5 popular Android apps you should absolutely not download in 2026

Those download numbers you see on Play Store app listings are a terrible way to judge whether an app is worth installing. I’ve seen it with popular VPNs, antivirus software, caller ID services, and even password managers.

Of course, I’m not saying that every popular program is bad. Far from it. But there are plenty of apps that I recommend most people avoid, either because of privacy and security concerns, or because they’re trying to solve problems that Android does perfectly on its own.

Turbo VPN has over 500 million downloads on the Play Store, making it a safe bet. It’s also free and does what you’d expect from a VPN. But the thing is free VPNs There is almost always a catch. No, I’m not just talking about the ads on Turbo VPN’s free tier, although those are annoying enough on their own.

Turbo VPN doesn’t have the cleanest experience. Over the years, there have been several reports of his questionable data practices and ties to China-based entities. Honestly, Turbo VPN is just one example. I’d say the same goes for most free VPNs that offer unlimited data. This is because running a VPN service is not cheap, so if you are not paying for it, the company is making its profits elsewhere.

It’s kind of ironic when you think about it. The whole point of using a VPN is to improve your privacy, but when you choose an app like Turbo VPN, you may end up compromising it instead. If you really want a VPN that costs nothing, look to providers that have been around for several years and have a solid track record, like Proton VPN.

A password manager is one of those apps that live or die by trust. And for a long time, LastPass was the top name among users and security professionals. But after everything that has happened in the last few years, I don’t think the trust is there anymore.

The biggest problem with LastPass is its security record. His 2022 violation was particularly serious. In this incident, attackers were able to steal customer data and even gain access to LastPass’s security architecture. Now, to be fair, no password manager is completely immune to these types of attacks. But what makes it difficult to recommend LastPass is that the 2022 breach was not an isolated incident.

Truecaller promises to solve almost everyone’s problem. It helps identify unknown callers, blocks spam, and can save you from answering another telemarketing call in the middle of your lunch. And the reason it works so well is because it has built a huge database using the information provided by its users. It has over a billion (yes, that’s “B”) downloads on the Play Store alone, and it’s also available on iOS.

The thing is, when you sign up for Truecaller, you’re not just sharing your information; you also share information about everyone in your contact list. This means that someone who has never heard of Truecaller can still register their name and phone number in the database.

My biggest issue with Truecaller is the large number of app permissions it requires. In addition to contacts, it requires access to call logs, messages, location, files, photos, videos, and audio. Sure, some of these are optional, but it’s not a relief when an app like Truecaller requires so many permissions to get started. Most importantly, while Truecaller filled a real void a few years ago, Android now handles spam calls and messages more effectively.

CCleaner is a popular memory cleaning software that claims to remove junk files and junk data. It can also detect programs that are consuming too many resources. The only problem is that modern Android phones don’t need a separate app to do much of this anymore.

You already can on Android see which apps are draining your battery or using excessive mobile data through the settings menu. There’s also a built-in Files app from Google that includes a special cleanup tab to remove unnecessary files, duplicate images, old screenshots, and unused apps. And unlike CCleaner, it’s completely free.

So, yes, CCleaner isn’t necessarily bad software, but it solves a problem that doesn’t need to be solved. I’m also not a fan of how aggressively the app pushes its subscription to try out some of its useful features.

Antivirus software like AVG AntiVirus & Security is easy to find in the Play Store. In addition to malware protection, these apps often offer additional features such as privacy tools, app locking, Wi-Fi security checks, and even performance optimization tools. But even then, they’re pretty redundant on Android.

Android already has a lot of income useful security features. Also, most of the important ones are enabled by default. For example, Google Play Protect continuously scans every app on your phone, including apps you’ve sideloaded, for malicious behavior. If it detects something suspicious, it can alert you and even uninstall the app automatically. There are also features like Android Safe Browsing, which scans for malicious links in real-time to protect you from viruses and phishing scams.

In some ways, AVG and most other Android antivirus programs duplicate features that already exist, and worse, charge you for them. The reality is that as long as you stick to the Play Store for apps and don’t do something stupid like disable Android’s built-in security features, you don’t have to worry about your phone being infected.