Google removes Antutu benchmark apps from the Play Store
Antutu has become one of the most popular benchmarking apps for Android because it offers people an easy way to compare their devices with others. It has received millions of downloads from the Google Play Store and has received a high rating all the time.
However, all of this is a thing of the past, as Google has now removed all three Antutu benchmarking apps from the Play Store to take action against the notorious developer Cheetah Mobile.
Google has taken action against Cheetah Mobile since one of its applications, called Clean Master, launched misleading ads in 2014. These pop-up ads warn users that their device has been infected with viruses and cause them to install Clean Master on their phones.
A few months later, the developer asked users to replace Google Chrome on their devices with Cheetah Mobile's internet browser. This eventually led Google to take action against the notorious developer.
In 2018, Cheetah Mobile was involved in another click fraud that resulted in Google removing two of its applications from the Play Store. Currently, Google has banned over 600 apps from Cheetah Mobile and other developers that have violated the company's ad policies, including the Antutu apps mentioned above.
In his defense, Antutu has released a statement alleging that Cheetah Mobile is only an investor in Antutu and that Antutu still holds a significant number of shares. They also claim that they have never advertised Cheetah Mobile software and have never given them access to their Google Play account.
They hope that "Google can better investigate the situation and resolve this misunderstanding as soon as possible."
