I deleted every security app on my phone — except this one.
24 Jun 2026 · 3 min read · Comments
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For a few years, I had five security apps installed. A VPN, an antivirus, a privacy scanner, a junk cleaner, and something that promised to "optimise" my phone. Last spring I deleted four of them. Here's what I kept, and why.
The security app market is built on anxiety. Every new product promises protection against a threat you'd never heard of before the ad appeared. Install enough of them and you feel covered. What you actually have is a phone running four background processes that each want your location, your contacts, and permission to read your notifications.
Some of those apps cause more exposure than they prevent.
What most of those apps actually do
- Junk cleaners and optimisers: Modern phones manage memory automatically. These apps do nothing useful and frequently request permissions that have nothing to do with cleaning files.
- Privacy scanners: Most run a surface-level check of your app permissions and report it back to you in alarming language. The alarm is the product. The scan tells you things you could see for free in your phone's settings.
- Free antivirus apps: On mobile, the threat model is mostly phishing and malicious apps — neither of which a traditional antivirus addresses well. The ones that do work tend to be part of a broader, paid security suite.
- Multiple overlapping apps create permission bloat, battery drain, and, in some cases — competing processes that interfere with each other.
The one I kept
I kept TotalAV. Not because it was the first one I installed, but because it was the only one doing something that the others weren't.
It catches malicious apps before they run. It flags phishing links in real time, including ones that arrive via SMS. It scans for known malware across files you've downloaded. These are the three areas where mobile threats actually exist at meaningful scale, and it handles all three in one place without asking for permissions it doesn't need.
- Real-time protection against phishing links — across browsers, email, and SMS
- App scanning for known malware and suspicious behaviour
- Web shield that flags unsafe sites before they load
- Works on iOS and Android. One subscription covers multiple devices.
Four apps gone. One kept. Phone runs faster. Battery lasts longer. And the actual threat surface — phishing, malicious apps, unsafe sites — is covered.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need antivirus if I have Windows Defender?+
Windows Defender covers known threats but misses a significant share of new and polymorphic malware. AV-TEST data shows third-party tools like TotalAV achieve 99%+ detection rates versus Defender's lower real-world scores on novel threats.
How much does a good antivirus cost?+
TotalAV starts at $19/year for up to 6 devices — a fraction of what Norton charges at renewal ($94.99/year for Standard). Most users don't need the most expensive tier; entry-level paid antivirus outperforms free options in independent lab tests.
Can a Mac get a virus?+
Yes. Mac malware has grown significantly — AV-TEST catalogues hundreds of thousands of macOS-specific threats. Macs are safer than Windows by default but not immune, particularly to adware, browser hijackers, and phishing-delivered malware.
