Apus Launcher?

[androidmachine]

I'd like to get the community's opinion of Apus Launcher. I like it because it is slim and trim, but I think I have noticed some very troubling behavior and as a result, my gut tells me this is something that should be uninstalled. Yet, I see many sites praising Apus and it often if not routinely makes the lists of the best launchers.

Behaviors that trouble me that I think are attributable to Apus are: accessing mobile data when data is turned off, and turning on Wi-Fi and searching for a Wi-Fi connection even when Wi-Fi was turned off. The reason why I think it's Apus is because when I engage No Root Firewall that behavior stops but then again, there is one other app that it could also be. However, I never noticed these problems until I installed Apus.

Behaviors that are troubling to me that I know are attributable to Apus are: sending a notification about updating even though it is not set as my default launcher and I haven't used it in weeks, and listing itself as a device administrator.

I don't know if these behaviors are normal for apps and I'm being irrational and paranoid, or if Apus is indeed troubling. As I said, I'd like to have a slim launcher because my phone doesn't have much memory and Apus seems to be praised a lot on the internet although I have come across several posts of people who have trouble uninstalling it with some people even calling it malware.

 

[Hadron]

If you click on it in the device administrator lists does it tell you what it uses that for? Nova launcher will set as device admin so that it can lock the device (which I don't feel I need it to do, so untick it, but isn't something I view as a problem). Point is there may be a legit reason.

Apus does have a much longer permissions list than the launcher I use, and that includes the ability to control network connections, so you may be right that it is making its own connections. It may be connected to the various other features listed in the Play Store description (news searches, finding "trending apps", etc), though it is arrogant if it is changing your network settings to do this. But I've never used it so have no insight into whether it is really responsible or what it is actually doing if so (a number of the features it lists as advantages are a complete turn off for me).

 

[androidmachine]

Yes, I just checked and it uses device administrator to lock the screen. That's funny because I've not had a launcher do that before and I've used many launchers, but if Nova does it on your device then I guess it's normal.

It indeed accesses data for trending apps, update weather, etc., however I wonder what else it is doing. I'm not too impressed with the privacy statement on the Apus website.

Since I started this thread, I have decided to uninstall Apus. I realized while writing it that I have to be able to trust my phone, and that takes precedence over having a slim launcher. I don't want to besmirch Apus if it is not the problem, but my gut tells me something is not right. I am installing Google Now launcher and Nova Launcher.

 

[APUSApps]

Dear user, thank you for your comments and suggestions, your input is appreciated. Here are the answers to your questions about the APUS Launcher:

APUS doesn't control the mobile data or Wi-Fi without the user’s permission. If your mobile data and Wi-Fi are switched off, APUS is unable to turn either on. We hope this solves your question.

APUS fully respects users’ rights and privacy. We will Never ever operate your phone’s mobile data switch or scan for Wi-Fi networks without your permission.
APUS doesn’t provide Wi-Fi scanning services, and only your phone can turn this on.

Upgrade reminders are part of the normal service of APUS. When we update the latest version, we will notify the user through the notification bar. This is the general practice of most applications. We feel very sorry if the message is disturbing to you, and we will try our best to improve our product, avoid interference with your user experience as much as possible.

APUS launcher can be uninstalled. Due to the limitations of the Android system, if APUS launcher has been set as default launcher, you have to clear the default first to uninstall it, as shown in the following steps:

Android System Version below 4.3: System setting -> Apps -> APUS -> App info ->Uninstall
Android System Version 4.4-5.1：System setting -> Apps -> APUS -> App info ->Clean default-->back to app list --> APUS ->uninstall
Android System Version 6.0：System setting -> Apps -> APUS -> App info ->Open by default -> Clean defaults --> back to app info --> uninstall

This is a limitation of the Android system, which all apps like launchers, browsers, and picture viewers must deal with. Android asks you if you want to set apps as default when you install them, which if you do, will make uninstalling a little more complicated. We are very sorry for any misunderstanding. We hope that our explanation will be helpful in solving your problems.

 

[Crashdamage]

Apus software is prone to throwing up obnoxious ads, stupidly even to Apple users.

http://www.ipadforums.net/threads/malware.127066/

Their privacy policy doesn't inspire confidence and admits to gathering and sharing information with 3rd parties.

And although their official US website, the one linked in the Play store, is careful not to disclose the company location, they are in Beijing, China.

http://www.apusapps.com/zh-Hans/index.html

I'll leave it up to you to determine the wisdom of using anything by Apus. As for me, I consider it malware and they're on my Do Not Install list.

http://forums.androidcentral.com/ge...591608-antivirus-android-not.html#post4752098

 

[Chang Li]

Dear Apus,
I would like to know why users cannot answer "no" or "don't ask again" to the startup prompt "make apus your defalult launcher". Personnaly, I don't want any default launcher, but the right to deny the default launcher without any continuous yes-only prompts. (they are worse than regular intrusive ads)
Thank you for your answer and app improval.
signed, 龙

 

[Hadron]

I doubt they'll listen, but if you want any chance you need to address your comments to the developers of Apus Launcher. No good posting them here.