When you buy a new PC these days, it usually comes with a 30- or 90-day license for antivirus protection. Most people know you should either renew that teaser when it runs out or choose one of the many available windows antivirus products. Nothing similar happens when you buy a new smartphone. You get the default built-in apps with the phone, and the rest of the apps populate from your account online. Security? What’s that? And yet Android is just as attractive a target for malware coders as Windows.
Do Android Phones Need Antivirus?
Security software for your Android protects against malware and helps you if your phone is lost or stolen. We can help you choose the security service that’s right for you and your Android. Android protection doesn’t exist in a vacuum, though. The products listed here are all cross-platform solutions, with protection available at least for Windows, macOS, and Android. Most of them also offer some form of iOS protection, though with a feature set that is limited by the closed nature of Apple’s operating system.
Note that the ratings here apply to the product as a whole, on all platforms. They don’t necessarily reflect the quality of the Android product. Bad test scores on Windows might drag a product’s overall score down even if its Android edition tested fine.
Read on for our top picks, followed by what to look for when choosing the right Android antivirus for your devices.
Bitdefender Total Security
Best for Comprehensive Protection
Why We Picked It
Antivirus protection by Bitdefender Total Security’s Android edition swept the testing labs, with perfect scores from AV-Test, AV-Comparatives, and MRG-Effitas. From the Bitdefender Central online console, you can locate, lock, or wipe any protected Android device, and even get a photo of a phone thief. This is also where you extend protection to your other devices running Android, iOS, Windows, or macOS.
In addition to the expected protection against malicious and fraudulent websites, Bitdefender’s Scam Alert flags shady links in texts and other messaging apps, its Account Privacy system checks your emails against known data breaches, and its App Lock protection for sensitive apps is more flexible than most. Password management and VPN protection extend to your Android devices, though VPN features are limited unless you pay an extra fee.
Who It’s For
Your Android phone stores your dates, contacts, pictures…your life! You’d be devastated if it got stolen, or incapacitated by a malware attack. Bitdefender Total Security keeps malware at bay and helps you recover a lost or stolen device, then adds bonus features to enhance your security. And hey! It can protect your non-Android devices too.
PROS
- Award-winning antivirus
- Protects Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS devices
- Online management and remote control
- Many bonus features, including VPN and ransomware protection
CONS
- Full VPN access requires separate subscription
- Parental content filter needs work on non-Windows platforms
- Support for iOS is limited
Norton 360 Deluxe
Best for VPN Enthusiasts
Why We Picked It
Android protection in Norton 360 Deluxe recently got a major update, with previously separate functions merged into a single app. Independent antivirus testers at AV-Test Institute and MRG-Effitas gave Norton’s Android antivirus perfect and near-perfect scores. Tested under Windows, its web protection did well, detecting and deflecting 96% of the malicious and fraudulent websites. In an unusual twist, Norton’s real-time malware protection reaches all the way into the Play store, warning you before you even download unsafe apps.
This is a fully cross-platform suite, with support for Android, iOS, Windows, and macOS. Its full-powered no-limits VPN works just fine in Android, as do the cross-platform password management and parental control apps. Other features include a detailed security scan of every Wi-Fi network you join, a check for insecure device settings, and a monitoring system that warns of dangerous links in tests.
The one thing Norton doesn’t do is help you with a lost or stolen device. Its developers reasoned that the lost device protection built into modern mobile operating systems is powerful enough that a third-party addition isn’t needed.
Who It’s For
You use your Android everywhere you go, and it connects to all manner of Wi-Fi hotspots, not all of them reliable. VPN protection that kicks in whenever you need it is a blessing, keeping your communication safe even if the Wi-Fi hotspot is owned by hackers. Norton 360 Deluxe gives you that, along with a panoply of other cross-platform features.
