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From time to time I hear about apps I should not download or I need to remove from my Droid.
What apps have…
… given you trouble,
… ended up being a major drain on resources and or battery,
… been embedded with spyware, malware, viruses,
… other.
And be sure to explain why.
Like everyone else it's hard to weed out the bad apps from the good ones.
Also I do know and understand that some apps have a hard time on older devices and whether or not you have modified your device.
OP, can you list some examples that you've heard of?
I do not talk to too many people about apps so whenever I have a problem I'll stop by Verizon. Over time I've had a few employees tell me not to use...
Zedge
Flashlight
Scanner Radio
Task Killer (as well as other any type of killer or cleaner).
What I'm curious about is what other people say, what apps should everyone stay away from?
that's interesting, as I've been using Zedge for years without trouble. Task killers, while controversial, are generally a bad idea as they'll gain you nothing after a few seconds of use, and burn more battery as the kernel refills the now empty RAM.
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There's a sticky thread here explaining app permissions that's worth a read. A good rule of thumb is that if an app asks for a lot of permissions that seem unrelated to its function then be suspicious. But this does require a little thought and understanding, since there can be innocent reasons, eg an app that has the option to behave differently when you are in a call will need to be able to read phone state (so the fact that an app that isn't related to calling or messaging wants this doesn't automatically mean it's up to no good).
whats wrong with scanner radio? Yeah it may drain the battery faster when using it, but as far as I know, if you close out of it, it doesnt run in the background. Thats been a helpful lil app on many a bad storms.
I have no idea why they said not to use scanner radio. Sometimes I think they hear or read something and decide to tell everyone that walks into the store.
As for Zedge I still have it on my Droid. no problems.
I have a flashlight app and Scanner Radio installed for awhile and haven't had any issues with either one. Of course scanner radio will drain the battery the more you use it, since it will be streaming!
I do not talk to too many people about apps so whenever I have a problem I'll stop by Verizon. Over time I've had a few employees tell me not to use...
Zedge
Flashlight
Scanner Radio
Task Killer (as well as other any type of killer or cleaner).
What I'm curious about is what other people say, what apps should everyone stay away from?
Interesting. I've had Zedge on my phone from the day I brought it home, and everyone I know with an android phone has it and recommends it. Did they happen to mention why?
I have a flashlight app and Scanner Radio installed for awhile and haven't had any issues with either one. Of course scanner radio will drain the battery the more you use it, since it will be streaming!
I was getting unusual app icons appearing on my droid. They were adds. After removing the Flashlight app the add disappeared and have not returned.
Interesting. I've had Zedge on my phone from the day I brought it home, and everyone I know with an android phone has it and recommends it. Did they happen to mention why?
The Verizon representative said it drains resources, but I don't see it. My phone works fine with it.
Bear the following in mind OP:
1. There are multiple versions of some of the apps you listed. One flashlight app that's sketchy doesn't mean all the rest are.
2. Cell phone reps are not always the most knowledgeable. I've encountered some *very* sharp ones at Big Red that even code apps, but others....not so much. It's good for you to verify their claims at a place like this, but don't be surprised if many posts contest what you were told.
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Stay away from anything that claims to save battery. Usually they use more juice running in the background all the time & keeping the phone awake than they save.
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Apple tells you what you want, Android gives you what you want
I was getting unusual app icons appearing on my droid. They were adds. After removing the Flashlight app the add disappeared and have not returned.
There's a sticky thread about this in this forum
As a couple of us have noted, app names don't have to be unique. I just had a peek in the Play Store and counted 28 apps called just "Flashlight" before I got bored, amongst many times that number with flashlight in the name. So with generic names like that you need to specify the developer to be sure you get (or avoid!) the right app.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rxpert83
Doesn't make much sense having an app running in the background to save battery does it
Depends. Juice Defender extends my battery life by as much as 6-8hrs on regular usage. But that's because I have everything on auto-sync, so JD turning off connections for a time and rechecking just after a certain period does save battery more than letting the phone stay online all the time.
But then again, battery saving apps work only on certain situations. If you aren't like me who leaves packet data on all the time, they won't be of any help at all.
1. My guess is they don't want you to use Zedge because they want you to buy ring tones from them.
2. There are some Flashlight apps with malware in them like ads popping up in the notification bar. I found that out the hard way when I first got my phone. But, there are some good ones in the market as well. If you go to install a flashlight app, and it wants access to the internet, obviously that's bad. Why would a flashlight need to access the network? You just have to pay attention to permissions.
3. Scanner Radio uses a lot of data and battery, so that's probably why they said not to use it probably. It's an awesome app and worth installing though just be mindful of how much you use it.
