Keeping your Android phone secure without security software is doable, but for some people it’s just plain risky. That’s especially true if you open a lot of files on your phone from email or messaging platforms, or if you are, shall we say, a little too liberal with the kinds of apps you’re willing to install—even if they are from the Play Store.
If you want to make sure your Android device is secure from these threats and others, an antivirus app can help. In fact, there are a bunch of completely free ones in Google Play, but you want to make sure you’re getting security from a known and reputable company. Because there’s only one thing worse than getting pwned by an app you downloaded from Google Play: getting pwned by an antivirus app you downloaded from Google Play.
Luckily for us, almost every major antivirus maker has an Android app with the ability to keep your device secure, and some of them are even free. And by free we mean really free. Not 30-day-trial free, but actually free for as long as you have it on your device. Some may have more restricted features (that is often the trade-off with free), but if you want to keep your device more secure without paying for a subscription you don’t otherwise need, these are the apps we recommend.
For more smartphone fortification, check out our roundup of the best free VPNs for Android—a great way to protect your privacy and guard your data when using public Wi-Fi.
1. Avira Security for Android
MSRP:
Free, Pro costs $11.99
Our top pick is Avira for a few reasons. First, it gets top marks from both AV-Test and A-V Comparatives. From the former it earned 99.9 percent on both the real-time attacks and widespread malware tests in March 2022. Over at A-V Comparatives Avira got 100 percent detection using nearly 3,700 samples in the 2021 Mobile Security Review.
Avira also has a wider number of features. Beyond the virus scanner, it has 100MB of VPN usage per day, some storage-optimizing features, identity protection, and a permissions manager.
It’s a nice set of features along with top-notch protection, at this writing.
2. Bitdefender Antivirus for Android
If you want something much simpler, and that has equally good protection rankings look no further than Bitdefender. The Romania-based company actually has two apps in the Play Store. The free one is Bitdefender Antivirus, not Bitdefender Mobile Security.
The free version does exactly what it says: scans your phone when you ask it to. There’s also some minimal automated scanning from Auto-pilot when you download a new app—a potential attack vector for Android phones.
Bitdefender earned 100 percent from AV-Test for real-time attacks and widespread malware tests for March 2022. It also had a 100 percent detection rating from AV-Comparatives’ 2021 Mobile Security Review.
3. AVG Antivirus Free for Android
Another top protection option is AVG Antivirus & Security for Android. It got top marks from AV-Test with 100 percent protection for the real-time and widespread malware tests. Over at AV-Comparatives, however, the detection rate was 99.6 percent, with one false positive. That’s partially why we’re putting it down here in third place. Another downside is that it uses personalized advertising to support it, while the others don’t.
Despite that annoyance, however, there’s a lot to like about AVG’s free Android app. It can scan apps and files, clean-up junk files, and scan your current Wi-Fi network. it also has malicious website protection, a “RAM booster” that kills background apps, a Wi-Fi speed test, and an anti-theft feature for tracking and securing your phone remotely. That last feature requires an AVG account.
If you prefer Avast, which owns AVG, that app is good too. It had the same protection scores as AVG and pretty much the same feature set for free.
4. Sophos Intercept for Mobile
Sophos was not analyzed on Android by A-V Comparatives, as the company opted for only a score from AV-Test. AV-Test gave it 99.8 percent in March 2022 for the real-time malware attacks. For the widespread malware test, meanwhile, Sophos earned 100 percent.
For major features, Sophos offers a lot including malware scanning for apps and files, malicious web page blocking, a link checker for protection against malicious links, Wi-Fi network scanning, and a privacy advisor.
While it has a slightly lower score than the other apps for real-time reaction it’s still a very good service and it has a lot of nice features. Plus, it doesn’t have any ads.
How to choose a free antivirus for Android
We’ve already touched on this briefly, but you should always get your antivirus from a well-known security company. It’s also a good idea to see what third-party testing firms are saying in their reports about various Android apps.
After that, you should see if the company is using ads in their app and whether you’re okay with it or not. Finally, see if it has the features you’re looking for. Pretty much all the features you can expect in a free app are like the ones we highlighted here. If you’re looking for active real-time scanning, for example, that is a paid option from most services.
How we tested
For these antivirus apps we installed and ran the app for each selection, as well as consulted with third-party testing firms to see what kind of protection scores the apps received. We also filtered out any “free” apps from major antivirus vendors that were only limited free trial since a free service and a free trial are not the same thing. A free service should be a long-term service with an option to upgrade to a better version of the app with a subscription.
There are an absolute ton of antivirus choices for Android users, but these four should be at the top of your list.
