LONDON – Samsung remains the leading Android phone company with a market capitalization of nearly $380 billion and over 1 billion smartphone users, but the tech giant sparked fears, rumors, and outrage with some kind of Israeli spyware installed in its devices.
Imagine getting a flagship phone from Samsung, which is a key rival to iPhones, but only to discover an app you cannot delete, quietly working in the background. The notorious application, AppCloud, developed in Israel, has been on devices for years, but recent scrutiny sparked fears, rumors, and outrage, with users asking questions from the South Korean phone maker.
A report shared by Forbes sheds light on Samsung outrage for pre-installing unremovable Israeli spyware on Galaxy phones. It mentioned open letter from SMEX, a non-profit advocating for digital human rights across West Asia and North Africa, which called on Samsung to “end forced Israeli-founded bloatware installations,” highlighting growing unease over apps that users cannot remove.
If you look deeper, the contentious AppCloud was developed by ironSource, an Israeli firm that is now part of Unity, which excels in mobile, PC, console, and extended reality platforms.
‼️ Unremovable Israeli Spyware Found on Samsung Devices
Samsung faces backlash over AppCloud, an Israeli-developed app pre-installed on budget Galaxy A and M series devices.
Investigations reveal the app is embedded in the operating system, preventing full removal. Even when… pic.twitter.com/QWkc9od9yg
— International Cyber Digest (@IntCyberDigest) November 14, 2025
According to SMEX, AppCloud is “deeply integrated into Samsung OS, making it impossible to uninstall without root access, which voids warranties and carries security risks.
The social media backlash shows dark pictures, including suggestions that AppCloud could be collecting data for Tel Aviv. Amid the contrasting reports, it is yet to be revealed that AppCloud is a marketing tool, not state spyware.
It also mentioned a possible ban on Samsung devices because of AppCloud, though these claims remain unverified. Despite the social media frenzy, Samsung users should not panic as the app has been on devices for years, and there is no proven espionage threat.
Despite no major data leaks, the controversy shows a bigger issue in the smartphone world as pre-installed apps should always be optional, giving users the ability to remove them.
Several local brands in Pakistan and parts of the world are also bringing phones with pre-installed apps with no option to remove them.