PROS
- VPN with no bandwidth limits
- Excellent protection against dangerous and fraudulent websites
- Streamlined mobile apps
- Hosted online storage for backups
- Powerful, self-sufficient firewall
- Virus protection promise
CONS
- Parental control unavailable on macOS
- Online backup strictly for Windows
McAfee AntiVirus Plus
Best for Multi-Device Households
Why We Picked It
Installing McAfee AntiVirus Plus on your Android is a simple matter of snapping a QR code. Once running, it quickly scans for malware. Its completely revamped user interface focuses on keeping you both protected and informed. Making a good security decision gets you points, with a fireworks display to celebrate. Like Norton, McAfee doesn’t bother with antitheft features, leaving that task to Android.
With the new user interface, VPN protection is integrated with the main app. Some other features, among them App Lock, Guest Mode, and Memory Booster, have fallen by the wayside.
This app doesn’t have a wall full of trophies from the independent testing labs. It earned a perfect 18 points from AV-Test, but doesn’t appear in the latest reports from MRG-Effitas or AV-Comparatives. Test trophies or no, McAfee’s awesome unlimited licensing makes it an impressive choice. Your subscription lets you install McAfee protection on every Android, iOS, Windows, and macOS device in your household.
Who It’s For
How many Android devices in your household? How many devices running other operating systems? If you can’t easily come up with a number, it’s hard to know how many antivirus licenses to buy. With McAfee, the number doesn’t matter—your subscription protects every device in the household. Easy!
PROS
- Security for all your Windows, macOS, ChromeOS, Android, and iOS devices
- Excellent scores in our hands-on tests
- Virus protection pledge
- Protection Center encourages improving security
CONS
- Antivirus missed one modified ransomware sample
- Several long-standing features slated for removal
- Very slow full scan on Windows
- Protection Center not fully functional without suite-level features
- Mac edition lacks many features found under Windows
Trend Micro Maximum Security
Best for Wealth of Bonus Features
Why We Picked It
Experts at AV-Test Institute and AV-Comparatives put the Android version of Trend Micro Maximum Security to the test, and both gave it their maximum scores. In our hands-on testing under Windows, it also earned perfect scores in tests involving protection against malware-hosting web pages and phishing (fraudulent) pages.
Like McAfee, Trend Micro lets you activate protection on your Android by scanning a QR code. A new installation walks you through the initial configuration process, a process made lengthy by the sheer number of features. Once you’ve set up Lost Device Protection, you can perform the expected locate, lock, and wipe functions, but this app goes further. You can remotely shut down all open apps, to foil a thief who stole an unlocked phone. It snaps a photo of anyone who repeatedly tries and fails to get past the lock screen. You can even remotely change the PIN if you think someone has learned yours.
Pay Guard Mobile triple-checks the security of your device and your connection when you log into a sensitive website. Wi-Fi Checker scans the hotspot you’re using for security problems. System Tuner does its best to speed up your device’s performance. Social Network Privacy checks your social media accounts to make sure you’ve configured them correctly for privacy. Like Norton, it checks apps you view in the Play Store and warns you so you don’t download any that are iffy. The list goes on!
Who It’s For
Many cross-platform security suites put a huge amount of energy into their Windows edition, but hardly any into other platforms. With Trend Micro Maximum Security on Android, you get an array of features that rivals its Windows equivalent. Do you want it all for your Android? Then Trend Micro is for you.
PROS
- Excellent scores in our phishing and malicious download tests
- Comprehensive Android security
- Protection for macOS beyond the basics
- Unusually feature-rich iOS protection
- Many useful security features
CONS
- Lab scores from perfect to dismal
- Poor score in hands-on malware protection test
- Parental control weak
AVG Internet Security
Best for Lost Device Recovery
Why We Picked It
AVG Internet Security, along with Bitdefender, owns the trifecta of perfect antivirus lab scores. Both took a perfect 18 from AV-Test and scored 100% with AV-Comparatives and MRG-Effitas. Challenged (on Windows) to detect and defend against malware-hosting web pages and phishing pages, it rang up very good scores as well.
Loss or theft is as big a danger for Android devices as malware infestation—maybe bigger. You can locate, lock, or wipe a lost Android, naturally, but AVG goes well beyond those basics. For starters, you can remotely listen in on the device, snap pics with the camera, or download data (perhaps in preparation for wiping it). The Camera Trap feature automates taking photos of whoever is holding your phone, and you can set it to lock if a thief swaps out the SIM card. Other features include the ability to boost RAM by killing idle tasks, wipe out junk files, and put sensitive photos in protected storage.
