Spyware and fake apps
Tessiv compares every app with known stalkerware and advanced spyware such as Pegasus and Predator, spots fake copies of popular apps, and flags hidden apps that can watch your screen. More
PERSONAL ANDROID SECURITY · FREE PILOT
Your phone.
A clearer perspective.
Understand what’s on your device, what your apps can access, and what deserves a second look. Check a suspicious message before you tap, and decide which apps get the internet. Everything, including the AI, runs on your own phone.
Free pilot. No server. No account. No ads.
MORE CLARITY. LESS NOISE.
9:41•••
tessivYOUR DEVICE, EXPLAINED
Privacy
A clearer view of app permissions.
◉
CameraReview permission access
›♩
MicrophoneReview permission access
›Permission access ≠ activity
Android’s Privacy Dashboard shows recent camera and microphone use.
YOUR CONTROL
Trusted applications ›
Android privacy settings ›
OverviewNetworkAppsPrivacyActivity
01 / PRIVACY REVIEWIllustrative interface
A CLOSER LOOK
Film
Built for AndroidProcessed on your phoneNo server, no accountFree pilot
NEW IN VERSION 0.5.0 · SPYWARE AND ZERO-CLICK
Find spyware.
Make attacks harder.
Version 0.5.0 finds known spyware and fake apps, helps protect against attacks that need no tap from you, and explains everything in plain words. Version 0.3 added the scam checker, the internet blocker and screenshot checks.
Zero-click protection
Some attacks need no tap at all. A clear checklist shows what makes your phone a harder target, using real facts from your phone, and Website watch blocks known spyware servers. More
Simpler, more visual
A new home screen shows your phone at a glance: a status ring, shortcuts and gauges. Everything is explained in everyday words instead of technical terms.
Scam checker
Share a suspicious text message, chat message or link to Tessiv, select text and choose “Check for scams”, or paste it. Tessiv shows where each link really goes and explains the warning signs in plain words. More
Internet blocker
Choose apps and switch off their internet, on Wi-Fi and mobile data. Every other app keeps working normally, and Tessiv tells you if blocking ever stops. More
Screenshot and QR check
Pick a screenshot of a message or a picture of a QR code. Tessiv reads the text and the QR code on your phone, in English and Arabic, then checks them for scams. More
A USEFUL SECOND LOOK
Know more.
Decide with confidence.
Security starts with understanding. Tessiv brings scam checks, app audits, device checks, network control and local security history into one considered space.
See your apps clearly.
Review every app Android makes visible: install source, requested versus granted permissions, signing certificates, and accessibility or device admin roles. Deterministic rules explain informational, moderate and high priorities. Mark an app as “trusted by you” without erasing its findings.
IN PERSPECTIVE
Permissions are context, never a malware verdict. Android can restrict app visibility.
Read the state of your device.
Check screen lock, encryption, security patch age, developer options, USB and wireless debugging, build type, root indicators, user-installed certificates, VPN, Private DNS and proxy settings. Bootloader and verified-boot state come from hardware key attestation verified against Google’s published attestation roots.
IN PERSPECTIVE
Unsupported readings stay unavailable. Root indicators cannot prove a device is safe. Play Protect status has no public API.
See who has special access.
Review camera, microphone, background location, accessibility, notification access, display over apps, install unknown apps, usage access, all files, modify settings, device admin and unrestricted battery access. See who has each of these 12 access types and open Android settings to review it.
IN PERSPECTIVE
Permission access is not a record of sensor activity. Android’s Privacy Dashboard provides recent sensor history.
Notice what changed.
The optional background watch compares apps, permissions, special access and device settings, recording observed changes in your local timeline. Optional, coalesced notifications keep details private on the lock screen.
IN PERSPECTIVE
Off by default. Android decides the exact timing of periodic checks.
See which websites your apps reach.
Optional Website watch shows which websites your apps ask for and, where Android allows, which app asked. Block websites or whole apps, and known spyware servers are blocked for you. Your apps keep working normally.
IN PERSPECTIVE
It uses Android’s VPN feature, but nothing leaves your phone. Some apps look websites up in their own private way and slip past it. Android allows one VPN at a time, so Website watch pauses while the internet blocker runs.
Put network use in context.
See live download and upload rates for the device, plus per-app Wi-Fi and mobile data totals from Android’s records after granting Usage access.
IN PERSPECTIVE
Android’s per-app records can lag live traffic. These are data totals, not a list of connections.
Make room with care.
