Ok so here is the story, I have a samsung phone and i found two sus apps, First one is “AppCloud” which is pre-installed on Samsung phones in the Middle East by Israel to spy on Samsung users in that region as you can see here, Second one is the famous “Android System SafetyCore” by Google, The problem is both of them are system apps and my device is not rooted and I am really afraid to mess with anything that may result in destroying my phone accidentally, Any advices?
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If both apps are not system critical, you can either remove them with ABD, for installation, have a look here.
Or you go the way via Shizuku and Canta, require a little more reading, but it works perfectly.
I freed an Xiaomi device from Bloatware.
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In general, Auditor from GrapheneOS might help you scan for malware. However, in this case, both apps come preinstalled on your phone, so if you’re really that suspicious you might be interested in just buying a Pixel, getting GrapheneOS, and checking the verified boot hash.
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Here’s a great video on uninstalling preinstalled apps using the pm command in an adb shell:
This story keeps emerging every now and then, can we get some actual expert investigation on what this AppCloud shit does? And whether it indeed harvests users data as is claimed? Or it’s just blown out of proportion.
The fact that it’s Israeli-related is ofc sus itself but this needs more expert attention and conclusion
I believe safety core is required for certain security features
That other Israeli app is sketchy as fuck
From a non-profit company operating in the West Asia/North Africa area: Invasive Israeli-founded bloatware is harvesting data from Samsung users in WANA - SMEX
It includes details about the parent company of AppCloud (ironSource, now owned by Unity), how game devs that used the Unity Engine complained to Unity about ironSource, and even Malwarebytes sounded alarms against them. ironSource was even in a class action settlement over predatory practices.
For AppCloud itself, from the article:
Since AppCloud is unlisted online there is no copy of its privacy policy or terms of service available to the wider public. It is also not a traditional application in the sense of being able to access and open it from the regular android operating system menu. Instead, AppCloud is basically buried in the backend of the phone making its terms of service inaccessible from the phone without a prompt.
There are plenty of red flags to want it gone.