{"id":281678,"date":"2021-06-23T13:40:00","date_gmt":"2021-06-23T10:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/can-google-and-apple-remotely-install-apps-on-your-phone\/"},"modified":"2021-06-23T13:40:00","modified_gmt":"2021-06-23T10:40:00","slug":"can-google-and-apple-remotely-install-apps-on-your-phone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/can-google-and-apple-remotely-install-apps-on-your-phone\/","title":{"rendered":"#Can Google and Apple Remotely Install Apps on Your Phone?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a36ebbd12502\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a36ebbd12502\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/can-google-and-apple-remotely-install-apps-on-your-phone\/#On_Android_MassNotify_Arrived_Automatically\" >On Android, MassNotify Arrived Automatically<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/can-google-and-apple-remotely-install-apps-on-your-phone\/#You_Can_Remotely_Install_Apps_Too\" >You Can Remotely Install Apps, Too<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/can-google-and-apple-remotely-install-apps-on-your-phone\/#Can_Apple_Remotely_Install_Apps_on_an_iPhone\" >Can Apple Remotely Install Apps on an iPhone?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/can-google-and-apple-remotely-install-apps-on-your-phone\/#Obviously_Operating_System_Updates_Can_Install_Apps\" >Obviously, Operating System Updates Can Install Apps<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/can-google-and-apple-remotely-install-apps-on-your-phone\/#Both_Companies_Can_Remotely_Delete_Apps\" >Both Companies Can Remotely Delete Apps<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/can-google-and-apple-remotely-install-apps-on-your-phone\/#Its_Not_Like_Windows_10_PCs_Are_Much_Different\" >It\u2019s Not Like Windows 10 PCs Are Much Different<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/can-google-and-apple-remotely-install-apps-on-your-phone\/#What_Matters_More_Technical_Capabilities_or_Culture\" >What Matters More: Technical Capabilities or Culture?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p><strong>&#8220;#Can Google and <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">App<\/a>le Remotely Install Apps on Your Phone?&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<div>\n<figure style=\"width: 1199px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"type:primaryImage wp-image-736455 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/iphone-and-pixel.jpg?width=1198&amp;trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"\" width=\"1199\" height=\"675\" data-crediturl=\"https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/image-photo\/moscow-russia-2020-december-3-compare-1867906366\" data-credittext=\"Mr.Mikla\/Shutterstock.com\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"type:primaryImage imagecredit\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/image-photo\/moscow-russia-2020-december-3-compare-1867906366\">Mr.Mikla\/Shutterstock.com<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Google has the ability to remotely install apps on your phone without your explicit permission or even any notification. That\u2019s the lesson from <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/9to5google.com\/2021\/06\/19\/massachusetts-massnotify-app\/\">the confusing rollout of \u201cMassNotify\u201d in June 2021<\/a>. But how does that work? And what about Apple\u2019s iPhones?<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"On_Android_MassNotify_Arrived_Automatically\"><\/span>On Android, MassNotify Arrived Automatically<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The rollout of MassNotify is instructive. According to user reports, the MassNotify COVID-19 exposure notifications app was automatically installed on many Android smartphones around June 19, 2021. It appears as if the app was automatically installed on nearly every Android smartphone in the state of Massachusetts\u2014and some Android phones beyond that.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhile I believe in what this app was meant to do, installing it without so much as a notification is extremely alarming,\u201d <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/apps\/details?id=gov.ma.covid19.exposurenotifications.v3&amp;showAllReviews=true\">wrote one user<\/a>\u00a0in a review of the app on the Google Play Store. The app doesn\u2019t even have an app icon to let users know it\u2019s installed.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-677101 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/covid-19-notification-settings-on-android.jpg?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"COVID-19 Notification settings on Android\" width=\"650\" height=\"300\" data-credittext=\"Justin Duino\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"imagecredit\">Justin Duino<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Google told <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news<\/a> website\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/9to5google.com\/2021\/06\/19\/massachusetts-massnotify-app\/\">9to5Google<\/a> that the automatic install of the app was intentional and that the app wouldn\u2019t do anything unless a user chooses to enable it.<\/p>\n<p>This is particularly strange because no other state\u2019s COVID-19 exposure app appears to work in this way. All the other apps are installed when you as a user chooses to enable the exposure notifications.<\/p>\n<p>So, under what circumstances will Google remotely install an app on your phone? Did Google audit the app\u2019s code for security problems before distributing it? Google isn\u2019t really saying much\u2014but it\u2019s clear Google has the ability to remotely install Android apps.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"You_Can_Remotely_Install_Apps_Too\"><\/span>You Can Remotely Install Apps, Too<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>While we\u2019re not aware of Google ever remotely and silently installing an app in this way on Android, you can remotely install apps on your own Android phone.<\/p>\n<p>Just head to the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\">Google Play Store<\/a> site, sign in with the same account you sign in with on Android, and you can use the \u201cInstall\u201d button on an app\u2019s store page to push it to your phone. The Play Store on your phone will begin downloading and installing the app you choose.<\/p>\n<p>Unlike the situation around MassNotify, this isn\u2019t silent. You do see a notification while the app is being installed.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Can_Apple_Remotely_Install_Apps_on_an_iPhone\"><\/span>Can Apple Remotely Install Apps on an iPhone?