Fake Chrome removed from Google Play after 100,000 downloads

An app impersonating the Google Chrome browser was found on Google Play. It gathered more than 100,000 downloads and ranked above the real browser in the store's search: the developer paid for advertising, and the fake was shown as a sponsored link. A Reddit user spotted it, and on October 14, 2026 the app was removed from the store.

The fake looked convincing: it used the official Chrome icon and a description copied from Google's listing, and the developer name Hizbartech appeared at the bottom. PiunikaWeb checked the search: the fake did not appear in sponsored suggestions for the query Google Chrome, but the ad was found immediately by developer name. A second post in the r/chrome community called for reporting the listing.

There was no browser inside

There was no browser inside. Reddit users installed the 42-megabyte app and saw, according to one tester's description, something resembling a contacts app with many AI avatars. The developers did not put Chromium inside.

From game to fake

The story began in August: the app was released on the store as the game Ball Bounce. At the end of September, Hizbartech reworked it into Chrome, changing the name, icon and description.

PiunikaWeb notes that paid promotion lifted the fake above the real app, and the store's automated checks did not notice the simple substitution. Even without advertising, the listing remained in the store.

The publication advises checking your phone's settings and deleting the 42-megabyte copy if it ended up on the device after the ad was shown, especially if an old version of Ball Bounce is still on the phone.

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Translation editors: Соловьев В., Пеков А.