Measure app cache across the phone with Usage access. On Android 11+, one tap opens Android’s own clear-all-cache dialog, which needs All files access. Or select apps to keep: an optional accessibility helper clears only the rest through Settings, only ever tapping “Clear cache” and its cache confirmation.
IN PERSPECTIVE
Freed space is measured, not estimated. App data is never cleared. Android and manufacturer settings can limit or interrupt cleaning.
Keep the essentials in view.
RAM, storage, heat and battery readings refresh while Tessiv is open. Heat combines battery temperature with Android’s thermal status.
IN PERSPECTIVE
Battery temperature is not CPU temperature. Unavailable measurements stay unavailable.
Ask for a clearer explanation.
The optional AI Security Analyst runs a Google Gemma model entirely on your phone with Google’s LiteRT-LM runtime. Ask questions in “Ask Tessiv”, get plain-language explanations of findings, summaries of your day or week, review priorities and battery clues. How it works and how to set it up.
IN PERSPECTIVE
No AI server. The model sees only sanitized facts. Tessiv’s rules decide risk; the model explains and can be wrong.
Keep a useful local record.
Revisit audits and observed changes in the activity timeline. Explore a folder you choose, identify large or duplicate files within supported limits, and confirm selected file deletion through Android’s storage picker.
IN PERSPECTIVE
No silent file deletion. Folder inspection is bounded and depends on the storage provider.
Check a message before you act.
Share or paste a suspicious message or link. Tessiv finds each link’s real site and spots look-alike names such as “paypa1”, a company name used as a decoy in front of another site, letters borrowed from other alphabets, shortened links, app downloads and hidden characters. It also recognises pressure, payment requests, prize promises and requests for codes or passwords, in English and Arabic. The optional AI can explain the result in plain words.
IN PERSPECTIVE
Tessiv never opens links and never saves your messages. It can’t see who really sent a message, and no warning signs is not proof that a message is genuine. When in doubt, contact the company through its official app.
Decide which apps get the internet.
Choose apps and the internet blocker cuts them off, over Wi-Fi and mobile data, IPv4 and IPv6. Other apps, and Tessiv, are not affected. See how many connection attempts were stopped for each app. If blocking ends because another VPN started or Android stopped it, Tessiv tells you and never shows it as active.
IN PERSPECTIVE
Blocked apps also lose logins and sync. Work an app hands to Android, such as system downloads or push messages, is not blocked. Blocking stops after a phone restart until you turn it on again. This is per-app blocking, not yet a full connection firewall.
Check screenshots and QR codes.
Pick a screenshot or a photo of a QR code through Android’s picker, or share a screenshot to Tessiv. It reads QR codes and English and Arabic text on your phone, shows you what it read so you can correct it, and then runs the scam checker.
IN PERSPECTIVE
No camera or storage permission needed. QR links are never opened. Reading text from images can make mistakes, which is why you see and can edit the text first.
Find spyware and fake apps.
Tessiv compares every app on your phone with known stalkerware and with advanced spyware documented by Amnesty International and the MVT project, such as Pegasus and Predator. It recognises the real signatures of popular apps, so modified copies stand out, and flags apps that hide their icon while they can see your screen or read your notifications. If it finds something, it explains how to stay safe before you remove it.
IN PERSPECTIVE
The lists come with the app and are checked for tampering; nothing about your apps is sent anywhere. New or unknown spyware can be missed, so “none found” is good news, not a guarantee.
Make zero-click attacks harder.
Zero-click attacks arrive as a message, call or file and need no tap from you. Tessiv’s checklist uses real facts from your phone: how old your last security update is, how long since you restarted, whether Android’s Advanced Protection is on, whether known spyware servers are blocked, and more. Settings Android keeps private, such as turning off 2G, are clearly marked for you to check.
IN PERSPECTIVE
No app can stop every zero-click attack, because they use flaws in Android or other apps. Updates and a weekly restart matter most, and Tessiv says so plainly.
AI SECURITY ANALYST
An analyst that lives
on your phone.
Tessiv’s AI is not a chatbot in the cloud. The model is downloaded once and then runs on your phone’s own processor or graphics chip. There is no Tessiv server, so there is nowhere for your data to go.
WHAT STAYS ON YOUR PHONE
- Your app list, permissions, settings and history
- Every question you ask and every answer
- The facts Tessiv gives the model, which you can inspect under “What Tessiv shared with the AI”
- The model itself, in Tessiv’s private storage
The only network use is the one-time model download you start. Questions and answers are never uploaded, stored on a server or used for training. Once downloaded, the model needs no internet.
