A virus infected more than 11 million Android devices. We know that

According to statistics, people are expected to download 143 billion apps in 2026 alone. That is a much It’s no surprise that scammers have identified the Play Store as an ideal distribution center. According to security researchers at Kaspersky SecureList, the infamous Necro malware was found in Android and is estimated to have infected more than 11 million devices.

The estimated number of downloads comes from the researchers taking a look at the different infected apps. There are several confirmed infections including Wuta Camera and Max Browser. There are also WhatsApp mods from unofficial sources that carry the malware, as well as a Spotify mod called “Spotify Plus” – yes, like the premium service. The report also details a number of infected mods for games like Minecraft And Melon sandbox.

According to the report, the malware was part of Wuta Camera from version 6.4.2.148 until its discovery and removal in version 6.4.7.138. Max Browser has since been removed from the App Store, but has been downloaded and installed more than a million times and included the Necro-Loader starting with version 1.2.0.

The Necro malware is designed to generate revenue for the attacker by running processes in the background of your phone. You may notice a performance hit, but the malware is designed to remain undetected. In short, it opens and clicks on advertisements to generate advertising revenue, but it does so through invisible windows.

In an interview with Fox, Google said that all known infected apps had already been removed and that most users should have been protected by Google Play Protect, the default antivirus on most Android devices.

If you are worried that your device may have been infected with the Necro malware or other malicious software, use a reliable antivirus scanner. There are several different antivirus programs available for Android devices, and we have a handy guide on how to remove malware and viruses from an Android phone.