Avast Mobile Security - FAQs

Avast Mobile Security for Android is a security app that helps protect your mobile device from unwanted phishing, malware, spyware, and malicious viruses such as trojans. It also helps secure your email accounts and accounts associated with your email addresses, lock your sensitive apps, and protect access to your photos stored on your device.

Avast Mobile Security helps protect your Android device from known malware and threats, and monitors data going in and out according to your preferences. We do our best to protect your device against all possible threats, but no solution is 100% effective.

Like all applications on the Android market, it is subject to limitations imposed by the operating system version running on the device. It cannot protect against exploits targeting specific vulnerabilities in the OS kernel, the network stack and other fundamental parts of the system. However, we take our role in the security industry seriously, and continuously work with Android vendors to develop future solutions to minimize the risk of attacks.

For detailed information on system requirements for Avast Mobile Security, refer to the following article: System requirements for Avast applications.

For detailed installation and activation instructions, refer to the following articles:

• Installing Avast Mobile Security
• Activating Avast Mobile Security

There are two tiers of paid Avast Mobile Security subscriptions:

• Avast Mobile Security Premium: With this tier, you can take advantage of the following premium features:
  • Remove ads: Eliminate third-party ads from your Avast Mobile Security experience.
  • App Lock: Protect access to your apps with a PIN.
  • Automatic Scan: Set a day of the week and time for the app to scan your device automatically.
  • Hack Alerts: Monitor up to 5 email accounts and immediately receive a notification if a password linked to your email account is found leaked online.
  • Scam Guardian Pro: Includes paid features such as SMS Guard, Email Guard, Call Guard, and Link Guard.
  • Unlimited Photo Vault: Secure storage of unlimited photos in an encrypted vault on your device.
• Avast Mobile Security Ultimate: This is an advanced tier of the paid version. With this subscription, you gain access to:
  • All the features included in the previous tier, Avast Mobile Security Premium.
  • VPN Secure Connection: This feature helps protect your privacy online by using a Virtual Private Network (VPN), ensuring that no one can monitor your online activities.

In addition to Avast Mobile Security Premium and Avast Mobile Security Ultimate for Android, we also offer Avast Mobile Pro Plus. This is a bundle that includes Avast Mobile Security Premium for Android, and Avast Cleanup Premium for Android (each for use on up to 5 Android devices simultaneously). It is available only as an upgrade from Avast Cleanup for Android.

To upgrade Avast Mobile Security to one of the paid versions, tap Upgrade in the top-right corner, select your preferred subscription tier (Avast Mobile Security Premium or Avast Mobile Security Ultimate), then follow the on-screen instructions to subscribe. When the transaction completes, the paid version of Avast Mobile Security activates automatically on your Android device. Your purchased subscription is valid on devices that are connected to your Google Account and have Avast Mobile Security installed.

The paid versions available may differ according to your region and certain regulatory restrictions. You may see some or all of the subscription packages Avast offers.

No. If you subscribe to Avast Mobile Security Premium, your subscription is valid only for this particular app. Avast Mobile Pro Plus and Avast Mobile Ultimate subscriptions are also valid for some other paid Avast Android apps.

When you upgrade from one paid version of Avast Mobile Security to another (for example, from Avast Mobile Security Premium to Avast Mobile Ultimate), Google Play Store automatically calculates how much of your original subscription was unused. To compensate you for the value of this unused subscription, you receive access to the upgraded subscription for a period of time that is equivalent to the value of that unused subscription at no extra cost. This means you are not immediately charged when you activate your upgraded subscription, but when that period ends (unless canceled first). The length of that access period depends on how much of your original subscription was unused. The date of your first payment is displayed during the subscription upgrade.

To start using your Avast Mobile Security subscription on another device, refer to the following article: Transferring or restoring Avast mobile subscriptions.

Uninstalling the Avast Mobile Security Premium app from your Android device does not cancel your paid subscription, and you will continue to be charged for the subscription until you cancel it. To cancel a subscription, ensure that you are signed into the Google Play Store with the Google Account that you used to purchase the subscription, then follow these steps:

1. On the Home screen of your device, tap the Google Play Store icon to open the store.
2. Tap the user icon in the top-right corner, then select Payments & subscriptions ▸ Subscriptions.
3. Tap the subscription you want to cancel and select Cancel Subscription.

Google Play Store confirms the subscription is canceled. Your subscription is canceled and will stop at the end of the current billing cycle.

If you did not subscribe to your paid version of Avast Mobile Security using the Google Play Store, you need to cancel the subscription via your Avast Account. For detailed instructions, refer to the following article: Canceling the renewal for a subscription via your Avast Account .

