Wyze app contains adware?

I installed Wyze v2.3.69, which I downloaded from the Google Store and I am getting lots of adware. Then I downloaded the Ad Detector app to check what is going on and it shows me that the Wyze app is "infected"with the AdMobService. So indeed the culprit for all this adware seems to be the Wyze app. So what is going on? Thanks.

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No, the Wyze app should NOT have any ads display when using it. I’ll let Wyze know what you have discovered. It sounds like somehow the app was compromised in the Google store, or something else in your phone may have infected it.

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Thanks for letting us know! That should not be the case and I’ll send this link to the dev side.

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So sorry to hear that. I am pretty sure there is no adware in Wyze App in the official App Store or Play Store. Could you please try to scan your phone with some security App and reinstall Wyze App to see if it works? Thank you, and please let us know if you still have the issue.

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I reinstalled again and again and every time I checked my phone with Ad Detector, Wyze is the only app that comes up with AdMobService.

YES. The Ad Detector app reports that WYZE contains the AdMobService

Admob is a google service, we dont have ads in the wyze app, but we do use google firebase for analytics , and I wonder if it is firebase that somehow included admob…

@XRoyHe pls refer to this link and check firebase and see if there is any association with admob

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also, even if firebase somehow includes admob, we do NOT place any ads in the app. So I would think there is something else causing your ads.

I downloaded Ad detector on my phone, after scan, there are so many app using “admob”, Linkedin, Flixster, Yelp, Twitch, the weather channel, Wink, Google Play Store (make sense that google wouls use their own ad.service ), Youtube, Paypal,…

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In my phone the Ad Detector app is only showing AdMobService on Wyze. It is not reporting any problems with Goggle Play Store.

I am working together with the dev team to look into how the Admob library is involved. Will post to the public once we get the investigation result.

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Thank you

Impressive responsiveness, Wyze folk. WTG.

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I would point fingers to the phone of the one person in the whole ecosystem getting ads. It’s your phone. Just saying.

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We’re not here to point fingers, or to do any blame assessment. We’re here to help each other. Wyze is doing their best to assist them, and for that matter, anyone else who has a similar issue. :slight_smile:

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Thank you DreadPirateRush. Excellent response. And thank you for looking into the AdMobService issue.

I’ve been with Wyze since day one and have never received any ads.

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I am so impressed with the way Wyze handles their customers’ concerns. That is unheard of from other companies! Gives me just one more reason to recommend the products and the company. Thank you, guys, for staying human and accessible!

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Agreed. It has become the norm for tech companies to hide behind the 3rd party APIs they consume. Kudos to Wyze for NOT doing this and for actually doing the right thing and putting customers first.

Google’s motto was Don’t Be Evil. Apparently that still means something to the Wyze folks.

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Wyze is great. I’m a big fan, and that’s why I want to help people in this thread ask the right questions.

No one from what I read here is saying ads are being shown in the Wyze app.

Firebase, just like other crash and app analytics SDKs such as Kochava/Tune/Flurry, collect certain information from the device and usage of the app. This can be used to either report on installs, uninstalls, usage, etc. and that information could then also be used for ads within OR outside of the app.

So while ads aren’t shown in the app, all apps collect data. Many through services like Firebase. Many of these companies use the collected data for advertising and monetization. Don’t fault them. Companies must make money, otherwise they don’t have a business.

Need to ask specific questions:

  1. Does Wyze have the setting turned on in your Firebase project to share the analytics data with other Google services? Does this allow companies other than Wyze to analyze or utilize data collected from the Wyze app for any purpose?
  2. Does Wyze link Firebase to an AdMob account? If so, how is this data used? Are third party companies allowed to use this data for tracking, advertising, marketing, or any other purpose on behalf of Wyze or any other company?
  3. Is Wyze compensated through direct payment or any other method for data that has been collected from the Wyze app?

Again, I’m a big fan of what you’re doing and will keep buying and using your products!

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Topic title and OP insinuates pretty hard. :slight_smile:

:+1: for your comment beyond that.

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