Fake Chrome app gets 100,000 downloads on Google Play
It was named Google Chrome and used its icon, but it came from another developer and worked as a chat. Google has removed it without explaining how it passed review.
An app that posed as Google Chrome passed 100,000 downloads on Google Play and was later pulled from the store, according to Android Authority. It was published by a developer called Hizbartech, not Google LLC, per Cybernews. The case came to light on Wednesday, Oct. 14, when the site PiunikaWeb shared a Reddit screenshot in which the app appeared as an ad placed above the legitimate browser when someone typed "Chrome" into the store's search box. PiunikaWeb could not reproduce that ad in its own tests.
The app started as a game, "Ball Bounce", on Aug. 22. On Sept. 30 it changed its name to "Google Chrome" and took the browser's icon, although its package identifier stayed com.ballbounce.Hizbartech, according to Cybernews. According to Reddit users, there was no browser inside, just a chat with AI-made avatars that answered with preset phrases. The download figure is a running total: it is not known how many happened after the name change.
It is not confirmed that the app contained malicious code or stole personal data. Neither source says so, and no technical analysis has been published. A Reddit user cited by Cybernews said there were no viruses and that it only showed repeated ads.
Google has not explained how the app passed its review or how it could be advertised. Android Authority contacted the company and promised to update its text when it responds. PiunikaWeb pointed out an irony: Google restricts installing apps from outside its store, and still let this one through.
Android Authority recommends checking the developer's name and the package name before installing an app. The real Chrome is listed under the name Google LLC. None of the sources consulted says whether there were downloads from Mexico.