In rare cases, Avast Mobile Security does not detect your valid subscription and displays the No subscriptions found message when you try to restore your subscription. For instructions on how to resolve this issue, refer to the following article: Troubleshooting activation issues in Avast mobile apps.

Yes. The free trial allows you to use all premium features or ultimate features for 7 days free of charge. Once the free trial period ends, your paid subscription starts automatically.

A payment method is required to sign up for a free trial. When the free trial ends, the payment card provided will be charged, unless the subscription is canceled before the end of the free trial.

If you previously purchased a paid version of Avast Mobile Security through the App Store and want to reactivate your app, for example on a new or reset device, refer to the following article: Transferring or restoring Avast mobile subscriptions.

Avast Mobile Security connects to the App Store and automatically activates the app on your iOS device.

For more information about activating Avast Mobile Security for iOS, refer to the following article: Activating Avast Mobile Security.

The Scan now button on the main app screen scans apps installed on your device and informs you about security risks caused by changes in default settings.

Avast Mobile Security automatically scans newly installed apps the first time they are run. Avast Mobile Security offers to uninstall the app or delete the file if malware is detected. If an app or file is incorrectly identified as malware, you can report the false-positive detection directly to Avast Threat Labs.

To schedule automatic scans, refer to the following article: Avast Mobile Security for Android - Getting Started.

Scam Guardian within Avast Mobile Security offers several features to help verify website legitimacy and reduce the risk of fraudulent interactions. It automatically checks sites for authenticity indicators, while also allowing you to manually review suspicious offers or messages to determine if they may be scams.

The free version, Scam Guardian, which is included in the Avast Mobile Security includes Web Guard and Avast Assistant. The paid version, Scam Guardian Pro, which is included in the Avast Mobile Security Premium and Ultimate adds Email Guard, SMS Guard, Call Guard, and Link Guard.

For more information about using Scam Guardian and the features within, refer to the following articles:

• Scam Guardian Pro - FAQs
• Scam Guardian Pro - Getting Started

Web Guard is a free feature within Scam Guardian, designed to automatically block malicious URLs that could harm your device or steal info like your personal data or passwords. Web Guard also warns you when you visit a potentially sensitive website, and advises you to turn on your VPN for additional protection.

For detailed information about using the Web Guard, refer to the following article: Scam Guardian Pro - Getting Started.

Email Guard is a premium feature that scans your incoming emails. When you check them using a web browser, every new email is labeled as either Safe, Suspicious, or Scam. Email Guard allows you to monitor up to 5 emails at once.

To learn how to use Email Guard, refer to the following articles:

• Email Guard - FAQs
• Email Guard - Getting Started

Hack Alerts monitors the accounts connected to your email address and notifies you if there has been a hack or leak.

To check if your account passwords have been leaked, refer to the following article: Avast Mobile Security for Android - Getting Started.

Free users are only able to monitor one email address at a time. Paid users are able to monitor 5.

When you tap the Clean junk tile on the main app screen, Avast Mobile Security analyzes your device and displays the storage space that is being used by junk files.

For more information about using Junk Cleaner, refer to the following article: Avast Mobile Security for Android - Getting Started.

Wi-Fi Speed test measures and rates your network's current download and upload speeds. It also scans your network for problems with your router, encryption, Wi-Fi, and connection. When this action is complete, the app advises whether the network you are connected to is safe. Any detected issues are described, along with instructions on how to resolve them.

App Lock is a premium feature available in Avast Mobile Security Premium that helps protect most of your sensitive apps with a PIN or pattern. If you can unlock your device with a fingerprint, you can also use this option for App Lock.

For information about enabling this feature refer to the following article: Avast Mobile Security for Android - Getting Started.

If you uninstall the legacy Avast Mobile Security app, any photos stored in Photo Vault are deleted along with the app and cannot be restored. The legacy app cannot be reinstalled. We recommend exporting your files from Photo Vault before uninstalling legacy Avast Mobile Security.

Photo Vault allows you to protect access to your photos stored on your device with a PIN code. Photos that are moved to Photo Vault are encrypted and hidden. In the free version of Avast Mobile Security, you can protect up to 10 photos. To secure an unlimited number of photos, upgrade to a paid version of Avast Mobile Security.

To learn how to use Photo Vault, refer to the following article: Avast Mobile Security for Android - Getting Started.

App Insights provides you with usage information about the apps on your device, and allows you to view which permissions are required by your installed apps.

The VPN protection feature in Avast Mobile Security Premium is only available if you have an Avast Mobile Ultimate subscription.

