An Israeli application hidden inside Samsung phones in our region.. What does it collect about you? | technology

SMEX, a platform specialized in supporting digital safety in the West Asia and North Africa region – and its headquarters in Beirut – published information about a disturbing application called “AppCloud”, which is installed by default on “Samsung” Galaxy phones, specifically the “A” and “M” versions.

“AppCloud” comes as a default, non-removable application in this category of phones, and the privacy policy for the application is not available on the Internet, and the option to stop the application does not exist either.

Although the presence of such an application on the phone is a worrying matter, the real fear lies with the owner, as the SMEX team found that the application is linked to the Israeli company IronSource, which is now affiliated with the American company Unity, and the company is known for its controversial record regarding mechanisms for collecting data without the consent of users.

Although SMEX has been highlighting the application since last February, it became widely popular after a tweet from the International Cyber ​​Digest account on X talking about an irremovable Israeli spy program on Samsung devices, which received more than 7.4 million views.

The “AppCloud” application poses a major threat to Samsung phone users in the West Asia and North Africa region. Concerns are not limited to its secret collection of users’ personal data, but also extend to the legal and ethical aspects due to its association with an Israeli company, in light of the ban on Israeli companies operating in many countries in the region.

Despite this, Samsung continues to automatically install the application on its devices, without providing any explanation to users about how to remove it or what type of data it collects.

What is the “AppCloud” application and how did it arrive on Samsung phones?

“AppCloud” is a 30MB virtual application that tries to install other applications on the phone. It collects information about the applications you use and the categories that interest you, and then suggests new applications and games accordingly.

But researchers in the field of privacy revealed that it works as a comprehensive system for collecting data and monitoring user behavior, as it collects device information, geographical location data, and biometric fingerprint. The application has arrived on Samsung phones of the “A” and “M” categories in the West Asia and North Africa region as a result of the expansion of the partnership between “Samsung” and “Iron Source” in 2022.

The real problem with the application is that users do not get a fair opportunity to cancel before trying to install other applications on their devices, as AppCloud places priority on installing applications that generate financial profits rather than improving the user experience, which is why it is seen as redundant software and not a useful service.

Unfortunately, the application cannot be deleted in the traditional way. Rather, it requires jailbreaking the device and accessing root privileges to delete the application package. This matter requires a specialist because a simple error could cause a disaster for the device.

Until this moment, Samsung has not responded to the widespread criticism, and this is not the first time. In a post on the Reddit platform two years ago, a user posted about the problem of downloading applications without permission, and claimed that he contacted Google and Samsung without any response, only to discover that the problem was in the AppCloud application.