Attack of the clones: Fake ChatGPT apps are everywhere

Malwarebytes’ analysis of the mobile AI gold rush shows a surge of fake ChatGPT-ish apps flooding app stores in 2025, with some clones offering only lightweight wrappers and others masquerading as genuine AI tools to harvest user data.

The piece notes three risk categories: harmless wrappers that connect to legitimate APIs with ads or themes, adware impersonators that profit from aggressive advertising while misleading users with AI branding, and malware disguised as AI tools that can scrape contacts, intercept messages, and silently relay data to criminals via cloud services.

A notable example is a DALL·E clone branded to imitate OpenAI’s look, detected by Malwarebytes as Adware with the package com[.]openai.dalle3umagic; another is WhatsApp Plus, alleged to be an unofficial variant that can include spyware, with the package com.wkwaplapphfm.messengerse detected as Android/Trojan[.]Agent.SIB0185444803H262.

The article also references prior coverage of fake AI tools and stresses practical safety steps: download only from official stores, verify exact developer names, read reviews critically, limit app permissions, keep security software active, and uninstall suspicious apps promptly. According to Appknox research, these clones vary in risk as researchers observe an explosion of AI apps across stores.