I have a Samsung Galaxy S21 running the latest OS, and my older friend is facing an issue where random cleaner apps keep appearing on her phone. After I cleaned up her device and changed the Samsung and Google passwords, everything seemed fine for a few days. However, she mentioned that these pop-ups came back during the night. I'm looking for effective ways to handle this problem. What should I do next?
2 Answers
I recommend doing a factory reset of the phone and then changing all the passwords again. On Android, malware is tricky to install unless someone allows it from unknown sources, which is something to avoid. It's also important to educate your friend not to click on those ads or install any apps outside of the official Play Store. Adding a browser like Brave can help too, as it includes ad-blocking features.
It sounds like your friend might be experiencing issues from clicking on those cleaner app pop-ups. A friend of mine had a similar problem; after clicking on some ads, his phone became unusable and he had to get a new one. Just a heads up! Good luck with it.
That's rough! I hope it doesn't come to that for her.
Good point! I usually stick to the Play Store to avoid these issues.