Google's proprietary security system Play Protect has blocked Xiaomi's Quick Apps on Android phones due to security concerns.
"This app can collect data that could be used to track you," reads the Play Protect's message, when the phone owners tried to update using system app updater.
Many Redmi phone users took to Twitter and other social media platforms to vent their anger on Xiaomi and urged the company to resolve the issue as early as possible.
For the uninitiated, Quick Apps is a unified application that houses several popular apps under a single roof; this apparently helps phone owners to find the service without the need for downloading each app and also save storage.
DH contacted the Xiaomi about the issue and here's what the spokesperson said:
"We're aware of the update concerning one of our system apps called Quick Apps. Some users may get a notification that this app has been blocked by Google Play Protect. We are in touch with Google regarding this and it is likely happening due to a revision in Google Play Protect's algorithm. Rest assured that this system app is absolutely safe."
It can be noted that Google for long has been receiving a lot of flak for not doing enough to scale the security to prevent malware-laced apps from entering the Play store.
In 2019 alone, several hundreds of bad apps with adware and malicious codes were detected in the Play Store, which hoodwinked millions of users installing them on their phones. Most of them illegally subscribed to premium services without the user consent and also ruin the Android user-experience by flooding full-page ads on the mobile screen.
To put an end to the malevolent apps in the Android ecosystem, Google enhanced the security of the Play Protect system and also announced collaboration with three top mobile security firms-- ESET, Lookout, and Zimperium-- to form App Defense Alliance.
Now, it remains to be seen if Xiaomi is at fault for tracking too much user information or if there is any glitch in the Google Play Protect system.
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