After Google claimed to have found malware in some versions of the application that had not been downloaded through the Play Store, users of mobile devices are being encouraged to remove a Chinese shopping software.
Google stated that the Punduoduo app has been suspended from the Google Play store owing to “security concerns” that it is looking into. It follows previous concerns over TikTok, a Chinese-owned app that some politicians have referred to as a national security danger.
Some people have even claimed that the program may be used to spy on users, and this week the British government expressly barred it from being used on any government-owned devices.
A well-known e-commerce software in China called Pinduoduo is well-known for giving consumers discounts when they buy multiples of an item.
Users were advised by Google on Tuesday to delete any Pinduoduo apps that were not downloaded from the Google Play store.
“Google Play Protect enforcement has been set to block installation attempts of these identified malicious apps,” according to a statement from Google. Users who downloaded malicious versions of the software to their devices are notified and asked to remove the program.
Although the Google Play Store has suspended the app, Apple users can still download it from the iOS store as of Tuesday.
Pinduoduo issued a statement claiming that Google had not provided it with any other information besides alerting it that the current version of its app was “not compliant with Google’s policy.”
“We vehemently reject the rumor and charge that the Pinduoduo app is malicious just based on a general and inconclusive response from Google,” Pinduoduo stated.
