Google Play Protect Warning Strings for Malware and MUwS Categories

  • Google Play Protect displays a warning to users when it detects a violation of the malware policy.

  • This page provides a list of warning messages displayed by Google Play Protect for various types of malware violations.

  • Warning messages cover different malware categories such as Backdoors, Billing fraud, Stalkerware, Phishing, Ransomware, and others.

When Google Play Protect detects a violation of the malware policy, a warning will display for the user. Warning strings for each violation are available below.

To learn more about malware and how we classify PHA categories see the following links.

Category Warning message
Backdoors When Google Play Protect detects a backdoor, the following warning is shown to users: "This app can allow unauthorized access to your data or device."
Billing fraud When Google Play Protect detects SMS fraud, the following warning is shown to users: "This app can add unauthorized charges to your mobile bill by sending costly SMS messages or registering for recurring charges."
Call Fraud When Google Play Protect detects call fraud, the following warning is shown to users: "This app can add unauthorized charges to your mobile bill by making unauthorized calls."
Toll Fraud When Google Play Protect detects a toll fraud, the following warning is shown to users: "This app can add unauthorized charges to your mobile bill by registering for recurring charges."
Stalkerware When Google Play Protect detects stalkerware, the following warning is shown to users: "This app can spy on you by monitoring your location or your activity on this device."
Denial of Service (DoS) When Google Play Protect detects DoS, the following warning is shown to users: "This app tries to attack other mobile and computer systems."
Hostile Downloaders When Google Play Protect detects a hostile downloader, the following warning is shown to users: "This app can install potentially harmful apps without your permission."
Non-Android Threat When Google Play Protect detects a non-Android threat, the following warning is shown to users: "This app can harm non-Android devices."
Phishing When Google Play Protect detects phishing, the following warning is shown to users: "This app is fake. It can steal your personal data, such as banking info and passwords."
Elevated privilege abuse When Google Play Protect detects elevated privilege abuse, the following warning is shown to users: "This app tries to bypass Android's security protections."
Ransomware When Google Play Protect detects ransomware, the following warning is shown to users: "This app can disable your device or threaten to reveal personal information unless you pay money."
Rooting When Google Play Protect detects rooting, the following warning is shown to users: "This app tries to bypass Android's security protections."
Spam When Google Play Protect detects spam, the following warning is shown to users: "This app can spam other people with unauthorized messages."
Spyware When Google Play Protect detects spyware, the following warning is shown to users: "This app tries to spy on your personal data, such as SMS messages, photos, audio recordings, or call history."
Trojan When Google Play Protect detects a trojan, the following warning is shown to users: "This app is fake. It tries to take over your device or steal your data."
Click fraud Where Google Play Protect detects a click fraud, the following warning message is shown to users: "This app tries to use your device to commit advertising fraud."
Data collection When Google Play Protect detects data collection, the following warning is shown to users: "This app can collect data that could be used to track you."
Social Engineering When Google Play Protect detects Social Engineering, the following warning is shown to users: "This app looks like another app and can trick you into exposing personal data, misusing your device, or installing other apps."
Disruptive ads When Google Play Protect detects disruptive ads, the following warning is shown to users: “This app may display ads with unexpected behaviors (for example, outside the app environment, cannot be easily dismissed, or interfering with device functionality).”
Riskware When Google Play Protect detects riskware, the following warning is shown to users: “This app is harmful, it can put your device and data at risk.”