Re: Pink circle on Home screen

Jim the Geordie <jim@jimXscott.co.uk> wrote:

On 26/09/2024 23:10, VanguardLH wrote:

Jim the Geordie <jim@jimXscott.co.uk> wrote:
 

Found it!
https://www.jimscott.co.uk/Android/Pink_Circle.html
Still no idea what it is

 
Have you yet killed all the backgrounded apps?  You could use a task
killer app, or go into Android settings on each app to stop them.
 
Have you yet gone through the apps to ensure none have the draw over
other apps permission?  After changing the permission on an app,
kill/stop it, and reload it to see if that the app presenting the
interfering icon.  Already mentioned this in my prior reply.
 
The app creating the icon doesn't have to be one you installed.  It
could be some bundled app that came on the phone.

 
I might do that when I find the time.
I was hoping that someone had already seen and identified this, but my
description of the icon that was poor.
However, this time, given enough time, the 'icon' disappears, suggesting
(to me) that perhaps something was downloading, but I have no idea what.

Whatever it is, I would consider it malicious.  Anything that locks out
the usability of YOUR property is malware no matter how well intentioned
was the app.

I've tried apps that incorporate advertizing.  Not as a banner, or
buried into the GUI of the app, but present fullscreen windows to show
ads.  Those fullscreen ads interfere with the use of the phone.  You
have to close the window before you can use your phone.  Clicking on the
"X" button to close the window can, and often does, run a script.  You
aren't just closing the window that blocks access to the phone's
screens, but you also permit execution of the script linked to the "X"
object.  Luckily, my phone is old, and still has its own separate nav
bar (Recent, Home, Back), so I could use the Back button to force an
exit from the fullscreen window.  Some ads try to pretend to show those
buttons, but they are inside the ad window, so are scripted to do what
the ad wants to do. 

The app author disclaims responsibility for how the ads are presented,
because they incorporate someone else's code to retrieve and display the
ads (i.e., Google Ads platform).  It's their app.  It's their code.  If
they bundle in someone else's code, yep, they're still responsible for
the behavior of THEIR app.  "No, officer, I didn't kill that person,
because I pulled the trigger on a handgun manufactured by someone else." 

I consider any app that presents fullscreen ads to be malware.  I rarely
install an app that has any advertizing, but they are getting more rare.
Many apps no longer have a payware version that removes the ads.  The
author gets more revenue from the ads than the puny revenue gotten from
paying for the app.

What app is interfering with the use of your phone by obliterating the
nav bar buttons, or otherwise crippled the usability of your phone, I
would consider malware.  However, lots of users will suffer loss or
privacy, security, or usability of their property for the sake of
convenience, or features they want despite the pitfalls.