4.Task Killers use more battery than they do good. Older versions of Android could make good use of them but now if you have one and have it set to keep closing google maps, or email, or something like that those services will just keep restarting and end up using more battery. However, as chanchan05 said, an app like Juice Defender could still be useful by turning auto-sync on and off at certain times/intervals and save some battery. But only Android should manage running tasks/services/processes.
Thats my take anyway. It's hard to explain what a Verizon rep is thinking lol.
Last edited by mydian; December 13th, 2012 at 09:48 PM.
Reason: typos
What did you mean by "Google scans the store for malware, though there are rumors that Google will someday include a scanner in the Play store that's on your device. "
I they already scan the store for malware, why would they include a scanner in the play store that's on your device?
I found that Go Launcher Ex was a HUGE drain on my battery. It had everything I wanted and very easy to use but the drain was a pain. I recently switched to ADW Ex and gained approx 30% MORE power.
Summary: avoid Go Launcher if U want to maintain battery power, which is an issue with the stock battery on the Galaxy S2 X.
i found Clay Jam to be a battery drain not just when using it but all the time. i was running Gsam battery monitor and it was right behind my kernel with 11% even though i hadn't even used it on that charge.
I found that Go Launcher Ex was a HUGE drain on my battery. It had everything I wanted and very easy to use but the drain was a pain. I recently switched to ADW Ex and gained approx 30% MORE power.
Summary: avoid Go Launcher if U want to maintain battery power, which is an issue with the stock battery on the Galaxy S2 X.
On the other hand - I and many people run Go Launcher without a problem. Not to say you didn't have an issue just that it is a your mileage may vary issue (which is what make threads like this difficult to provide recommendations in). Plus Go is frequently updated so they may have resolved the issue you were having. Finally I suspect if you search hard enough you'll find someone who has the opposite experience you have with ADW Ex.
<shrugs> For the most part I wouldn't trust a single recommendation that an app is bad, particularly if it is highly rated in the app store. At best I'd take as an advisement of something I might want to watch out for. If a lot people are complaining about something, that might put me off of downloading an app but even then I might give it a try to see if it affects me.
As for malware the best advice is to only download from trusted sources like Google Play or Amazon. While there have been reports of getting malware through these sites it is still exceedinly rare. Also pay some attention to the permissions although I find this of limited value, still if something seem really off - it may bear investigating.
Finally you might want to download some monitoring apps like GSAM or Onavo Count just to keep an eye on what apps are doing and identify the troublesome ones.
Is there a way to find out if apps use push ads BEFORE installing ?
Check the comments in the Play store, and do some googling. Unfortunately, it's not the kind of thing a dev will typically advertise (though I've seen some stand up ones that will), so the onus falls to you.
I have had no problems with Zedge.
I just installed Scanner Radio and did not notice any 'extra' battery drain. I'm also used to streaming music 8 hours a day though and have a RAZR MAXX HD as well as unlimited data, so I don't care much about those things!
As for programs to stay away from:
Hidden Eye Plus was a waste of money. I tried the free version and it seemed to work pretty well so I bought the paid version which added features that I wanted. The paid program did not work at all. The Devs answered a couple emails trying to help but when those things did not work they stopped answering my emails and the program still does not work on my phone.
Last week I installed Go SMS Pro and it seemed to work pretty well but then about a half hour later after not using the program at all I pulled my phone out of my pocket and it was wicked HOT! Since the only thing I had done was install Go SMS and try it out, I uninstalled and the phone cooled down. I'm not sure what the problem was, but I didn't like the program enough over the stock Texting program to try to figure it out!
I also had dowloaded and ran for way too long a couple anti-virus apps. They work well but they are totally unnecessary as long as you get all your apps from Google Play, which I do.
Never download apps from other websites except GOOGLE PLAY and Amazon...
I think never is to strong a word. That would rule out things like beta testing, as well as some of the most used apps I have. If you're not sure what you're doing though, is a safer way to go.
Telenav Scout is the biggest drain on my Galaxy S2 battery of any app I've tried.
Even when I had my phone plugged into a charger and the battery was supposedly charging, Telenav Scout completely drained the battery after a couple of hours. Without the charger, it would completely drain the battery in 40 minutes or so.
On top of that, Telenav Scout so hogs the CPU that the phone started giving me high temperature alerts. The phone felt like it was catching fire. I had to shut it off to enable it to cool.
Telenav Scout is the biggest drain on my Galaxy S2 battery of any app I've tried.
Even when I had my phone plugged into a charger and the battery was supposedly charging, Telenav Scout completely drained the battery after a couple of hours. Without the charger, it would completely drain the battery in 40 minutes or so.
On top of that, Telenav Scout so hogs the CPU that the phone started giving me high temperature alerts. The phone felt like it was catching fire. I had to shut it off to enable it to cool.
What does Telenav do? Is it comparable to Google Maps?
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What apps should I stay away from?
