Accessibility service
An Android feature that lets an app observe what happens on screen and act on it. Built for assistive tools.
Glossary
Glossary: Android privacy and safety terms
Plain definitions of the Android security terms used across Applore's guides. Each term links to the pages that use it. Terms people often look up have a page of their own.
A to Z
Android security terms explained
Ten terms with a page of their own, in alphabetical order.
All files access
Lets an app read and manage every file in shared storage. Google Play allows it for uses such as file managers.
Device admin
A special privilege that can stop an app being uninstalled until it is turned off in Settings.
Hidden app icon
An installed app with no entry in the app drawer, by design or because its icon was disabled.
Notification access
Lets an app read and dismiss other apps’ notifications, including message previews.
Query all packages
A restricted permission that lets an app see every app installed on the phone.
Sideloading
Installing an app from outside an app store, usually from an APK file.
Stalkerware
Software that lets someone secretly monitor another person through their phone.
Usage access
Lets an app see which apps you open and for how long.
Watchware
Monitoring apps, such as parental control apps, that do not try to hide.
More terms
APK
An APK (Android Package) is the file format Android uses to install an app. Apps from an app store arrive as APKs too; you only see the file when you install an app yourself. Used in: How to back up an app’s APK on Android, Sideloading.
Autofill
Autofill is an Android service that fills in usernames and passwords in apps and websites from a password manager you choose. You pick the autofill service in Android’s settings. Used in: Password Vault, Set up password autofill on Android.
Doze
Doze is Android’s battery-saving mode for a phone that is left unused. It delays background work until the phone wakes up, so scheduled tasks, such as an app’s periodic check, can run later than planned. Used in: How Applore’s check works.
Indicator list
An indicator list is a set of details that identify known apps, such as package names and signing certificates. Security tools compare installed apps against it. A list can only match apps that are already on it. Used in: How Applore’s check works, Stalkerware.
Package name
A package name is the unique ID of an Android app, written like a reversed web address, for example com.example.notes. Two apps on Google Play cannot share one. Used in: Query all packages, Why Applore asks for each permission.
Play Protect
Google Play Protect is Google’s built-in app check on Android phones with Google Play. It checks apps from Google Play and other sources, and can warn about or remove apps it finds harmful. Used in: What Google Play Protect checks, and what it can miss.
vCard
A vCard (.vcf) is a standard file format for contact details. Most phones and email services can import it. Used in: How to back up contacts to your own Google Drive, Contacts.
Work profile
A work profile is a separate space on an Android phone for work apps, managed by an employer or school. Apps inside it are kept apart from personal apps, and apps in the personal space usually cannot see into it. Used in: How Applore’s check works.