Is Zedge Ringtones App Safe? Zedge Ringtones App Review 

Zedge Ringtones App is a smartphone personalization software created by Norwegians Paul Show, Tom Arnoy, and Kenneth Sundness in 2003. The app comes in two versions, free and premium, allowing users to download their favorite wallpapers, funny ringtones, live wallpapers, icons, games, keyboards, and widgets. If you are the creative type, you can opt-in for the premium version, which allows you to design wallpapers from scratch with stickers and gives you the freedom to share your creativity with friends.

The app had achieved great success until 2019, when Apple pulled it down from the Apple Store and Google Play Store on the grounds of being “harmful.” The app is back on both the play store and the official Zedge website. Is Zedge Ringtones App safe? Let’s find out!

The Beginning of Zedge Ringtones App woes

The app rose from a humble beginning back in the days and endeared to millions of users because it offered what most other ringtones apps lacked-personalization. Just imagine the cool stuff you could do with all those free filters, stickers, breathtaking video effects on your live screens, and funny ringtones. The app also offered a good user experience due to the perfect categorization of various genres.

But the Zedge Ringtones App had its fair share of controversies, especially with legal and copyright issues about the wallpapers and ringtones. For example, they used the apple logo in their iTunes listing, which led to their immediate expulsion from the platform. Then came the annoying third-party ads because of the developers’ quest to earn more revenue than they were getting from Google Adsense, which ruined the user experience and created a security hazard.

Is Zedge Harmful to Use?

Zedge app has earned its place among the most popular apps offering ringtones and wallpaper on Windows, Android, and iOS platforms, which are the most popular smartphone operating systems. Add to that the millions of downloads every year, and you are probably thinking the app cannot be as bad as people are claiming on social media.

The answer to whether the app is harmful for use or not depends on whether you are for or against the Zedge app, although the company acknowledged through Twitter that they had pulled the app down “Due to a bug we found.” This cast a shadow on app credibility, but they said their developers were working on it, which they did.

Additionally, Google kicked the controversial app out of Google Play Store after being flagged as “harmful” by Play Protect, a security system installed in the Play Store to flag down malware or other software that could potentially harm your mobile and computer systems. But the question remains whether the app is harmful to use or not.

The giant software company also received lots of complaints about the Zedge app from concerned users. One bold user claimed that he had enough evidence in the form of screenshots to support his claims. He claimed that hackers used Zedge as a front to smuggle their spyware in the form of split configuration applications into people’s phones and computer systems.

Those defending the app argue that it was Google’s faulty search algorithms that erroneously flagged down their beloved app as malware or, at worst, spyware.  Due to changes in the security features, updated anti-malware protection in the Google Play Store has been flagging down a bunch of other popular seemingly “guilty” apps, including Es Explorer and Videoder.

So, Is Zedge unsafe to Use?

According to Zedge, they found no malware in their app, and therefore it is safe to use under normal circumstances. However, there is a lack of quorum as to whether the app is harmful for use due to a lack of clear information from the concerned parties.

The app is safe to use at the developer level, but you should be extra careful when using it. The new version is out, although some users still claim that they are still getting that warning message from Play Protect. This can only be fixed by:

Updating Zedge

• Log into Google Play Store.
• Type Zedge App in the search box. Tap on it in the search results.
• Click “Update” and wait for it to download and install.
• Relaunch it if the error message persists.

Updating should solve the issue, but if it doesn’t, reinstall the app.

Reinstalling Zedge

• Tap “Settings” on your Android smart device and proceed to Application Manager.
• Look for the Zedge app in the list of installed apps and open it.
• Click on Uninstall followed by Yes for confirmation.
• Once done with uninstallation, restart your device.
• Log into Google Play Store.
• Search Zedge and Ringtones App in the search bar.
• Once you find it click on it and then Download.
• The device will automatically install the app once the download is complete.

Is the Zedge app harmful? Reasons for Malware?

Is Zedge Harmful to Use?

Yes, Zedge is harmful for Android, iOS and Windows smartphones. As we experienced ZEDGE app has been removed from Google Play Store. hence Play Protect flagged it!

While it’s not possible to give a definitive yes/no answer as to whether the Zedge Ringtone App is harmful or not, one thing is quite clear-there is definitely something shady going on within the app. All those users lodging complaints about the app cannot be wrong or compromised. There had to be a good reason why Play Protect sent users a warning message about the app attacking computers and mobile devices and proceeded to uninstall it from their devices automatically.

If some claims are anything to go by, then the Zedge app could have been infiltrated by malware through third-party advertisement. Remember Zedge app ruined their user experience by clattering their interface with advertisements from third-party websites?

Google Adsense offers a safe platform for developers to generate revenue when they display paid advertisements on their apps. But Zedge developers seemed dissatisfied with the little or the more they were earning from the platform and decided to increase their revenue by welcoming ads from third-party websites. Probably that’s where the bug originated.

You are probably wondering what all this hype about bugs and malware is? These are malicious software planted into the computer and mobile systems that cause them to misbehave or secretly collect personal data. That is scary! Hackers exploit the open-source system to smuggle bugs through seemingly legit applications.

Some are convinced that nobody smuggled a bug into the app, but Zedge Ringtone App is actually the bug. What with all the mandatory requests for permission to access and modify device files and settings? Requesting for sensitive stuff sounds shady and unacceptable, right?

Is there a better app than Zedge? Alternative to zedge app.

Now that Zedge is becoming increasingly harder to use every day and its credibility is in question, the next question on your mind is whether there are better apps than Zedge. The answer is a resounding YES! Check some of zedge alternatives for amazing ringtones and wallpaper apps below.

1. Ringtones XL

Ringtones XL is a ringtone app that has equal or better functionality to Zedge and provides a better user experience owing to the simple interface. The distinct categories such as holiday funny and classical ensure that you spend less time fumbling around for your favorite ringtone. Like Zedge, Ringtones XL has another category containing notification sounds only.

Each of the said categories contains thousands of ringtones to suit every app user. And the functionality is quite simple. Just look for a green tick toggle next to the ringtone, tap on it and follow the prompts to add your favorite alarm tone, ring tone, or contact tone.

2. Backgrounds HD

The second app in this category is for you who relied on Zedge for wallpapers only. It features an organized interface, like Zedge, with all-time popular, daily, monthly, and even weekly categories. These categories are further subdivided into small units like cars, animals, and buildings to not waste time searching for a suitable wallpaper. Additionally, the app starts tagging suggestions once you start tapping on the search bar or what is known as the dynamic search.

For those who aren’t decided what they want, there’s “Shuffle,” which displays assorted items from all other categories, which you can refresh by dragging from the screen top. The “Feed” allows users to view and download wallpapers from people they follow, like, or know. However, you have to sign in using your Facebook or Google account.

3. MTP Ringtones & Wallpapers

This seems like the identical Zedge Ringtones App twin. If you loved the Zedge interface, then you will be home and dry using this app. Unlike the first two apps, this one offers both wallpapers and ringtones with two distinct groupings for both. The app seems to offer a solution to Zedge’s cluttered interface because the search results are displayed depending on the broad search phrase followed by search results for individual words.

4. Ringtones & Wallpapers for Me

Ringtones & Wallpapers for Me works like MTP Ringtones & Wallpapers featuring a simple yet colorful interface. You can use it to customize both wallpapers and ringtones like Zedge App. The wallpapers are grouped into common categories, such as cartoons, animals, and abstract, while the ringtones feature categories such as patriotic, business, and holiday.

It also has new and popular categories so that you can keep up with what is trending. The downside to the app is popping ads which will only leave if you make an in-app subscription.