Google to check Android apps for malicious behaviour even after installation

Android has a reputation for being unsafe, and recently the top paid app on Android was an anti-virus app which did absolutely nothing at all. It's a perception Google seems keen to fix though, and in a post on the official Android blog on Thursday, the company outlined how they are expanding their security services, and discussed safeguards like application sandboxing.

In the post, Android Security Engineer Rich Cannings equates phone security with home security, and talks about the importance of making powerful tools that remain "invisible until the moment you need them."

One such change is the continuous verification of apps. In the past, Google would verify and app when it was being installed - if app verification was enabled then any app being installed would be checked by Google, which could warn you not to install it, or block the installation completely. Google revealed this [Verify apps]feature has been used over 4 billion times to check apps during installation.

If you have Google Play but are installing an app from a third party, you can now have Google verify the apps, by agreeing to it in a dialogue box that appears the first time you try and install an app from an outside source. The feature is available to anyone running Android 2.3 or above with Google Play installed.

To manage app verification, go to your device's apps menu and touch Google Settings > Verify apps. Touch the box next to verify apps; the setting turns on when the check mark appears. If your device is running Android 4.2 and higher, you can also go to Settings > Security > Verify apps.

With this new feature, your Android phone continually checks devices to make sure that all apps are behaving in a safe manner, even after installation. This means that if a harmful facet off an app is discovered even after you've installed it, Google will send you a warning notification or even disable the app, depending on the severity.