The VPN Protection feature allows you to connect to the internet via Avast VPN servers, using an encrypted tunnel to help protect your online activity from eavesdropping. VPN in Avast Mobile Security Premium offers:

• Protection: When many people are connected to the same public network, attackers can capture sensitive data, such as logins and passwords. The encrypted VPN connection provides adequate protection against these types of attacks.
• Anonymization: With broadband connections, many people have fixed IP addresses, which can be tracked when browsing sensitive sites. With a VPN connection, the browsing session is effectively anonymized, as the IP address the remote server sees is the address of the VPN server, not the user.
• Access content around the world: Using a VPN allows you to access servers in different parts of the world.

To activate VPN Secure Connection, refer to the following article: Avast Mobile Security for Android - Getting Started.

The VPN Protection feature in Avast Mobile Security Premium for Android and the Avast SecureLine VPN app allow you to connect to the internet via Avast VPN servers, helping protect the personal data you send and receive online. When you connect to our VPN servers using the VPN Protection feature in Avast Mobile Security Premium for Android, you can choose from the same server locations available in Avast SecureLine VPN.

The Avast SecureLine VPN app contains certain advanced settings options unavailable in Avast Mobile Security Premium for Android, including Auto Connect and Split Tunneling. For more information, refer to the following article: Avast SecureLine VPN - FAQs.

An Avast Mobile Security Ultimate subscription is required to use the VPN Protection feature.

The VPN feature in Avast Mobile Security Premium is available for devices with an Avast Mobile Ultimate subscription.

No. In this case, you would continue to use Avast SecureLine VPN as a separate app. However, the activation code from an Avast Mobile Ultimate subscription can activate either the VPN feature in Avast Mobile Security Premium or Avast SecureLine VPN (for use on up to 5 devices simultaneously).

The permanent notification ensures your device's protection by preventing Android from stopping Avast Mobile Security processes. On devices running Android 9.0 or higher, disabling the permanent notification is not an option. However, the notification can be minimized or configured for minimal interruption via your device settings. For more information, refer to the following article: Explaining Android notifications about Avast Mobile Security for Android running in the background.

Tap Account ▸ Settings ▸ Device protection to access the following options:

The former Deep Scan feature has been removed. However, similar functionality is still available by enabling Scan System Apps and Scan SD Card.

• Automatic scan: Allows you to set a schedule for scanning. Select a day of the week and time for the app to scan your device automatically.
• Scan System Apps: Choose whether to scan system apps for malware, privacy risks, and unusual behavior.
• Scan SD Card: Choose whether to scan SD Cards.
• Ransomware Recovery: Attempt to remove ransomware if it has taken control of your device.

1. Open Avast Mobile Security and tap Account ▸ About.
2. Verify your current app version under Avast Mobile Security.

My statistics is available via Account ▸ My statistics.

My statistics lets you see all activity Avast Mobile Security performs for Android. This mainly includes updates and scans.

To manage your data sharing preferences, tap Account ▸ Settings ▸ General. Tap the slider next to one of the following options so that it changes to green (ON) to opt in (automatically enabled), or gray (OFF) to opt out:

• Avast Community Watch
• Share app-usage data (In the free version of Avast Mobile Security, this option is enabled by default and does not appear)
• Enable Debug Log

If you have a paid version of Avast Mobile Security, removing the app from your device does not automatically cancel your subscription. For information about canceling an Avast subscription, refer to the following article: Canceling an Avast subscription via Google Play Store or the App Store.

The virus database is updated automatically. Tap Account ▸ Settings ▸ Device protection, and scroll down to Virus database to check the date the current virus database was installed. Tap Check for updates to manually install the latest update.

To prevent Avast Mobile Security from updating when you are using mobile data to connect to the internet, tap the slider next to Wi-Fi updates only so that it changes to green (ON). We do not recommend keeping this setting enabled.

If you uninstall the legacy Avast Mobile Security app, any photos stored in Photo Vault are deleted along with the app and cannot be restored. The legacy app cannot be reinstalled. We recommend exporting your files from Photo Vault before uninstalling legacy Avast Mobile Security.

If you no longer want to use Avast Mobile Security, you need to cancel your subscription before uninstalling the app from your device.

For detailed uninstallation instructions, refer to the following article: Uninstalling Avast Mobile Security.

To support the ongoing development of Avast Mobile Security, the free version of the app includes third-party ads that do not interfere with app usage. Paid versions of Avast Mobile Security are ad-free and include a range of additional premium features and benefits. Subscribe to a paid version of Avast Mobile Security by tapping Upgrade in the top-right corner of the main app screen.

Alternatively, you can purchase an ad free subscription. This option removes third-party ads from Avast Mobile Security, but does not include any additional premium features and benefits. An ad free subscription is only available after you have used the Free version of Avast Mobile Security for approximately 40-50 days. When this subscription option is available, the 'Remove ads' panel appears on the main app screen. To purchase an ad free subscription, tap the gray (OFF) slider next to Remove ads and follow the on-screen instructions.

To improve performance,