Update (10/30/2023): Huawei has provided an explanation for the situation. According to Huawei, their virus detection and removal engine is sourced from Avast. They attribute the triggering of the virus warning to inadvertent actions caused by certain modifications in the Google app. Huawei is actively addressing this issue and working towards its resolution.
I’m seeing a lot of reports from users of Huawei and Honor devices have reported that their phones are incorrectly identifying Google apps as Trojan malware, specifically labeled as TrojanSMS-PA. According to the alert, this “malicious software” has the ability to send SMS messages without user consent.
On user forums (Reddit, Google Support, and numerous others), multiple accounts support that this is not an isolated incident. The issue seems to have appeared after the latest Google app update and is primarily identified by Huawei’s own Phone Manager or Optimizer app.
The details of the “This app is infected” warning state that,
This app was detected sending SMS privately, enticing users to pay with adult content, downloading/installing apps privately, or stealing private information, which may cause property damage and privacy leakage. We recommend uninstalling it immediately.
Other antivirus apps like Norton and Sophos did not identify the Google app as malicious, which leads to the strong assumption that this is a false positive. While no official statement has been given by Huawei at the time of writing, the general consensus is that this is a bug in Huawei and Honor’s security software, rather than a genuine security threat from Google.
One of the most probable reasons behind Huawei’s false security warnings could be a software glitch. It’s not uncommon for bugs to interfere with security algorithms, leading to inaccurate notifications. Another angle to consider is the role of false signatures. Security software hinges on virus definitions, and an outdated or flawed signature could be the culprit behind the incorrect identification.
It’s worth noting that this virus alert was first reported almost two days ago (early October 27), so it is strange that it wasn’t immediately addressed by either parties as so many people are having issues with it.
As for solving this issue, the users experiencing the problem have suggested several approaches. One method is to disable the Google app on your Huawei device, remove any updates it has, and then reinstall it. This has been effective in some cases, as reported by the users experiencing the issue.
Alternatively, clearing the data from Huawei’s Phone Manager app has also helped some users get rid of the false positive warning.
And finally, considering the visibility and severity of this situation, it’s likely that both Google and Huawei will release a patch to resolve it.
As of October 30, Google has not yet given a response to our email queries.
