The Google Play Store is a sea of apps. For every keyword, there is an app available on the Play Store. However, there is one Android app, called VivaVideo, which is an app that you should stay away from.
As per a new report by mobile security platform Secure-D on owner Upstream’s official website, VivaVideo is dangerous to users. And if you have that app installed on your device, then you should immediately uninstall it.
You may ask what would be wrong with an app that has been downloaded more than 100 million times? Well, here is where the suspicion lies.
For those who do not know, VivaVideo is a freemium application available on the Google Play Store. It features editing tools, effects, music overlays and more.
There are plenty of apps that let you edit videos on the go. Smartphone cameras have evolved and we have so many megapixels packed in a small form factor that mobile photography has become a new normal.
Moreover, there are multiple free and paid apps, that may make your task of video editing easy. But these apps are either filled with ads or they need you to pay real money in order to use some of the features.
20 million suspicious mobile transactions were blocked originating from the VivaVideo Android app
The report by Upstream highlights that over 20 million suspicious mobile transactions from the VivaVideo app were blocked by the company.
Besides, over 19 countries were impacted by such fraudulent activities. Most activities happened in Brazil and it amounted to over 11.5 million transactions.
Other countries impacted by this are Indonesia, Egypt, Cameroon, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia, Germany, and Thailand. This report is a warning for all those who have the app installed on their devices because their payment details are in danger.
In fact, the VivaVideo app has always topped the list of suspicious apps on the Secure-D index. Upstream investigated further and found out about these fraudulent activities.
The VivaVideo app has 4.2 ratings and provides easy to use editing tools for videos. But for some simple easy ways of you are putting your money on the line.
Apparently, the VivaVideo company is based in Hangzhou City, China. The company has been found to generate illegal revenue in two ways.
First by subscribing to bogus services without your knowledge via some clickbait ads. Secondly, by tricking the advertisers into paying commissions for fake clicks.
There are several other un-accounted for transactions that have gone through the app. So, it is advised that users who were using this app or are using this app should check their financial history.
The final word from us is also that you should uninstall the app from your device. On top of all this, there is one more strong reason to avoid this app, as it requires a bunch of unnecessary user permissions.