Who It’s For
Do you wake up in a cold sweat from a nightmare of losing your Android phone? Does walking out the door without it make you feel naked? Among its many other abilities, AVG Internet Security boasts an unusually comprehensive set of features to help when your device is lost or stolen.
PROS
- Excellent scores in multiple independent lab tests and on our hands-on tests
- Includes webcam, data, and firewall protection
- Improved system performance
- Slick interface
CONS
- Persistent upsells
- Single-device plan is expensive
- Did not prevent a ransomware sample from running at startup during testing
- Initial and boot-time scan are slow
Avira Prime
Best for Forward-Looking Users
Why We Picked It
With most security suites, the feature set doesn’t change appreciably after your purchase. But with Avira Prime, you get the Pro edition of every Avira product, including any future ones Avira may add. Not all those Pro apps support Android, but you do get: Antivirus Security Pro; Phantom VPN Pro (a full-powered VPN with no limits on bandwidth or server choices), and Password Manager Pro (a simple password manager with few advanced features beyond an advanced security report).
Avira almost managed the antivirus lab-testing trifecta accomplished by AVG and Bitdefender, with perfect scores from AV-Test and MRG-Effitas and a near-perfect 99.9% from AV-Comparatives. Like its counterparts on other platforms, the first thing it wants to do is run a Smart Scan of your device’s security, privacy, and performance. As with most Android security products you can locate, lock, or wipe a lost or stolen device, though you perform these actions from another mobile device, not from an online console.
Avira offers typical Android security features including App Lock to secure your most sensitive apps and Permissions Manager to identify apps that may have permissions that aren’t appropriate. Its Web Protection component aims to keep you from accidentally visiting dangerous sites. Going beyond common features, the Optimizer feature helps you free up memory and reclaim storage space, Identity protection checks your email against known data breaches, and Microphone protection prevents eavesdropping. This Android security app is totally loaded when it comes to bonus features.
Who It’s For
Are you one of the many who suffer from FOMO (fear of missing out)? Choose Avira Prime and you’ll never miss out on new Avira products—they’re included. And that applies to Avira installations on your iOS, Windows, and macOS devices too, not just Androids.
PROS
- Includes Pro editions of all current and future Avira tools
- Protection for Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS devices
- No-limits VPN
- Mostly excellent scores from antivirus testing labs
CONS
- Lacks many expected suite features
- Poor score in malware-hosting URL test
- Dark Web Monitoring did not work in testing
- Browser-independent Web Protection not effective
Avast Premium Security
Best for Windows-Android Households
Why We Picked It
Like AVG, Avast Premium Security scored 100% in Android antivirus tests by AV-Comparatives. That makes sense, as Avast and AVG run on the same underlying antivirus engine. Both also took a perfect score from AV-Test Institute. Its Smart Scan watches for malware, warns of vulnerable Wi-Fi networks, and identifies junk files for cleanup.
From the Avast online console, you can locate, lock, or wipe a phone that’s been lost or stolen, but antitheft doesn’t stop there. It automatically snaps a mug shot of the phone thief after a set number of failed unlock attempts. You can also use the console to snap pictures and even listen in via the device’s microphone. Swapping out the SIM card is a typical action for a phone thief—Avast can respond to this action by locking the phone.
While you can still purchase the Avast SecureLine VPN app separately, VPN protection is now built into the main security app, and it comes without limits on bandwidth or server choices. In addition, it includes quite a few features to keep your phone running smoothly and safely. It can free up available RAM, reclaim storage space by deleting junk, and check both the safety and the speed of your Wi-Fi connection. The App Insights feature helps you manage app usage and privacy, and App Lock lets you put your most sensitive apps behind a secondary PIN. Avast can check known data breaches to see if your email shows up, block unwanted calls and texts, tweak settings to reduce power consumption, and more.
