Any Android user can install AVG’s free mobile antivirus, which combines a substantial collection of security features with many, many upsell opportunities. The free edition also uses the bottom portion of its window to display advertisements. New since my last review, it also occasionally runs ads that take over the screen for 10-15 seconds.
You Get Lab-Approved Android Antivirus for Free
Upon installation, the app naturally wants to run a scan. I found that even the Deep Scan runs quite quickly. As with the Windows edition, this initial scan found “advanced issues,” which can only be resolved by upgrading to the paid edition.
(Credit: AVG/PCMag)
The main window features the usual big round Scan button at the top. The four panels below are Hack Alerts, Clean Junk, Check Speed, and Automatic Scan. Below those, the free edition displays advertisements for TikTok, Cash App, and others. Scrolling past the ad reveals many security suggestions, almost all of which involve upgrading to the paid edition or purchasing additional apps. A menu across the bottom of the screen holds icons for Home, Explore, Messages, and Account.
Three of the four testing labs I track run tests on Android antivirus apps and two of those included AVG in their most recent reports. With a perfect 18 points from AV-Test and a perfect 100% from AV-Comparatives, AVG does very well. It’s only overshadowed by Avast and Bitdefender, which match its two perfect scores and add another 100% from MRG-Effitas.
AVG’s Free Android App Comes With Bonuses
Tapping Hack Alerts invites you to enter your email address for analysis. Before using this feature, you must create an AVG account and respond to a verification email. In testing, it found a handful of ancient exposures, from four to nine years old. Similar features in competing programs have reported on dozens more breaches.
(Credit: AVG/PCMag)
The Clean Junk feature cleans up temp files and such to recover storage. If you tap Deep Clean to clean up more, you install the separate AVG Cleaner app, which is also ad-supported at its free level. Some features of the free AVG Cleaner are visibly locked, and the promised Deep Clean isn’t available without upgrading to a paid version of AVG Cleaner.
Tapping Explore at the bottom of the screen reveals a menu of all the app’s features, divided into sections for Device Protection, Online Privacy, and Smooth Performance.
Under Device Protection, Scam Protection and App Lock are locked and reserved for paying customers. On Web Shield’s page, there’s a link to Scam Protection and an option to manually allow or block certain websites (who’s going to do that?) Scan Center is more interesting. Here, you can deep-scan your Android, checking for vulnerabilities and malware, or just scan the files present. Network Inspector checks the security of the network you’re using, though it doesn’t check attached devices like the desktop edition.
(Credit: AVG/PCMag)
The Online Privacy group has a link to the Hack Alerts feature described above and an invitation to purchase AVG’s VPN. App Insights lets you view the permissions assigned to each app on your device or a list of permissions and the apps with them. Privacy Advisor truly is just an advisor, providing notes about protecting your privacy while using various popular apps. Photo Vault stores your most important photos behind an additional layer of authentication, though free users can only protect 10 pics.
I mentioned the Junk Cleaner feature above. You can also reach it by selecting Performance Center in the Smooth Performance category. If your internet connection feels slow, you can use the Wi-Fi speed test to see just how bad it is.
A Premium Upgrade Adds a Few Bonuses
Everything I’ve described thus far is available for free. If you use an AVG Internet Security license to activate the Pro edition, you get access to additional features, but nothing overwhelming. For starters, you won’t see any more advertisements in the app, which is a plus. Going Pro removes the 10-picture limit in Photo Vault, lets you turn on scheduled malware scanning, and enables automatic scanning of each network you connect with. The main window changes slightly, with Scan Wi-Fi and VPN protection (locked) replacing Check Speed and Automatic Scan in the four panels below the big Scan button.
(Credit: AVG/PCMag)
As a paying customer, you can engage Scam Protection, which promises additional protection against accidentally visiting dangerous sites. This feature requires you to identify AVG as your default browser while leaving your actual default browser functional. In testing with a handful of sites blocked by other AVG editions, it proved effective.
(Credit: AVG/PCMag)
Like similar features in Android apps from Bitdefender, Avira, and others, App Lock lets you protect specific apps behind a secondary round of authentication using a PIN, pattern, or biometrics. Bitdefender deserves a shoutout here, because its App Lock is extra-flexible about things like re-opening an app you just closed.
That’s about it for the benefits of upgrading to Pro on Android. You still don’t get VPN protection without purchasing it, and if you want premium AVG Cleaner features, you must upgrade that app separately.
