Google publishes stats to show that Android is safe

Google announced through a white paper that Android is safe and is only getting safer.  Everyone should understand that cyber threats are not gone.  We witnessed Sony get hacked in 2014, which was one of the biggest eye-openers for all of us last year.  I think many of us realized, if Sony can get hacked, so can we.

Google, Apple, and Microsoft understand that security is on the forefront of everyone’s concerns when it comes to digital data.  We also saw Snapchat hacks last year where thousands of private photos were leaked to the web for everyone’s viewing pleasure/displeasure.  Google knows security is vital to all of us, whether we have private photos to protect, banking information, private emails, etc., most of us have something we want to keep private.  If our privacy were to be violated, I am sure most of us would start looking for another platform to use.

Google has analyzed billions of data points, and in the white paper they give stats on how many people are protected.

– 1 billion devices are protected by Google Play – for perspective, the US has a population of 318 million people.  That would be over 3x the population of the US.  The UK on the other hand has a population of 64 million people.

– Fewer than 1% of Android devices had a potentially harmful app.  That means, in all likelihood, you are safe.  No system is perfect, but less than 1% if pretty good.  That would be an A+ grade at a university.

– The overall worldwide rate of Potentially Harmful Application (PHA) installs decreased by nearly 50% between Q1 and Q4 2014.  – Google is getting better at protecting us.

I’ve used Apple devices for years before I used Android.  My own experience leads me to believe Android is the most safe environment out of both platforms.

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