4 Best Free Antivirus Apps for Android Phones

Bitdefender Antivirus

Some of the apps in this list are stuffed with features, and that's where Bitdefender differs: It's completely free from clutter and includes only an antivirus tool.

The only things you can do besides start a scan are open the settings to enable the scanning of your internal and external storage devices (like an SD card), send reports for product improvement, and upload suspicious apps to help improve cloud detection.

Once the full scan has completed, you'll be protected against any new app installs and updates automatically so that they're blocked before they can do any damage.

If a threat is found, you'll be taken into the results screen, where you can easily uninstall the culprits.

Bitdefender is said to be super light on resources since it doesn't download and store virus signatures on the device, but instead uses cloud-based protection to check for the latest safeguards against outbreaks.

The only drawback is when you compare it to their not-free Mobile Security app, which checks your browsing habits in real-time and can lock down or wipe your phone if it's stolen, which are pretty handy features.

Malwarebytes Mobile Security

Malwarebytes is a popular malware remover for desktop users. They also have this Android version, and although it's severely limited compared to its premium version, it still detects and removes viruses for free.

The only scan setting you can turn on is the one for deep scanning so that it checks more of your device than the typical scan, though it also takes longer to scan everything. On our test device, the regular scan checked hundreds of apps and over 150 files in under 10 minutes.

A related security tool in this app is the security audit that shows unsecured system settings that might be on, like developer mode. The privacy checker shows which apps can do things like see your location, read your messages, access your files, etc.

A lot of what you see in the app is not free. Premium features include real-time protection (only on-demand scans are supported for free), ransomware and spyware detection, and alerts for when you visit malicious sites. There's a free 30-day trial of premium if you want to try it out.

Avira Security Antivirus

Avira’s antivirus app does what all AV apps should do: automatically scans apps for malware, checks for threats in external storage devices, shows which apps have access to your private information, and is extremely easy to use.

It can scan each time you disconnect from a computer as well as start scheduled scans once a day, every day. If that isn't enough for you, you can always start a manual scan whenever you want to check for malware like adware, riskware, ransomware, and potentially unwanted programs.

When threats are found, you'll be alerted of the threat type (riskware, PUP, etc.) and will have the option to ignore them or delete them on the spot.

Here are some other things Avira's app is capable of: updated apps are re-scanned when they're finished updating to ensure that any new files aren't infected; you define whether files and/or apps are scanned; show notifications when threats are found—handy so that you aren't bombarded with messages each time it finds the device clean; an anti-theft tool lets you find your device remotely or lock or wipe it; apps with privileged access to your information are categorized by risk level; an Activity section shows a history of what Avira has been doing and what it finds; Overcharging Protection can remind you to unplug the device when it’s fully charged; and the Identity Safeguard function checks company breaches to see if your email was included in any of them.

This free version is very much like the professional edition you can buy except that the paid version doesn’t contain ads, will update its definitions every hour, includes an app locker, and supports the secure browsing feature that helps your device stay clean when browsing the web, downloading files, and shopping online.