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October 16, 2026 • 2 min read
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Google Play has another fake app problem, and this time, it’s a WhatsApp lookalike. This dupe has racked up more than 500,000 <a href="https://myappsplus.com/why-are-internet-upload-speeds-so-much-slower-than-download-speeds-2/” title=”Why are internet upload speeds so much slower than download speeds?”>downloads. The app is even showing up in sponsored search results for some users, making it all too easy to mistake the knockoff for the real one.
The app was spotted by a Reddit user searching for WhatsApp on the Play Store. According to the report, the fake listing was still available at the time of publication, despite using the official app’s name, screenshots, and description to appear legitimate
The fake WhatsApp app is still on the Play Store
The listing was published by a developer named Agment Assets sallu, whose account has no other apps. Google Play says the app was published last month. It has since crossed 500,000 downloads.
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The fake app has also reportedly appeared as a sponsored result for some users searching for WhatsApp, although the original report found that the official app appeared first on both mobile and the web.
The listing also appears to be using Google Play’s Early Access program. As security firm Bitdefender recently explained, Early Access apps don’t have public user reviews, making it harder to spot suspicious listings before installing them.
Google Play has faced similar issues before. A fake Google Chrome app reportedly crossed 100,000 downloads before being removed. It’s ridiculous that another fake app has managed to rack up hundreds of thousands of downloads.
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