The best Antivirus apps for Android in 2020.
There are a wide variety of security apps available.
Here's a list of the best Android antivirus apps you should install on your smartphone.
The best Android antivirus apps offer complete protection to your Android smartphones from malware, adware, spyware and malicious apps. In 2020 when our mobile phones become ground zero for an increasingly large amount of information exchange, these devices also opened doors for security and privacy risks. As such, users need to install the best antivirus app for Android smartphones that provides complete protection.
Our Android smartphones today are filled with a wide variety of apps that we use regularly and some more than others. This also means that these devices have a lot of user’s private data that is at the risk of falling into wrong hands in case of a security breach. Having an anti-malware app installed on your phone comes handy in such a case and the best mobile antivirus these days also offer advanced privacy features, backup options and even anti-theft mode built-in.
There are many mobile security apps available on Android with most of these antivirus apps having free and paid tier subscription models. Each of these android apps offers a different set of tools and security features but we at Digit have gone through the different Android mobile antivirus apps to tell you which is the best anti-malware app out of the lot.
Here is a list of the best antivirus apps that you can download on your Android smartphone in 2020.
1. Avast Mobile Security
Avast Mobile Security is one of the highly-rated antivirus apps on Android that offers complete end-to-end protection and is offered as a Freeware antivirus, a paid Premium version with advanced security features and an Ultimate version with additional VPN protection.
The Premium version of the antivirus app doesn’t serve third-party advertising, offers app locking, camera trap to take automatic pictures in case of theft, SIM security, dedicated photo vault and direct customer support. The Ultimate version also provides VPN protection in addition to the security features to keep your browsing activities hidden.
Avast Mobile Security Premium is being offered currently at a 40% discount for the first year at Rs 59/month, usually priced at Rs 99. Similarly, the Ultimate version of Avast Mobile Security is up for grabs at Rs 179 per month for the next year and is originally priced at Rs 299/month. However, if the subscription is billed annually, the Premium version is offered for Rs 29 while the Ultimate tier is priced at Rs 49.
Download Avast Mobile Security here
2. McAfee Security
McAfee Security offers tons of features in its free versions like anti-theft, backup options, no third-party ads, real-time protection against malware, Safe Wi-Fi, privacy checks, memory booster, data usage tracker and more. These features are sufficient for regular use case but if you’re looking for advanced features then McAfee also offers a Standard and a Plus plan.
The McAfee Security standard subscription plan is priced at Rs 159/monthly or Rs 2,099/yearly. It comes with an additional set of features including Safe Web that monitors and blocks suspicious websites, app locking ability, guest mode, advanced backup options and real-time customer care support.
McAfee Security Plus subscription offers VPN protection on any Wi-Fi network in addition to all the Standard and Free features. It’s priced at Rs 699/monthly or Rs 5,500/yearly.
3. AVG Antivirus
AVG Antivirus shares a lot in common with Avast Mobile Security as the latter took over AVG in 2016. That is why you’ll notice both the apps having the same kind of user experience. The free version of the antivirus app offers anti-theft, real-time scanning, photo vault features just like Avast.
However, there is a Pro and an Ultimate version of the AVG antivirus app that offers additional features like app locking, removes third-party ads, VPN protection and more.
The Pro subscription plan is priced at Rs 99/month or Rs 580/year while the Ultimate plan costs 299/month or Rs 980 when billed yearly.
4. Kaspersky Mobile Antivirus
Kaspersky Mobile Antivirus offers anti-spyware and anti-theft tools that provides all-round protection against suspicious apps and websites. There’s a free and a paid version of the app that provides advanced features such as automated malware scanning, app lock, anti-phishing and internet protection.
The free version of the app comes with manual scanning option, call filter and anti-theft features. The call filter option allows you to block unwanted calls and the anti-theft feature ensures that you still have control of your phone in case of theft.
The antivirus app focuses on offering the best malware protection on Android phones with no in-app advertising, real-time protection and anti-theft features. There’s an internet protection option with the paid version which block malicious websites automatically and also keeps your financial data secure against phishing attacks.
The paid version of the Kaspersky Mobile Antivirus app is priced at Rs 99 monthly and Rs 499 annually. There’s a separate VPN app offered by Kaspersky for mobile as well.
Download Kaspersky Antivirus app here
5. Bitdefender Free Antivirus
Bitdefender is one of the most popular Android antivirus apps and offers robust security and privacy features. The app can protect your smartphone from malware and doesn’t tax the systems like all the other anti-virus apps. It also brings in-app locking, anti-theft and Wi-Fi scanning features to the table.
The app is fairly lightweight and doesn’t run in the background so users will have to ensure they run the system scanner manually. As an upside, the app won’t hog too much RAM and battery life making it an efficient antivirus app.
Bitdefender premium plan is priced at Rs 80 per month or Rs 799 if billed annually. The Free version of the antivirus is actually a 14-day trial of the app after which the user has to pay for the Premium plan to continue using the app.
6. Norton Mobile Security and Antivirus
Like Bitdefender, Norton Mobile Security and antivirus have also moved to a freemium model where it offers a free trial of 30 days after which a user has to pay Rs 690 to continue using the app for a year.
Norton Mobile Security is one of the few antivirus apps that have been able to detect 100% Android malware as the app can detect malware and viruses from inside the file and removes it. The app also offers an option for app locking, browsing protection, Wi-FI security and more.
Download Norton Mobile Security here
7. Malwarebytes Security
Malwarebytes is another popular anti-malware app that offers all-round protection of your Android phone. The app has a free trial of 30 days after which the users will have to subscribe to the Premium plan that’s priced at Rs 85 per month or Rs 790/annually.
The app offers real-time protection against malware and unauthorized apps, can detect ransomware, has built-in privacy options and scans websites for malicious codes.
In trial mode, the app doesn’t offer real-time protection and does an automatic security audit of your smartphone to alert you of lapses.
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