Skip to main content

Google Play Now Coming With Spam Notifications?

I’ve been having a problem for the past few weeks and I’m still not sure where it’s coming from.

Update: A reader identified the problem as being a spammy ad network (it came hidden inside an app). He recommended that I use an Android app called Airplay detector to identify the spammy app.

Shortly after the Android Market became Google Play, I noticed that mysterious icons started appearing on my Samsung Galaxy Tab. The icons turned out to be links to app pages in Google Play, and I’ve been seeing links for 2 apps in a particular: Youtube Offline, Mario Kart.

The odd thing about this is that I’ve only been spammed by the 2 apps. Each has shown up several times, and they only started showing up after I installed the Google Play update. I’ve asked around on Twitter, but no one seems to have noticed the issue.  That is itself rather odd, but after doing some googling I found that at least one Android blog also got the spam for Mario Kart.

The thing is, I just got another piece of spam today, and I’m really getting tired of it. Is anyone getting this kind of spam on your Android Tablet? Any idea where it comes from?

image by balise42

Similar Articles


Comments


meth April 1, 2012 um 1:27 pm

Sounds like Airpush. If you’re curious, run airpush detector to see if you have any apps on your device that have it. Otherwise, you can just opt out of it.

Nate Hoffelder April 1, 2012 um 2:48 pm

Thanks! It was Airpush.

This was a new one for me.


Artem Russakovskii April 2, 2012 um 4:13 am

An even better option is Lookout Ad Network Detector: – it detects far more than just Airpush.

Nate Hoffelder April 29, 2012 um 7:57 pm

Thanks!

Darryl Brooks January 31, 2013 um 2:36 pm

Anyone have another solution for this. Getting these ad notifications also. Just got one for a game called hellfire. Neither airpush or lookout is finding anything.


Jo April 29, 2012 um 7:55 pm

Thanks so much guys! Sorted 🙂


Ted November 19, 2013 um 9:04 pm

Hi guys I also have same experience and even worse the ad link spam are so often pop up and connect to the google play store, it so horrible, how to stop it???


mike March 13, 2014 um 3:18 pm

My 9 year old boy is getting advertisements for stuff like the karma sutra and best sexual positions in recommended apps

Not at all happy about this.


Write a Comment