Cheetah Mobile: Google Has Removed Almost All CT Apps From The Play Store

Over time, Cheetah Mobile has gained a reputation for being a dishonest Android development studio. It is known to purchase successful apps and modify them into platforms for data collection. The company has been toeing the line with Play Store policies for a long time and has even received warning a couple of time. However, it has always managed to skirt around the issues and get back on to the platform. Now, with the latest measures, it looks like Google has finally taken a firm stance. Cheetah Mobile products will no longer be seen on the Google Play Store following a ban on it.

Google recently published a blog post announcing that it has removed about 600 apps that were disruptive and fraud. Following this, Cheetah Mobile products vanished as well, according to Buzzfeed News. If you visit the company’s developer sites on the Play Store, you will find that save a few keyboard themes, most of their apps are no longer on the Store. Cheetah Mobiles is now using its website to list the apps and mentions that it can be downloaded as APKs. You may also come across a similar notice: “Official Notice: You can install the latest version of the app by clicking ‘Download APK.’ Please allow permissions if there are security reminders.”

While downloading and using these apps within the Play Store was a risky task, using an APK for the same seems even more dangerous. Users will not receive the same level of protection against malware. Cheetah Mobile is already known to have tried to come inside the Google Play Store under another name before. We hope Google stays alert this time on.