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Default gallery app on some Alcatel phones has been replaced with a spamware app
- Alcatel looks to have replaced its default gallery app with a sketchy new app called Candy Gallery.
- Candy Gallery asks for numerous permissions and features advertisements.
- Android Authority has reached out to TCL for comment and will update accordingly.
Like other manufacturers, Alcatel publishes many of its default apps to the Google Play Store for easy updating. However, the company has recently made a sketchy decision regarding its gallery app.
The default gallery app (previously known as “Gallery) on some Alcatel phones was replaced with one called “Candy Gallery -Photo Edit,Video Editor,Pic Collage” around mid-November 2017. The problem is, Candy Gallery is sketchy—it asks for way too many device permissions, including Device ID information, SMS access, location information, and others.
Users have caught on to this change and have posted numerous one-star reviews on the Play Store. Apart from not working properly, many users have reported seeing advertisements in Candy Gallery and are confused as to why this change happened.
Android Police notes that the cryptographic key on Candy Gallery matches that on Alcatel’s old gallery app. Therefore, it is possible that the company sold the app and signing key to “Hi Art Studio,” the developer behind Candy Gallery.
It is also possible that Alcatel sold the app listing and still signs each release. This is all speculation for now, but Alcatel does not look good in any of these scenarios.
Android Authority has reached out to TCL, which holds the license for Alcatel smartphones and devices, for a comment on this story. We will report back if we hear anything. In the meantime, you might want to disable Candy Gallery and download another gallery app.