Advanced AI Tool Provider Uses DexGuard and ThreatCast to Secure Their Android Mobile App

The Company

An Android app featured in Wired, Popular Mechanics, and other publications, allows users to manage device settings automatically based on a customizable set of conditions. Launched in 2008, the award-winning app is one of the longest-maintained apps on Google Play and has continued to grow in popularity over the years.

The app’s developer was inspired to create the app after a judge jailed 46 people when a cell phone rang while court was in session and no one would admit to the sound coming from their phone. With this app, users can easily customize their Android device’s behavior. For example, users can ensure their phone’s ringer will never sound in a movie theater, prevent texts from arriving while the user is driving a car, immediately open a music app when connecting headphones, and much more.

"The support from the Guardsquare team has been incredible. I've emailed a few questions, and the team — and often Eric, the company’s co-founder — writes back with a positive and helpful attitude. Any issues get fixed fast, sometimes within an hour."

— Founder and developer of the AI tool provider

In 2020, the company launched the public beta for a major new version of the original app.

“I built [this app] from day one with privacy and security in mind, so I’ve always been very careful about what kinds of tools I use. I want to do things in an unintrusive way that protects users. [The app] asks for the minimum necessary permissions, users have the option of staying anonymous, and user data is never sold or monetized. DexGuard and ThreatCast have made [the app] more secure, faster, and better for users."

DexGuard and ThreatCast have made [the app] more secure, faster, and better for users."

— Founder and developer of the AI tool provider

“I would receive support questions, but the questions made no sense,” said the developer. “It turns out they had downloaded a pirated and modified version of the app.”

These pirates were creating a lot of work for the developer, including server load and customer satisfaction issues. He was concerned about the quality of the customer experience, his top priority for the app, as users downloading a modified app were coming away with a negative experience. In addition, user privacy — also a priority for the developer — would be at risk, too. Many mobile apps are designed with sharing and interoperability in mind. This app was built with a plug-in API, which inherently increases the security surface area of the app.

“[The app] has a well-designed interface and was created with security in mind, but any time you open an API there is risk,” the developer said. “As the expression goes, ‘the most secure room is a room with no door,’ but this isn’t possible for mobile apps designed for interoperability.”

He was also concerned about intellectual property, as there are four patented innovations embedded within the mobile app. It was time to find a security solution.

The Solution

In 2009, the app began using ProGuard — Guardsquare’s free, open source code optimizer — to speed up the app and offer some basic security protections. Over time, the app expanded to use DexGuard, Guardsquare’s Android mobile app protection solution.

DexGuard's advanced obfuscation and Runtime Application Self-Protection (RASP) features were important to the app's developer. While both ProGuard and DexGuard are helpful in reducing app size and increasing app speed, DexGuard, in particular, appealed to the developer for its ability to obfuscate code, thus protecting his IP.

In 2020, the app became one of the first apps to use Guardsquare’s ThreatCast solution for mobile threat monitoring. With ThreatCast, companies can see threats as they occur in real-time and update configurations to protect apps against suspicious behavior.

“DexGuard and ThreatCast have made [the app] more secure, faster, and better for users,” added the developer.

The Result

Over the years, this company has seen many benefits to using Guardsquare’s products. More recently, when the company launched the public beta of the app, it came with an emphasis on security, with DexGuard and ThreatCast baked in.

DexGuard

Providing obfuscation and RASP, DexGuard protects the company’s IP and improves the overall security of the app.

In addition, by stripping out unnecessary code, DexGuard has improved [the app’s] runtime performance.

“I let DexGuard do the optimizing for me,” added the developer. “It makes the engineering process a lot easier, and the app is more secure and faster, too.”

ThreatCast

With ThreatCast, the organization is able to monitor threats more effectively, including attempts to pirate or modify the mobile app.

“While [the app] uses a security-hardened design, I appreciate the extra layer of security visibility and protection that ThreatCast provides by monitoring both the app and the device environment,” said the developer.

The increased monitoring is also helping the developer with user support and the customer experience.

“We have a clearer sense of how to help users during support requests, like if they’re running in an environment that might be causing problems,” said the developer. “For example, some users are operating rooted devices — when we can see this, we can ask the right questions, explain what’s not working, and move them forward.”

Beyond DexGuard and ThreatCast, the developer has appreciated the support from Guardsquare’s team of experts.

With Guardsquare’s advanced protections applied to the app, users can rest assured it will load quickly and run securely.

Developer friendly mobile app sec tools that:

Guardsquare offers the most complete approach to mobile application security on the market. Built on the open source ProGuard® technology, Guardsquare’s software integrates seamlessly across the development cycle. From app security testing to code hardening to real-time visibility into the threat landscape, Guardsquare solutions provide enhanced mobile application security from early in the development process through publication.

More than 900 customers worldwide across all major industries rely on Guardsquare to help them identify security risks and protect their mobile applications against reverse engineering and tampering.

The creators of ProGuard® www.guardsquare.com