Free VPN apps on Google Play turned Android phones into proxies

Android

Over 15 free VPN apps on Google Play were found using a malicious software development kit that turned Android devices into unwitting residential proxies, likely used for cybercrime and shopping bots.

Residential proxies are devices that route internet traffic through devices located in homes for other remote users, making the traffic appear legitimate and less likely to be blocked.

While they have legitimate uses for market research, ad verification, and SEO, many cybercriminals use them to conceal malicious activities, including ad fraud, spamming, phishing, credential stuffing, and password spraying.

Users may voluntarily register on proxy services to get monetary or other rewards in return, but some of these proxy services employ unethical and shady means to install their proxying tools on people’s devices secretly.

When secretly installed, victims will have their internet bandwidth hijacked without their knowledge and risk legal trouble due to appearing as the source of malicious activity.

Proxying Android VPN apps

A report published today by HUMAN’s Satori threat intelligence team lists 28 applications on Google Play that secretly turned Android devices into proxy servers. Of these 28 applications, 17 were passed off as free VPN software.

Satori analysts report that the offending apps were all using a software development kit (SDK) by LumiApps that contained “Proxylib,” a Golang library to perform the proxying.

HUMAN discovered the first PROXYLIB carrier app in May 2023, a free Android VPN app named “Oko VPN.” The researchers later found the same library used by the LumiApps Android app monetization service.

“In late May 2023, Satori researchers observed activity on hacker forums and new VPN applications referencing a monetization SDK, lumiapps[.]io,” explains the Satori report.

Upon further investigation, the team determined that this SDK has exactly the same functionality and uses the same server infrastructure as

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Google Keep is testing a new, sleeker bottom toolbar

Google Keep Google Play Page

Joe Hindy / Android Authority

TL;DR

  • Google Keep is testing a new bottom toolbar that provides a sleeker look to the humble note-taking app.
  • The new toolbar includes three buttons for creating new notes and takes up less space in landscape mode.
  • The feature is not currently rolling out to users but can be enabled by rooted users.

Google Keep is one of the best Android apps you can install on your phone. It’s a somewhat underrated note-taking app that gets the basics right and gets out of your way. Google has largely kept things simple with Google Keep, so we don’t see many new features or overhauls that frequently. However, it seems Google thinks it’s time for some change, as the company is testing a new bottom toolbar in Google Keep.

Danyil Kobzar spotted a new feature flag for Google Keep that enables a new bottom toolbar. TheSpAndroid has shared screenshots comparing the app’s UI before and after toggling the new feature flag.

The new toolbar looks quite similar to the floating toolbar that is present in the Google Chat app. On Keep, it includes three buttons: To take a new note, create a new list, and draw. Missing from the older toolbar are the voice button and image button.

Google Keep New bottom bar 2

One of the positives of this change is that the new toolbar takes less space in landscape mode and shows more content. The plus button also has a nice animation.

This new bottom bar is not currently rolling out to users. However, rooted users can enable it by toggling a feature flag on Google Keep v5.24.102.

Do you like this change? Let us know in the comments below!

Got a tip? Talk to us! Email our staff at [email protected]. You can stay anonymous or get credit for the info,
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Google Play Store widely rolls out new ‘App highlights’ feature

Google Play Store logo on smartphone stock photo (3)

Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority

TL;DR

  • Google is now officially rolling out its “App highlights” feature for the Play Store.
  • App highlights uses AI to generate brief summaries that highlight the key aspects of an app.

It was only about a month ago when it was discovered that Google was testing an AI feature in the Play Store called “App highlights.” Now it appears the feature is rolling out officially.

First spotted by Android Police, the latest Google System Release Notes mentions that users can “Watch the highlights of apps/games in places on Google Play Store.” Despite using the word “Watch,” this passage is likely referring to the text-based App highlights feature Google was found testing in a server-side rollout last month.

