What Google Play Protect checks, and what it can miss

What Play Protect does

Google Play Protect is built into Android phones that have Google Play. According to Google’s help page, it:

• runs a safety check on apps from the Google Play Store before you download them;
• checks your phone for potentially harmful apps from other sources;
• warns you about potentially harmful apps;
• may deactivate or remove harmful apps from your phone;
• sends privacy alerts about apps that break policy by accessing personal information.

Play Protect is on by default, but it can be turned off. Google recommends keeping it on.

What public tests found

In 2025, the independent test lab AV-Comparatives, working with the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), tested how well 13 mobile security apps for Android detected stalkerware. The test ran in August and September 2025 with 17 stalkerware test cases, and was published on 5 November 2025.

• Google Play Protect detected 53% of the test cases, the lowest result in the test.
• The other 12 products detected between 59% and 100%.
• AV-Comparatives notes that the other results come from full scans, while Play Protect only scans installed apps.
• The report does not name the stalkerware used, so that it is not promoted.

A test with 17 samples is a snapshot of one moment. Results change as apps and detection change. Applore was not part of this test.

Why it can miss things

No check finds everything. Reasons a monitoring app can be missed include:

• New or changed apps. A new version, or an app that is repackaged under a different name, may not match what a scanner already knows.
• Play Protect turned off. The EFF notes that some stalkerware includes instructions to turn off Play Protect during installation.
• Sideloaded apps. Apps installed from a file rather than a store skip the store’s review. See sideloaded apps on Android.
• Work profiles and other users. Apps in a separate profile may not be visible to checks running in your main profile.

How Applore fits

Applore is not an antivirus and does not replace Play Protect. Needs your review is a second check that works in a different way:

• it compares installed apps with a reviewed list of known stalkerware indicators, based on the public Echap list;
• it looks for warning signs, such as a sideloaded app with a hidden icon combined with accessibility or notification access;
• it runs on your phone, is free, and shows no ads.

Store-installed family and parental apps are labelled monitoring apps, not spyware. Each flagged app shows a level so you can decide what to review:

Known monitoring appHighWorth a lookNot flagged

How detection works explains the signals, and the privacy policy explains what the check reads.

How to run Play Protect

Menu names can differ slightly between Play Store versions.

If Play Protect warns about an app, read the safety note further down before removing it.

Other checks worth doing

Play Protect looks at apps. Some of the access a monitoring app needs is easier to see in Settings, and these checks are free and quick. Menu names differ between phone makers; use the search bar at the top of Settings if you cannot find a screen.

• Accessibility. Search Settings for Accessibility and look at installed or downloaded apps with access. An app with this access can read what is on screen. See how to check accessibility services.
• Notification access. Search Settings for Notification access. An app with this access can read message previews and login codes.
• Device admin apps. Search Settings for Device admin apps. Note any app you did not add. See how to check device admin apps.
• Install unknown apps. Check which apps are allowed to install other apps. See sideloaded apps on Android.
• Play Protect itself. If scanning was turned off and you did not do it, note that too.

None of these signs proves that a phone is being monitored. They are worth a closer look, especially together. The Android phone safety checklist covers Google account and messaging settings as well.

What Applore cannot do

Applore’s check has its own limits, and using it alongside Play Protect still does not guarantee that every monitoring app is found.

Before you remove anything

Applore includes support contacts for India, the United States and the United Kingdom, plus global options; see domestic abuse and cyber crime hotlines. If you are in immediate danger, contact your local emergency number. More guides are on the safety guides page.