My teen’s Android has been acting weird (extra notifications then disappearing, battery drain), and I’m worried there’s a hidden chat app. I checked the app drawer and Play Store history but didn’t find much-any tips on what to look for in settings, permissions, or storage to spot something disguised?
Battery drain and ghost notifications usually just mean a background service is misbehaving, so check Settings > Battery and Settings > Apps (toggle the menu to “Show system apps”) for anything hogging power or holding odd permissions like Accessibility or Notification access. You’ll need physical access to scroll through usage stats or package lists, and most third-party “hidden app scanners” are just marketing fluff anyway. If it’s actually a disguised vault or fake-calculator messenger, it won’t tank the battery—you’re probably just chasing a buggy app sync or a launcher glitch.