Just as it sounds, this feature highlights key aspects of an app to provide a quick summary of what it is about. The feature can be used to give the user a brief overview, cutting through the fluff you may find while reading the app’s description. It appears as a rectangular box right below the install button on the app’s description page.

App highlights weren’t the only AI feature Google was working on for the Play Store. It was also discovered that the company was working on an AI-generated FAQ section. Unlike App highlights, this AI-generated FAQ section was located at the bottom of the description page. However, this feature has not been rolled out publicly yet.

Got a tip? Talk to us! Email our staff at [email protected]. You can stay anonymous or get credit for the info, it’s your choice.

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AI-generated app highlights are now live on the Google Play Store

How AI summaries will impact user perception has yet to be gleaned

Summary

  • Google is expanding AI features into the Google Play Store with AI-generated app summaries in the latest update.
  • AI technology is already used for app FAQs and will soon provide details on specific app features.
  • Google’s push to make AI unavoidable in everyday tasks may lead to increased reliance on the technology.



Google has garnered plenty of hype as of late for Gemini, its largest AI-based initiative to date. However, its focus on AI has expanded beyond Gemini, and more generative AI features are being integrated into its products and services. One area where you might notice such changes — notably if you use an Android device — is the Google Play Store. Now, the company is going official with its AI-generated app summaries.


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As noted in the March 2024 Google System Release Notes, the Play Store will now have AI-generated app highlights (via GApps Flags & Leaks on Telegram). On an app’s store page, you’ll see a notice that explains the summarized details have been generated by Google AI. If you choose to click through before downloading the app, you’ll see information on its features before you add it to your device.


A screenshot of AI-generated App HighlightsThe foreshadowing of AI in the Google Play Store

This isn’t the first time that Google has been seen integrating AI into the Play Store. Earlier this year, server-side changes suggested that the App Highlights feature was in the works. At the time, it seemed that Google was still trialing the AI-generated segment of the Play Store among a select group of people.

Google has already

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Google Contacts makes it easier to manage custom ringtones

The Google Contacts app is rolling out a new, dedicated section to help you set and manage custom contact ringtones on your Android device.

As spotted in development late last year, Google Contacts is now rolling out “Contact ringtones.” This new section found under the “Fix & Manage” tab shows any existing contacts with custom ringtones, and lets you easily set a custom ringtone for contacts. On Pixel, this uses the Pixel Sounds app to change the ringtone, but also supports importing your own ringtones.

Prior to this, setting a custom ringtone through the Contacts app required going into each individual contact, tapping the overflow menu, and then selecting “Set Ringtone” before selecting the ringtone of your choice.

The new flow is faster, and also makes it much easier to manage contacts that have a customized ringtone set.

This feature is rolling out now via a server-side update on top of Google Contacts 4.27. We were able to immediately use the feature on force-stopping the app. TheSpAndroid first spotted the rollout.

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Google Play Store rolling out new Search tab in bottom bar

Following testing in December, Google is moving Play Store search to the bottom bar with a new tab.

Instead of a search bar at the top of the screen when you’re viewing the “Games” and “Apps” feeds, Google Play is switching to a “Search” tab at the center of the bottom bar. 

When you open the new tab, the search bar appears at the top like before, which is somewhat anticlimactic and doesn’t do anything for reachability.

You get a grid of “You might like” and “Explore games” search terms. The latter grouping is accompanied by icons, while the former just has a magnifying glass icon. Visually, it’s not a very interesting page and a bit too text heavy. Meanwhile, making search a two tap/stage process feels unnecessary.

With this change, the app bar in Games and Apps will just show the Play logo in the top-left corner, while the notification bell and your profile avatar remains. The empty space in-between feels rather wasted. 

Meanwhile, the new Search tab is only for application queries. There are no changes to the Books tab, which feels tacked on to the Play Store at this point, with the field remaining up top. (It follows Play Books widely rolling out its Material You redesign this week.)

This is rolling out with version 40.1.19-31 of the Play Store via a server-side update. It’s not yet widely available, but Google looks to be committing to this design.

More on Google Play:

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