14 Google Play Apps Could Be Leaking Your Personal Information: Check If You're Using Them

Google Play Store is the go-to platform for all apps on your Android phone. Despite its security fences, the apps are still prone to vulnerability, putting users at risk. Moreover, the apps themselves are a huge risk as they collect personal data that can be problematic when leaked online. A new report reveals 14 apps on Google Play have been leaking user information.

14 Google Play Apps Leaking Data

The issue seems to be with the apps misconfigured, says a report by CyberNews. These 14 apps on Google Play have been leaking user information due to a Firebase misconfiguration. Apparently, these apps are pretty popular and have been downloaded over 140 million times. The report further explains that 1,100 apps were picked across 55 categories and were analyzed by decompiling and searching each app for traces of their default Firebase address.

"If the address was found, we checked for database permission misconfigurations by trying to access it using the REST API provided by Google. All requests to the databases were made with the 'Shallow = True' argument. This allowed us to see the names of the tables stored on the databases without accessing any data," the report explains.

The report further explains that anymore who knows the URL to access the database without authentication can get user data. Personal information like usernames, email addresses, user's real name, and several other sensitive information could be leaked. What's more, the report states Google didn't respond to the publication, which means the data is still out there and is prone to leaks.

Google Play Data Leak: Which Apps Are At Risk?

The report states 14 apps on Google Play are prone to risks of personal information leak. Apps like Universal TV Remote Control with over 100 million users are at high risk. The report says if you've installed this app, your personal information is at risk of being exposed. Find My Kids: Child GPS watch app & Phone Tracker with 10 million downloads is another app at risk.

Additionally, apps like Hybrid Warrior: Dungeon of the Overlord and Remote for Roku: Codematics are among the apps with a high risk of personal information leaks. These are among the top apps with millions of downloads on Google Play that have been affected by the security flaw.