What you need to know
- Huawei's phones are tagging the Allo app as a security threat.
- The warning claims that the app could be infected and recommends immediate uninstallation.
- The app has been non-functional for almost a year now.
It's been more than a year since Google announced its intention to kill Allo, yet another of its failed attempts at creating a WhatsApp alternative that could be for Android what iMessages is to iOS. While those plans never materialized and the app was lost to history as just another ghost in Google's burgeoning graveyard, Allo is now back in the news, thanks to Huawei.
Android Authority reports that users of the embattled Chinese company's phones are now receiving warnings classifying the defunct app as a possible security threat that is 'infected' and thus needs to be uninstalled immediately.
The app has been off the Play Store for a while now, so the warning is only being received by users who either sideload the app onto their phone or those who simply never uninstalled the app after it was shut down.
Google announced its intention to shutter Allo's servers back in March 2019, so the app has been non-functioning for almost a year now. While a dead app may be a nuisance to have on your phone, it's certainly an odd thing for Huawei's automatic security suite to suggest the app is infected.
Regardless, since the app is already dead, it might be a good idea to heed Huawei's advice and uninstall the app from your phone; if nothing else, at least you'll just reclaim some extra storage. Google has already moved on with its messaging ambitions in the form of RCS, and it's high time that you did so, too.
