, if installed on a cellphone, allows hackers to have control over the device. That way, they can easily get various personal data including passwords and so on. Also read: Huawei Ready to Return and Calls US Blocking the New Normal In other cases, users reported that Google apps were advised not to be installed on Huawei phones. Unlike the case above, in this case, the Google app was considered to send SMS privately. View Photo Huawei rates Google apps as malware (9to5Google) In addition to being rated as a trojan, the Google app is also said to have been “detected sending private SMS, enticing users to pay for adult content, stealing personal data, and causing damage or privacy leaks”. So why did this problem occur? Most likely the problem lies with Huawei’s software which mistakenly identifies the Google app as a trojan, as reported by 9to5Google, Friday (11/3/2023). Also read: There is Dangerous Malware on the iPhone, Infiltrating via iMessage It is possible that the virus warning was issued by the Huawei Optimizer application, which is Huawei’s default memory/storage management application. A number of users said that by clearing the cache of the “Phone Manager” application, the problem of Google being identified as malware could be resolved. Another possibility is that the problem arose due to an error in Google Play Protect. This is because similar cases have also been experienced by Samsung smartphone users. A number of users reported that Play Protect gave a warning that default system applications such as Samsung Wallet and Samsung Messages were dangerous applications and had to be uninstalled from the phone. In the case of this Samsung cellphone, it is certain that the problem is on Google’s side, considering that both applications are official Samsung applications. Vivo and Honor also experience the same problem Not only Huawei, the same problem is also experienced by users of other brands of cellphones, including Honor and Vivo in China. The Google application is marked as a trojan virus by both cellphone brands. In this case, Google argued that the cause was not due to Play Protect, but possibly from the cellphone itself. Therefore, Google directed affected users to contact the relevant cellphone manufacturer. “This security notification is not triggered by Google Play Protect and appears to come from devices that are not Play Protect certified and do not have official download access to Google’s main applications from Google Play,” said a Google spokesperson, quoted from TechRadar. “We recommend that you contact your device manufacturer for more information,” he continued. In its statement, Google also claimed that the Play Store is the official application store for Google’s core applications. In addition, the Play Store applies strict testing to all applications to ensure security is guaranteed. However, the cause of the same notification appearing on Honor and Vivo cellphones has not been identified. Both companies have also not provided an official statement.