Today, there are a staggering 3.5 billion mobile phone users around the world. Out of the total volume of the smartphones sold, a massive 85.4% of users are Android users. According to reports, Android devices in the smartphone market will continue hovering around 86% consistently until 2024.
With such a huge number of active users who readily spend approximately 2 hours 55 min on their smartphones throughout the US, a smartphone is a significant part of our lives. More often than not, our daily lives depend on apps for instant messaging, online banking, business functions, and mobile account management. The smartphone has replaced almost every task physically or through a computer just some years back. From booking a movie ticket to air tickets, from ordering food & groceries to booking an appointment, and even ordering lifesaving medicines, a smartphone can do virtually everything for us at a click of a button.
Do I Need Antivirus for My Android Phone?
With so much going on through our smartphones, it is increasingly becoming a favorite tool for hackers to plant malware. An unbelievable 24,000 malicious apps are blocked every single day on the PlayStore for violating platform safety policies.
Investing in a good antivirus is recommended taking into consideration the number of threats looming around your smartphone. It will make sure that you and your data gets the best protection from cyber threats.
Our List of Best Free Antivirus Apps for Android
There are numerous free and paid Antivirus options available on the Playstore. But choosing one from this list can easily become a daunting task. Today we are going to highlight six free antivirus apps for android phones in 2020. We take a look at the best they have to offer in their free and paid options.
1. Bitdefender Antivirus Free for Android
Bitdefender Antivirus Free is a powerful & free antivirus solution for Android devices.
Bitdefender is a well-known name in the PC antivirus domain, and it makes sure to carry the same legacy to the smartphone world. Similar to the PC, the android version also utilizes in-the-cloud scanning technology. It helps the android device with the latest virus definitions. Furthermore, access to the latest definitions on the cloud means that it can instantly detect the latest malware without putting any strain on the memory or excessively draining the phone battery.
Scanning starts at the push of a button. After that, the auto-pilot feature takes over & makes sure that it scans every new app installed and any file downloads on your device.
Bitdefender does provide the required basic malware protection free of cost, but it reserves the more advanced features for the premium version. In the premium version, you get Anti-Theft, Privacy features, and Bitdefender Secure VPN.
Bitdefender Total Security offers protection for Android devices as well as Windows, macOS & iOS. Advanced features like Anti-ransomware protection, Wi-Fi Security Advisor, Anti-tracker, Advanced Threat Defense & Advanced parental controls ensure that you and your kids are safe online.
Bitdefender Total Security provides protection for up to 10 devices. If purchasing a Bitdefender subscription plan is on your wishlist, then you can avail great discounts online using Bitdefender coupon codes available throughout the year.
2. Avast Mobile Security
Avast offers a good feature-rich free mobile antivirus app. It provides your device protection against threats by regularly scanning apps and new installations. It also detects threats from new Wi-Fi connections by scanning them and warns suspicious link clicks on the web.
Avast Mobile Security has an inbuilt remote tracking in case your device is lost or stolen. Avast mobile security also gives you an option to keep track of your digital screen time by analyzing what apps you use the most.
It also helps you understand which apps have what permissions to access your data. Device optimization can speed up your device by removing junk files. There is also an option to extend battery life by optimizing power-consuming apps and a RAM booster option.
The paid version offers additional utilities, including an app lock & access to the VPN to protect your privacy. An enhanced anti-theft option helps you secretly capture the phone thief’s photo and register your device as stolen once the SIM is changed.
3. McAfee Mobile Security
McAfee Mobile Security offers features similar to the Avast Antivirus. It has two options to scan your device, a quick scan, and a deep scan. It also detects any malicious apps, scans new apps, and warns against any suspicious links on the web while browsing.
McAfee also gives options to protect your privacy, clean up junk files, and boosts memory. McAfee Mobile Security app also includes anti-theft features that easily allow you to locate your device when stolen or misplaced.
4. Kaspersky Internet Security for Android
Kaspersky Internet Security offers two packages for android devices. One is a free package, and the other is a premium version.
The free package offers basic antivirus protection, which you can further extend to your android wear devices. There is also an option for privacy and data protection, which protects the device when lost or stolen.
Apart from these free features, the premium version offers additional benefits. They include an automatic scanning feature for all apps, anti-phishing options, and app lock facilities for locking your key apps, call logs & texts with a secret passcode.
5. Avira Antivirus Security for Android
Avira antivirus offers a host of protection features in their free and premium packages. The free package provides an anti-malware option for protection against malware and threats. It also offers a Network scanner option that detects all the smart devices in your network and scans them for vulnerabilities.
There is an identity safeguard feature that notifies the user of any email leaks or data breaches. Along with this, there is also an app lock function to secure your key apps with a secret passcode. Avira also offers a unique feature that categorizes all installed apps by the amount of data they collect from you.
Apart from the free features, Avira also offers some premium only security features. These include camera and microphone protections that prevent unauthorized apps from accessing your camera and mic without your knowledge. It also helps to block any infected and phishing sites while you browse the web.
6. ESET Mobile Security for Android
ESET Mobile Security for Android offers Malware protection through a real-time scanning feature. Along with this, it also generates a security report and an activity log. It offers a remote lock feature that helps you lock out your device in theft cases and even sound a siren for alerting passers-by.
A premium version offers all of the above features and an app lock feature & an anti-phishing option. The anti-theft feature also upgrades to a proactive option. Along with the automatic virus update facility, there is also an option to schedule device scanning.
Features of a free antivirus
As with all the above antivirus apps, all of them at the basic level provide good protection against malware. Some of them even step beyond and give additional privacy features like VPN, anti-theft, and app lock features.
However, please note that some antivirus apps provide these services free of cost by serving adverts.
Free Antivirus Comparison
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Free Antivirus |
Ads |
App Lock Feature | Anti-theft |
VPN |
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Bitdefender Antivirus Free |
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Avast Mobile Security |
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McAfee Mobile Security |
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Kaspersky Internet Security |
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Avira Antivirus |
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ESET Mobile Security |
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Conclusion
There are no two thoughts on the fact that your android device definitely requires antivirus protection in today’s world.
You can always opt for free antivirus for basic protection against malware, but it is conclusive that free antivirus apps offer a minimal scope of protection from the above discussion.
We always recommend investing in a good premium android antivirus for complete protection and safe experience.