Who It’s For
Like most of the products described here, Avast Premium Security offers protection for Android, iOS, Windows, and macOS devices. However, it just doesn’t do much on an iOS device, and for macOS protection you could just as well use the free edition. This product is best in a household that runs on Windows and Android.
PROS
- Good antivirus scores
- Robust firewall
- Full-featured Android security
- Bonus features enhance security
CONS
- Some bonus features still require separate payment
- Protection relatively limited on macOS
- Protection very limited on iOS
- Some features require additional purchases
ESET Internet Security
Best for Many Security Features
Why We Picked It
I follow three independent labs that put Android antivirus tools to the test. Naturally I like to see perfect scores in the lab reports. Avira and Bitdefender boast perfect scores from all three. ESET Internet Security earned a perfect 100% from MRG-Effitas, and 99.9% from AV-Comparatives, an impressive showing.
This cross-platform suite offers antitheft protection for Android devices, naturally, but also extends that protection to Windows laptops. On either platform, prepping this feature may require one or more optimization steps. As expected, you can use the online console to make a misplaced device squeal, or to handle a lost or stolen device by locating, locking, or wiping it. Unlike most competitors, ESET also lets you send antitheft commands using coded SMS messages. And it can automatically lock your phone if a thief tries to swap out the SIM card.
In addition to the expected on-demand malware scan and real-time protection, ESET can schedule regular scans. Its numerous additional security features include: Payment Protection, which launches sensitive apps using enhanced security; App Lock, which puts your most important apps behind the protection of a secondary PIN; Security Audit, a scan that identifies apps with the most permissions, as well as security problems such as USB debugging enabled; Network Inspector, which both lists devices on your network and flags any with security problems; and Call Filter, to block unwanted calls and texts.
Who It’s For
Antivirus and antitheft protection for your Android are important, but you want more, more, more! Why should a security suite for Windows have a bigger feature collection? ESET Internet Security should satisfy your craving for an ample and effective collection of security features.
PROS
- Very good antivirus lab scores
- Full-featured Android protection
- No impact in performance tests
- Useful home network security scanner
- Anti-theft software for laptops
CONS
- Very limited parental control
- Poor score in hands-on malware protection test
- Unusually annoying firewall pop-ups
- Pro edition adds little for macOS
Buying Guide: The Best Android Antivirus for 2023
Why Isn’t Kaspersky Listed?
Kaspersky Plus includes a comprehensive Android security suite. It scans for malware on demand and in real time and keeps you from visiting dangerous websites. As expected, it lets you locate, lock, or wipe a lost phone, and it includes an integrated VPN. Kaspersky Premium incorporates that suite and adds more features. So why is the list above Kaspersky-free?
For years, Kaspersky has faced accusations and censure based on its Russian origins, though none of the accusations have come backed by hard evidence of malicious behavior. We at PCMag focused on the capabilities of the products, not on the brouhaha around the company. However, the current war in Ukraine has raised the stakes. Governments and third parties are cutting ties with Kaspersky. The FCC labeled Kaspersky a national security risk.
After consideration, we can no longer recommend that you purchase Kaspersky security products. We’ve left the reviews in place, with a warning since they provide useful information. You’ll find Kaspersky’s features mentioned in several places below, for comparison purposes. But at least for now, we’re removing Kaspersky products from our “Best of” lists.
Android Antivirus Testing Results From the Labs
Do these Android antivirus utilities work? We look to three independent testing labs to find out. Almost all the listed products appear in results from at least one lab; three show up in all of them.
Researchers at AV-Comparatives(Opens in a new window) challenged each Android antivirus product to defend against over 3,000 prevalent Android malware samples found in the wild. In the latest round of testing, Avast, AVG, Bitdefender, G Data, Kaspersky, and Trend Micro scored a perfect 100%.
The latest test from AV-Test Institute(Opens in a new window) hit 17 Android antivirus solutions with thousands of malware samples. Researchers also installed thousands more non-malicious programs, to make sure that the antivirus didn’t wrongly identify them as malware. They assigned each product up to six protection points for blocking malware, six points for minimal impact on performance and battery life, and six usability points for refraining from mistakenly blocking valid programs. All of the products we follow scored a perfect 18 points. The real loser in this test was Google’s own protection, which earned just two of six possible points for protection.
