How to run a manual scan on Android
What you’ll need: The only thing you’ll need is an updated Android device associated with a valid Google account.
That’s it. Let’s get to the scan.
The first thing to do is unlock your Android device.
On your Android device, open the Google Play Store app. Once opened, tap your profile icon at the top right of the window and then tap Play Protect from the popup.
In the Play Protect window, you’ll most likely see ‘No harmful apps found’, and the time when the last scan was run. When Play Protect finds something that it believes to be malicious, based on the severity of what the app can do, it will either be disabled or removed.
To launch the scan, tap Scan. The scan will start and go through every app you have installed. Depending on how many apps you have, the scan should take less than a minute. With over 150 apps on my device (including system apps), the scan took about 20 seconds. If Play Protect finds anything malicious on your device, it will resolve the problem automatically.
Chances are slim you will ever run across a malicious app on your Android device, so long as you are careful about what you install from the Play Store and never install apps outside the official app store. Even so, I find relief knowing I can kick off a scan whenever I want and that Play Protect is very good at what it does.
