Symantec: Youmi SDK from deleted iOS apps is also in Android apps

According to Symantec, the Youmi advertising software, which secretly collects users’ personal information, is also used in Android apps. Apple removed 250 apps from the App Store that contained the software this week.

Dick O’Brien writes on the Symantec blog that the Youmi SDK has been used in Android apps for a long time. According to O’Brien, Symantec and Norton have been blocking the SDK in question since February 2015. The company identified the Android version of Youmi as unwanted because the ad library, among other things, contains the location of the device, the phone number and device-identifying information such as IMEI- number, kernel version, and smartphone type to a remote location. In addition, the advertising software would be able to download apps and prompt users to install them.

The Android variant of the Youmi sdk differs from the version for iOS in what kind of data it collects. Apple removed more than 250 apps from the App Store this week that used Youmi’s advertising software. Among other things, these apps were able to obtain a list of all apps on the device and the email address linked to the Apple ID and forward it to the Chinese ad company’s servers. It is not known how many apps in the Google Play Store use the Youmi SDk.