Mobile phone users are being advised to uninstall a Chinese shopping app after Google claimed it discovered malware in some versions of the application which have not been downloaded from the Play store.
Google said it suspended the Punduoduo app on the Google Play store due to "security concerns" that it is investigating. It comes after concerns have arisen recently over another Chinese-owned app, TikTok, which has led to some politicians calling it a national security threat.
Some have even alleged that the app could be used to spy on users while the British government has outright banned it on any government devices this week.
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Pinduoduo is a popular e-commerce app in China that is known for providing discounts if users team up to buy multiples of an item.
Google warned users on Tuesday to uninstall any Pinduoduo app not downloaded from its own Play store.
In a statement, Google said: "Google Play Protect enforcement has been set to block installation attempts of these identified malicious apps. Users that have malicious versions of the app downloaded to their devices are warned and prompted to uninstall the app.”
While the app has been suspended on Google Play Store, it is still available for Apple users and can still be downloaded from the iOS store on Tuesday.
In a statement, Pinduoduo said that Google had not shared more details with the company beyond informing it that the current version of its app was “not compliant with Google’s policy”.
“We strongly reject the speculation and accusation that Pinduoduo app is malicious just from a generic and non-conclusive response from Google,” Pinduoduo said.
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