Fake Android antivirus app developer says Virus was 'foolish mistake'

The developer behind a "fake" Android antivirus app that was downloaded thousands of times has told the Guardian it was a "foolish mistake" and that users will be refunded, reports The Guardian. 

Jesse Carter, whose Deviant Solutions uploaded the app on Sunday 28 March, insisted that "we never intended to scam our customers on Google Play" with the non-functional app.

Called "Virus Shield", the app shot into the Google Play paid charts. It sold for $3.99 and was downloaded more than 30,000 times between being uploaded on Sunday 28 March and being taken down on Sunday 6 April, according to app store monitoring firm Appbrain.

Ostensibly, it searched the user's phone for viruses, while also promising not to affect battery life. But in fact the app did precisely one thing: it changed its icon when pressed, to make it look like it was active. When Android Police examined the app, they found it didn't even contain any code to do anything else. 

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