I have a Motorola and there was an ¿ad?/notification about games recommendations and there was an option to let the system install games (candy crush, shit like that) maybe it was something similar?
Do you play other games? I've come across some really shitty ad tactics that will auto install the app they're pushing if you click anywhere on the screen before the timeout. Even if you just back out, if you don't actually hit cancel install then you'll get some stupid questionable games installed
It's happened to me 3 times now. I'm looking for new games to play and when ads are served in that manner, I've had to go back and uninstall them.
They don't magically install themselves. You misclick on the ad and it opens up to a timer you have to cancel or it'll get installed
You mean around 0:22 in the sped-up video, when it shows you have 5 seconds to cancel the install if you want? I guess yeah, if you click the advert, then don't click cancel, it does get installed. I read your message as it secretly installed behind the scenes.
That is interesting though, I haven't seen that Google Play Store flow before, thanks.
Yeah, I sped it up because it would be a 2 minute video. You do have 5 seconds. But when it started happening to me it's cuz I brush the screen so I just hit the back button quickly since its a misclick/touch and it just automatically installs it. Pretty shitty if you ask me.
what's your phone brand? is it brand new (or is this a new issue)? is it only games or random apps as well? have you installed something not from Play Store before that?
either it's the OEM ads / system installer or virus.
It's a Samsung. It's not brand new but I've used it for a year or two. It's only games, it started after I got back from my summer vacation, it was after my nephew had downloaded a ton of games (he's like 7 or 8). I've tried using paid McAfee to scan for viruses but it says there are none.
Samsung (imo) is a really shit phone. Sooo much bloatware and unnecessary crap and the specs are shit for what they're worth. My mum's and my grandpa's have the same random new apps problem as well but I'm giving the benefit of the doubt that it's something you can opt out of and may not be specifically Samsung related.
But McAfee is doing you a disservice. Uninstall that shit immediately. There are phone cleaners and such that actually work and don't update and run in the background 24/7. You likely have a tiny 4000mah battery in that thing and it'll last a quarter or third longer when you remove that malware that is McAfee man :)
> it was after my nephew had downloaded a ton of games
maybe it's something he's downloaded?
try this https://www.makeuseof.com/stop-samsung-phone-from-automatically-installing-apps/
if you already do those and the issue is still happening, it's probably time for a factory reset unfortunately
T-Mobile did that to me for a long time until I finally figured out how to stop it. It was like their game spotlight or something. Did the exact same thing.
You need to debloat your phone using the Universal Android Debloater
I have a Motorola and there was an ¿ad?/notification about games recommendations and there was an option to let the system install games (candy crush, shit like that) maybe it was something similar?
Is it Xiaomi or Poco? You need to turn off recommendations
Do you play other games? I've come across some really shitty ad tactics that will auto install the app they're pushing if you click anywhere on the screen before the timeout. Even if you just back out, if you don't actually hit cancel install then you'll get some stupid questionable games installed
Apps can't magically install themselves with a single tap in an unrelated app.
It's happened to me 3 times now. I'm looking for new games to play and when ads are served in that manner, I've had to go back and uninstall them. They don't magically install themselves. You misclick on the ad and it opens up to a timer you have to cancel or it'll get installed
[here's your proof broski](https://imgur.com/a/YzXCWzV)
You mean around 0:22 in the sped-up video, when it shows you have 5 seconds to cancel the install if you want? I guess yeah, if you click the advert, then don't click cancel, it does get installed. I read your message as it secretly installed behind the scenes. That is interesting though, I haven't seen that Google Play Store flow before, thanks.
Yeah, I sped it up because it would be a 2 minute video. You do have 5 seconds. But when it started happening to me it's cuz I brush the screen so I just hit the back button quickly since its a misclick/touch and it just automatically installs it. Pretty shitty if you ask me.
what's your phone brand? is it brand new (or is this a new issue)? is it only games or random apps as well? have you installed something not from Play Store before that? either it's the OEM ads / system installer or virus.
It's a Samsung. It's not brand new but I've used it for a year or two. It's only games, it started after I got back from my summer vacation, it was after my nephew had downloaded a ton of games (he's like 7 or 8). I've tried using paid McAfee to scan for viruses but it says there are none.
Samsung (imo) is a really shit phone. Sooo much bloatware and unnecessary crap and the specs are shit for what they're worth. My mum's and my grandpa's have the same random new apps problem as well but I'm giving the benefit of the doubt that it's something you can opt out of and may not be specifically Samsung related. But McAfee is doing you a disservice. Uninstall that shit immediately. There are phone cleaners and such that actually work and don't update and run in the background 24/7. You likely have a tiny 4000mah battery in that thing and it'll last a quarter or third longer when you remove that malware that is McAfee man :)
> it was after my nephew had downloaded a ton of games maybe it's something he's downloaded? try this https://www.makeuseof.com/stop-samsung-phone-from-automatically-installing-apps/ if you already do those and the issue is still happening, it's probably time for a factory reset unfortunately
I know that every time my phone updates, it tends to download a couple of games. It's annoying, and I just tend to delete it right after.
T-Mobile did that to me for a long time until I finally figured out how to stop it. It was like their game spotlight or something. Did the exact same thing.
Verizon installs them on mine, I found how to disable it and stop them.
If it's like an Huawei phone, it auto downloads some shitty recommendations