A counterfeit “Chrome” app that copied the browser’s name, icon and description reached more than 100,000 reported downloads on Google Play before Google removed it. Screenshots indicate it also surfaced at the top of Play Store search results, in one case as a sponsored result above the genuine Chrome browser.
Hizbartech’s Ball Bounce Game Was Renamed Chrome on September 30
The app was published by a developer called Hizbartech, not Google LLC. It launched in August as a game named Ball Bounce. On September 30, the listing was renamed to resemble Chrome, but its package ID, com.ballbounce.Hizbartech, never changed. The package name therefore still points to the original game listing.
Roughly two weeks passed between the rename and the first public reports on October 14. The download figure of more than 100,000 is a cumulative total, so it is unclear how many installs happened before the rebrand and how many came after.
Search Placement Reported by a Browser News Site and Reddit Users
A web browser news site posted a screenshot on October 14 showing the app at the top of Play Store results. A separate Reddit screenshot showed it as a sponsored result positioned above the real Chrome listing. The news site was unable to reproduce the sponsored placement, so the advertising claim rests on the Reddit image.
Messaging Interface With AI Avatars Instead of a Browser
Reddit users who examined the app found no browser functionality. Instead, it presented a messaging-style interface with AI-generated avatars and canned replies. One user claimed the app only plays advertisements on a short loop.
Whether the app contained malware or stole data is unconfirmed. No researcher has published an analysis showing malicious code, and the only behavior described is the ad playback reported by a user.
Google Removes the App but Does Not Explain the Review Gap
The removal ended the public availability of the listing, but it left the central question about Google Play’s review process unanswered.
Google has removed the app. The company has not explained how it passed Play Store review, either at its original launch as a game or when it was renamed to impersonate a widely used browser.
The timing adds to a policy debate. Google has been pushing to restrict sideloading on security grounds, arguing that apps outside its store carry greater risk. A counterfeit of Google’s own flagship browser, listed in Google’s own store and reportedly promoted through a paid placement, cuts against that framing, since users who followed the official route still installed it.
A Rename Rather Than a New Listing Kept the Install Count
The sequence also shows how an existing listing can inherit credibility. Because the developer changed the name of an app already in the store instead of submitting a new one, the listing kept its accumulated downloads while presenting itself as something else. The unchanged package ID is the one identifier that ties the fake Chrome back to Ball Bounce and to Hizbartech.
Google has made no statement about whether it is reviewing other apps published under the same developer name or whether it plans changes to how renames are checked. The impersonation relied on three copied elements: the browser’s name, its icon and its description. None of them required changing the package ID, which is why the original game identifier survived the makeover.
The report leaves several points open. It does not establish whether the app collected data, it does not say how many of the 100,000 installs followed the Chrome rebrand, and it does not confirm that the sponsored placement was a paid advertisement rather than a display of ordinary search ranking.
Users who installed the app can look for the Hizbartech developer name and the com.ballbounce.Hizbartech package ID to confirm whether they have the counterfeit.
