Everybody wants safe mobile apps in which they are sure that their data are secure. Gone are the phrases that only Windows has viruses because of executables. We have seen how Android or iOS are not only in danger of viruses but of malware. This is not the most worrying problem in an application, but many applications are simply bad. As a general rule, we realize that an application is bad after having installed and tested it a few minutes. It would be great if we don't install and use bad apps and thus avoid installing and copying bad files into our device.
Read the reviews, although we cannot say that they are 100% reliable
It is common to look at the ratings of applications. However, large app development company can get to make this data less reliable. They have the financial capability to ensure that they have impressive ratings in the app repository. Although Google Play and Apple Store are working hard to detect fake reviews, it is impossible to detect them all, since a lot of money is invested in so-called click farms that give value to an application, even if it does not.
With this, we can see that a 5-star application with many downloads does not automatically imply that it is a great app. But if something is difficult to manipulate, it is the reviews. Some negative reviews are usually the concerns of the app users, and this cannot be deleted by the app owner. Please note that not all negative reviews are correct. This problem experienced by the user might not be the fault of the app owner.
Therefore, we recommend that you look at the
reviews of apps with good ratings, and from there, you can get an idea of how good the application is.
Read the application description
You should detect the functionality of an app through its description. If you find it difficult to pinpoint the functionality of an app to a particular solution, then, you should start having a doubt about the app. All great apps focus on solving a particular problem and are very clear with the way they describe it.
Apps that are generic and intend to provide are a variety of solutions are not the best. Mobile apps should provide a solution to a particular problem and do so excellently.
Icons and screenshots
In Google Play Store or App Store, apart from the description and reviews, apps also show small screenshots of what we can see after installing it. Not all companies have graphics experts to make a visually appealing application, but there are times that even our inexperienced eye in design is able to see that aberration is not normal in an application. One way to detect that the application is worse than we can imagine is if these screenshots do not directly show the application, but instead put images related to what they want to offer us.
Applications related to the same developer and website
A good indication that the application can be good and that is what you are looking for is to see what other applications the
app developers have. You can take your time to look at some of the other apps that the developers have. This will give you an idea of the level of experience of the app developer.
Another important point is to have a web page. Great mobile apps have dedicated web pages where they offer good contents and responds to the questions and concerns of the app users.
Permission
This is one of the best indications to determine if the app is good or bad. You should note the permissions that it asks for when making use of the app. With the new versions of the operating systems, the permissions are being scaled up. An application that has different functionalities such as taking photos,
geolocation and needs your contacts will not request for the permissions until it needs to access those functionalities.
Before installing the application, being able to know what permissions it is going to ask for is a good indication of how an application can be fraudulent. Let's give you an example if you want to download an application adds a filter to a photo, it is expected that the application will need camera or gallery permissions, but it would be very suspicious if it asks for permission to access your calendar.
