New Delhi,Updated: October 25, 2023 09:42 (IST)
Google Play Protect, a security feature built into Android, recently incorrectly flagged two Samsung-made apps as potentially harmful, Messages and Wallet, and notified some Galaxy smartphone users. . Play Protect is a security system that warns you about harmful apps and games if it detects that your personal data, such as call logs, messages, and photos, may be visible to prying eyes. However, in a recent outage, Play Protect incorrectly identified Messages and Wallet as malicious even though they were both legitimate apps.
A few days ago, some users of Samsung Galaxy smartphones started receiving warnings from Google’s security service, Google Play Protect, that the Samsung Messages and Wallet apps are potentially harmful, according to a report from 9to5Google. . The warning claimed the app was trying to “sniff personal data such as SMS messages, photos, voice recordings, and call history.”
Following this alert, we determined that the issue with the Samsung Messages and Wallet apps was caused by a temporary server failure. However, Google has fixed this issue. Samsung also confirmed that this issue has been resolved and users can use the app as usual without any worries.
A message on the Samsung Community Forums says, “When you use the Samsung Messages app, a pop-up appears stating that your device is marked as a harmful app and there is a security issue with your device. This may be due to a temporary glitch. We have confirmed that this is the cause of “Google servers. It has now been restored and can be used normally. ”
Meanwhile, Samsung Messages and Wallet users can safely continue using these apps by ignoring the Google Play Protect warning. If the issue persists, users can try ignoring the warning or restarting their phone. Users can also clear the Google Play Store app’s cache and data, force stop the app, or uninstall and reinstall the app.
Users can also reset the app.
- Go to settings
- App selection
- Click the “More options” icon
- Select Reset app settings
- Confirm the reset and restart your device
Resetting app settings restores default settings for all apps, including disabled apps, notifications, background data usage, and permissions. However, users will not lose their existing app data. Samsung assures that resetting the app will allow users to use the Messages app again.
In the meantime, users should not disable Google Play Protect. Google Play Protect scans your apps and devices for harmful behavior. Checks the safety of apps from the Google Play Store before users download them. It also scans your device for potentially harmful apps from other sources, also known as malware. Alert users if potentially harmful apps are found.
To turn on Google Play Protect
- Open the Google Play Store app.
- Tap your profile icon in the top right corner.
- Tap “Play Protect Settings”.
- Turn Scan for apps using Play Protect on or off.