London-based MRG-Effitas(Opens in a new window) tested nine products, most of which overlapped with our selection. The testers evaluated each product’s ability to detect and eliminate threats before launch, and the ability to detect and neutralize threats during install. They checked more than 160 samples, ranging from Trojans to adware, with some known valid programs thrown in to check for false positives. And they noted whether a product caught samples early or waited until they were about to install. Most of the products we’ve reviewed earned a perfect 100% score, though Norton and Malwarebytes missed perfection by a little and Comodo by a lot.
The Best Android Malware Protection (and More)
All the Android products mentioned here include an antivirus component that scans new apps and offers an on-demand scan as well. All but a couple of them can also run scans on a schedule, a feature perhaps more useful on Windows than Android. All of them also offer some form of safe browsing, to keep you from surfing to URLs that might try to plant malware, or fraudulent sites that might trick you into giving away your username and password for the login page they imitate.
It’s Surprisingly Easy to Be More Secure Online
All these security tools also check your installed apps for potential privacy problems. Typically, they flag programs that have permission to do things like view your contacts, scan your call logs, learn your location, or send texts. If a communication app needs access to contacts, that makes sense. If a goofy game wants to paw through your private info, however, consider deleting it.
Antitheft protection for a lost or stolen device has long been a mainstay of Android security products, but with the growing strength of Android’s built-in protection, some companies are dropping this feature. Norton purged antitheft in 2019, and McAfee’s updated Android app now omits it as well.
For those that still offer antitheft, you can find your device’s location on a map. If you’ve just mislaid it around the house, you can trigger a noisy alarm to help you find it. You can lock the phone to keep a thief out of your apps and data. And if you determine that you’ll never get the device back, you can remotely wipe it. All the apps let you manage antitheft features using an online console. Most of them offer the option of triggering antitheft events using coded text messages, and many of them also surreptitiously snap a photo of whoever is using your device.
One of the first things a typical smartphone thief does is claim the device by swapping out the SIM card. Most of our recommended apps include some form of SIM card protection. Some of them lock the device on SIM card change. Others notify you of the new phone number, so you can still send those coded text messages to invoke antitheft features.
Blocking unwanted calls and texts used to be a common feature, but ongoing changes to the Android operating system have made it more difficult. Almost half our picks don’t offer this feature at present.
Recommended by Our Editors
Antivirus and antitheft are core components for any Android security app, but some go way beyond the basics. Common bonus features include backup for your contacts and photos, a battery monitor to show which apps are draining your battery life, and a task killer to send those battery hogs packing. Several of the apps warn when you connect to an insecure Wi-Fi network.
As noted, almost all these security tools scan your installed apps and report on those that might be privacy risks. Norton and Trend Micro take that skill to the next level, reporting on apps as you view them in the Play Store, so you can avoid downloading any that might be problematic.
VPN protection is more important on mobile devices than desktops, because mobile devices connect to a wide variety of networks. Bitdefender includes a bandwidth-limited VPN Android VPN app. That’s nice, but Avast, Avira, and Norton include VPN protection with no bandwidth limit.
A few of these products feature less-common bonus features. ESET lets you time-schedule your call blocking, for example, to allow only family members to call you at night. Trend Micro offers to scan your Facebook settings and warn about any security problems.
Which Is the Number One Antivirus for Android?
So, which one should you choose? It depends on just what you need to protect, but we assume you want a suite that at least installs on your Windows and Android devices. McAfee Antivirus Plus is an Editors’ Choice winning antivirus, with protection for unlimited devices. Norton 360 Deluxe is an Editors’ Choice pick for cross-platform security suites, and both get excellent lab scores on Windows and Android. Bitdefender Total Security likewise pulls in top lab scores and offers a cornucopia of features on Windows; it’s our Editors’ Choice winner for security mega-suite. You won’t go wrong with one of these three, but the others have their own merits. Click through the links, read the full reviews, and make your choice.
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