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Default gallery app on some Alcatel phones has been replaced with a spamware app
August 05, 2025
Like other manufacturers,Alcatelpublishes many of its default apps to theGoogle Play Storefor easy updating. However, the company has recently made a sketchy decision regarding its gallery app.
The default gallery app (previously known as “Gallery) on some Alcatel phones was replaced with one called “Candy Gallery -Photo Edit,Video Editor,Pic Collage” around mid-November 2017. The problem is, Candy Gallery is sketchy—it asks for way too many device permissions, including Device ID information, SMS access, location information, and others.
Android Policenotes that the cryptographic key on Candy Gallery matches that on Alcatel’s old gallery app. Therefore, it is possible that the company sold the app and signing key to “Hi Art Studio,” the developer behind Candy Gallery.
It is also possible that Alcatel sold the app listing and still signs each release. This is all speculation for now, but Alcatel does not look good in any of these scenarios.
Android Authorityhas reached out to TCL, which holds the license for Alcatel smartphones and devices, for a comment on this story. We will report back if we hear anything. In the meantime, you might want to disable Candy Gallery and download another gallery app.
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