Mobile applications have transformed our lives in ways more than one can imagine in the last couple of decades.
Everything is possible with mobile applications today, whether ordering food or shopping online, playing games with friends or strangers, finding love online, listening to music, or communicating with others.
The popularity of these mobile applications has reached unprecedented levels these days, drastically increasing people’s screen time.
As per the 2021 survey, people spend around 4.7 hours per day on their phones using one or the other mobile application.
And there’s a reason behind this emerging trend. It is primarily because using applications on mobile is far more convenient than on PCs and helps complete a specific task in a more focused manner.
The Emergence Of Mod APKs
The fast-growing popularity of mobile applications has given rise to an alternative world of apps, or should we say types of apps commonly referred to as MOD.
The Mod APKs or Modded APKs are the modified version of original apps created by hackers or independent developers (not original app developers).
The Modded APKs offer better features and free access to all the premium and paid features. It also allows users to access features that may not be available in their region.
APK is a package file format specifically used for the Android OS to install, download, and distribute middleware and mobile apps.
For example, you might be using an app with tons of features, but only a few features are available to free users.
With the Mod APK of the mobile app, you’ll be able to access all the paid and premium features without spending a dime.
It is also one of the many reasons why Mod APKs are fast growing in popularity among the end-users.
When talking about MOD APKs, one of the classic examples given is Spotify in India. It is a globally popular music streaming app recently launched in India. However, many Indian users were already using Spotify. How?
By downloading Spotify’s Mod APK, which was easily available on the internet. The users had to download the MOD APK of Spotify and then use a VPN to change the region to where Spotify was available, and voila, you’re in.
Is Using MOD APKs Safe?
When you were younger, how often did you hear your mother say, “Don’t take anything from strangers? This is the case with Mod APKs too.
You should never install Mod APKs on your phone by taking it from strangers or sources that are not widely trusted. It must be noted here that downloading and installing Modded APKs always carry a certain degree of risk.
First things first, know that the Mod APKs are not developed by the original developers of the original app. The Mod APKs can be made by any independent developer, hacker, or even a group of coders.
The growing popularity and wide-scale use of Mod APKs have opened a window of opportunity for the hackers to embed certain malicious software into the APKs, which can then be used for malicious purposes.
The hackers can make these Mod APKs function just as you want while it steals your data, breaches your privacy, conducts financial information theft, and more in the background. The worst part is that you might not even know it is happening, sometimes until it is too late.
Android Hackers can make a MOD APK of a highly popular mobile application and make it easily available to users looking to enjoy the app’s premium features without paying for it.
It is a trap that must be avoided, and the best way is by downloading Modded APKs only from trusted sources.
Ideally, it is recommended that you download only original apps from the official Google Play Store. Any app downloaded from external sources other than the official Google Play Store doesn’t come vetted and poses serious security threats.
While downloading any app outside Google Play Store, you might have noted that even your mobile phone warns you of downloading an app from untrusted sources.
For example, even famous mobile games like Candy Saga and Temple Run 2 became victims of the growing trend of Mod APKs’ usage.
The Modded APKs of these famous applications not only unlocked paid features but provided access to cheats, giving users an incredible experience they couldn’t get more of.
Moreover, the Modded APKs of these mobile games showcased tons of ads, which filled the pockets of these Mod APKs’ developers with tons of money and gave them free access to your details.
It is seen that the majority of the Mod APKs in the market are inherently malicious by nature. Such Modded APKs steal users’ information, personal contact details, and other information unique to their mobile devices, including OS version, serial number, and IMEI number.
So, if you’re considering downloading any Mod APKs, think again or do your due diligence to ensure you download it from a highly trusted source.
How Safe Is Google Play Store?
When talking about downloading the apps from trusted sources only, know that even Google Play Store is not 100 percent safe.
Recently, a Taiwanese Cyber Security firm named Trend Micro identified that Google Play Store has many photo applications that weren’t safe or were plain malware.
These malicious photo apps pushed full-screen pornographic or fraudulent ads on users’ mobile devices when unlocked and redirected users to phishing sites.
Trend Micro further reported that these devious apps were downloaded over 4 million times, mostly in Asia, before those apps were identified and removed by Google.
The use of Mod APKs and infiltration of such devious apps on Google Play Store is significantly increasing, even after sincere efforts by Google to stop it. So, is Google Play Store fully safe? The answer is no.
Even after a series of checks and honest efforts by Google to stop such apps from making it to the Google Play Store, a few apps find their way inside. It exposes millions of unaware users worldwide to cyber security threats and makes life easier for hackers looking for easy prey.
Key Takeaway
As the mobile platform and mobile security evolve and get stronger with time, so does the mobile platform malware.
Many of the Mod APKs or malicious apps surfacing today are highly sophisticated, embedded with incredibly powerful capabilities never seen before. Finding them on the Google Play Store or on the mobile phones of millions of users worldwide doesn’t come as a surprise.
The key question is whether to download the Mod APKs or not. The answer is fairly subjective, but if you must, make sure you’re downloading from a trusted online platform.
The Mod APKs are designed to look and feel just like the original app, so it would be difficult for the uninitiated to identify the treats.
The only way to safeguard your data, privacy, and interests when downloading Modded APKs is by ensuring you download it from a highly trusted source.
Whether you’re downloading an app from Google Play Store or a Mod APK from any online platform, we highly recommend you take some time to read the reviews given by other users.
It provides you with the insight you need to make an informed decision and potentially saves you from installing a malicious app or Mod APK.
