A fake WhatsApp app appeared in a “sponsored” slot above the real app on Google Play, according to a Reddit user cited by The Verge. The report follows an earlier sighting of a Chrome clone on the store.
The Verge, citing Android Authority, reports that the WhatsApp clone has more than 500,000 downloads and that its Play Store listing was still live when the article was written. Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The app is listed by a developer using the name “Agment Assets sallu,” which has no other apps currently listed on Google Play, according to the report. Its listing uses the same icon, screenshots, and text as the real WhatsApp app. The real app has more than 10 billion downloads, an “editor’s choice” badge, and more than 246 million reviews.
Android Authority says the clone may be using Google Play’s Early Access program to disable public user reviews. That could have made it harder for users to warn others against downloading the app.
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