Huawei smartphones are flagging Google app as a virus [UPDATED: Huawei explains]

Some Huawei and HONOR smartphones have started flagging the Google app as a virus. Users across Reddit, Google Support, and various other forums, have started reporting the issue, and sharing screenshots.

Some Huawei & HONOR smartphones seem to be flagging the Google app as a virus

The phones are saying that the “app is infected”, and they label it as a “TrojanSMS-PA” virus. The prompt says that the app has the ability to send SMS messages without the user’s consent, and poses a risk related to that.

This is the full warning message: “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.”

Norton & Sophos did not flag it

Of course, users pushed the app through other antivirus apps, such as Norton and Sophos, and it was not flagged as a virus app. Huawei did not respond to this by the time we wrote this article, but it could soon.

Now, as many of you know, Google apps are not officially available for Huawei smartphones due to the US ban. There are ways to get them running, like through GSpace, but you can’t even sideload them in a normal way, as they won’t work without Google Services. You have to use an emulator such as GSpace.

The thing is, we’re not sure if this warning is popping up on devices that don’t have Google services, or those that do. Chances are it’s the first one, though, as HONOR is also mentioned, and this app seems to be installed directly on the phone.

This seems to be a bug

Now, it seems like Huawei software mixed up the Google app for a virus, it could be a bug or something of the sort. The Google app is most certainly not a trojan virus, so that has to be a mistake of some sort.

Huawei will likely address this soon. In the meantime, if you’re having the same issue, and can’t really install the app, there are ways to step around it. You can try removing the app and reinstalling it. Clearing the data from Huawei’s Phone Manager app also helped some users.

Updated on October 30, 2023:

Huawei reached out to explain what happened. Huawei says that the company’s virus detection and removal engine comes from Avast. Huawei says that due to some modifications in the Google app, the app triggered the virus tool by mistake, it seems. The company is working on removing the problem.

Updated on October 31, 2023:

Huawei offered additional explanation of the situation, and also steps on how to fix the problem. Find all the necessary information here.