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>We\u2019re not aware of Apple ever remotely installing an iPhone app on anyone\u2019s phones in this way. In fact, iPhones work a bit differently\u2014to install an iPhone app, you have to go to the App Store on an iPhone and install the app. You can\u2019t just sign into a web browser with your Apple ID and click a button to remotely install apps, as you can on Android.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Obviously_Operating_System_Updates_Can_Install_Apps\"><\/span>Obviously, Operating System Updates Can Install Apps<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Of course, operating system updates can install new apps on your device. You might install a new version of iOS for iPhones to find a new app, like the Apple Watch app or Apple News app. You might install a new Android update to find a new Google app on your phone.<\/p>\n<p>However, we\u2019re not aware of third-party apps not written by Google or Apple ever being installed in this way\u2014especially not outside of normal operating system updates!<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Both_Companies_Can_Remotely_Delete_Apps\"><\/span>Both Companies Can Remotely Delete Apps<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>It\u2019s worth noting that both Google and Apple can remotely delete apps from your phone if they want. This capability was created to protect devices from malware. If a terrible malicious app sneaks into Google Play or Apple\u2019s App Store and is downloaded by millions of people, both companies want a kill switch they can flip to remotely disable the app.<\/p>\n<p>Google has <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tomsguide.com\/us\/Android-Google-Applications-Android-Apps,news-7216.html\">remotely removed malicious Android apps<\/a> in the past. In fact, Google has even <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.androidpolice.com\/2021\/02\/04\/google-remotely-disables-the-great-suspender-chrome-extension-after-malware-accusations\/\">remotely removed malicious Chrome extensions<\/a> from Google Chrome browsers.<\/p>\n<p>While we know <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2008\/08\/07\/apple-can-remotely-remove-applications-from-your-iphone\/\">Apple can remotely disable apps installed on iPhones<\/a>, we\u2019re not aware of Apple ever using this capability as of June 2021<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Its_Not_Like_Windows_10_PCs_Are_Much_Different\"><\/span>It\u2019s Not Like Windows 10 PCs Are Much Different<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-342872 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/img_5a834e83ca2de.png?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"A Windows 10 notification saying the Facebook app was automatically installed.\" width=\"650\" height=\"300\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Of course, it\u2019s not like remote-installed app problems are restricted to smartphones. They happen on Windows 10, too. Design firm FTDI has repeatedly used Windows Update to <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.techrepublic.com\/article\/ftdi-abuses-windows-update-pushing-driver-that-breaks-counterfeit-chips\/\">push drivers<\/a> that \u201cbrick\u201d (disable) counterfeit hardware.<\/p>\n<p>Apps like <em>Candy Crush<\/em>, <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Facebook<\/a>, and <em>FarmVille<\/em> just keep popping up on Windows 10 PCs, whether you want them or not.<\/p>\n<p>Windows 10 has been teaching PC users this lesson for years: It\u2019s Microsoft\u2019s PC\u2014not yours\u2014and Microsoft will install whatever it wants.<\/p>\n<p><strong>RELATED:<\/strong> <strong><em>Hey Microsoft, Stop Installing Apps On My PC Without Asking<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_Matters_More_Technical_Capabilities_or_Culture\"><\/span>What Matters More: Technical Capabilities or Culture?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>All this being said, even if a company like Apple can\u2019t remotely install apps\u2014and it seems like it\u2019s possible Apple can\u2019t remotely install apps on iPhones at the moment\u2014that company could roll out a small operating system update that would give the company the capability to do this.<\/p>\n<p>That operating system update would likely be installed automatically\u2014after all, these automatic updates are good for security purposes.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps what matters more is a company\u2019s culture. Rather than asking whether a company can remotely install apps on our devices, we should ask whether the company has a history of doing so.<\/p>\n<p>Both Google and Microsoft have remotely installed third-party apps without user consent. Apple hasn\u2019t done so\u2014yet.<\/p>\n<p>Then again, Apple did once <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/2014\/9\/15\/6153165\/apple-u2-songs-of-innocence-removal-tool\">add a U2 album to everyone\u2019s iTunes libraries<\/a>. Nobody\u2019s perfect.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script>\n setTimeout(function(){\n  !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)\n  {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n  n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};\n  if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';\n  n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\n  t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\n  s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s) } (window, document,'script',\n  'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n   fbq('init', '335401813750447');\n   fbq('track', 'PageView');\n  },3000);\n<\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/736451\/can-google-and-apple-remotely-install-apps-on-your-phone\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#Can Google and Apple Remotely Install Apps on Your Phone?&#8221; Mr.Mikla\/Shutterstock.com Google has the ability to remotely install apps on your phone without your explicit permission or even any notification. That\u2019s the lesson from the confusing rollout of \u201cMassNotify\u201d in June 2021. But how does that work? And what about Apple\u2019s iPhones? On Android, MassNotify&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":281679,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/iphone-and-pixel.jpg?height=200p&trim=2,2,2,2","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-281678","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281678","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=281678"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281678\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/281679"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=281678"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=281678"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=281678"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}