Ammon News - Google has confirmed that more than 40% of Android phones—over one billion devices—are now vulnerable to malware and spyware attacks. Phones running Android 12 or older no longer receive security updates, leaving users at risk.

Android distribution, as per Forbes, shows only 57.9% of devices run Android 13 or newer. As of December, Android 16—the latest version—was on just 7.5% of phones, while Android 15, 14, and 13 were on 19.3%, 17.2%, and 13.9% of devices respectively.

Older phones face real threats
Devices released in 2021 or earlier are most affected. Google urges users to upgrade if their phones cannot run Android 13 or higher. Even mid-range devices with newer software offer better protection than older flagship phones stuck on outdated versions.

While Google Play Protect continues to scan for malware on Android 7 and newer, it cannot replace missing system-level security patches critical to stopping sophisticated attacks.