WHAT YOU NEED
- Gemma 4 E2B recommended
- Phones with 6 GB of RAM or more. A 2.4 GB download, so keep about 3 GB of storage free. No account needed.
- Gemma 3 1B
- Phones with about 4 GB of RAM. A 557 MB download. Google requires you to accept the Gemma terms on Hugging Face and paste your own free access token. Tessiv never sees your password.
- Every phone
- Android 8.0 or later on a 64-bit (ARM64) processor. Wi-Fi recommended for the download.
Set up the AI in six steps
- Open Settings. In Tessiv, tap the settings icon at the top right of Home.
- Open AI Security Analyst. Turn on “Use AI Security Analyst”. It is off by default.
- Keep the recommended model. Tessiv checks your phone’s memory and suggests the model it can run.
- Tap “Download model”. The download continues in the background with a progress notification. For Gemma 4 E2B, Tessiv checks the file’s published SHA-256 fingerprint before using it.
- Open Ask Tessiv. You’ll find it on Home. Pick a suggestion such as “Which apps can drain my battery?” or type your own question.
- Give the first answer a moment. The first start prepares the model for your phone, which can take about a minute. After that it loads in seconds.
On a mid-range Android 15 phone with 8 GB of RAM, answers took about 15 to 35 seconds using the graphics chip. Phones with about 4 GB of RAM use the processor and can take a minute or more. To free memory, the model unloads after a few idle minutes; delete it in AI Security Analyst to free the storage.
INDEPENDENT BY DESIGN
Your security shouldn’t
come with a data trade-off.
There is no Tessiv server. Every audit, check, summary and AI answer is computed on your Android device. No sign-in, no analytics SDK, no ads. Your installed app list, settings and history stay in app-private storage, and exports happen only when you start them. The optional AI model download brings a model in; it never sends your data out.
01
Local processing
App inspection, rule evaluation and AI explanations happen on your phone.
02
No invented certainty
Clear observations and limitations. No arbitrary security score.
03
Deliberate control
You choose trusted apps, extra access, and files to remove.
USER GUIDE
From download
to first insight.
Tessiv is installed directly from this page during the pilot. These steps take about two minutes.
Install
- Open this page on your Android phone and tap Download Android APK.
- Open the downloaded file. If Android asks, allow your browser to install apps, then tap Install.
- Google Play Protect may say the app is from an unknown developer, because the pilot is not on Google Play yet. If you downloaded it from this page, you can choose to install anyway. The SHA-256 fingerprint below the download button lets you verify the file.
First run
- Read the four short introduction screens.
- Tap Run first application audit. It reads your installed apps and takes a few seconds.
- Home shows the overview, live status, cache size and Ask Tessiv.
Find your way
- Home: your phone at a glance, plus spyware check, zero-click protection, message checks, blocking and freeing space.
- Internet: Website watch, the internet blocker, data use by app and blocked websites.
- Apps: every app, what it can do, and which ones need a look.
- Privacy: which apps can use your camera, microphone, location and more.
- History: what Tessiv noticed, with daily and weekly summaries.
Optional access
Tessiv asks only when you use a feature that needs it:
- Usage access: data use, cache sizes and battery clues.
- VPN: Website watch or the internet blocker. Nothing leaves your phone, and only one runs at a time.
- Notifications: alerts from the background watch.
- Accessibility: automatic cleaning of selected app caches.
- All files access: Android’s clear-all-cache dialog on Android 11+.
Check a message
In any app, share a message or link to Tessiv, or select text and choose Check for scams. Or open Check a Message on Home to paste text, pick a screenshot or check a QR code. To block apps, open Block Internet for Apps, switch on the apps, then tap Block.
AI analyst
Turn it on in Settings › AI Security Analyst and download the recommended model. Full setup steps. Under any answer, “What Tessiv shared with the AI” shows exactly what the model saw.
Update or remove
- Update: download the newer APK from this page and install it over the old one, including over 0.1.0. Your data stays.
- Remove: uninstall Tessiv in Android settings. All its data, including the AI model, is deleted.
- Google Play: when Tessiv arrives there, uninstall the pilot first, because the store version will be signed with a different key.
PILOT RELEASE
A free pilot.
Built to grow.
Version 0.5.0 adds the spyware and fake-app check, zero-click protection, and a simpler, more visual app in everyday words. It joins the scam checker, screenshot and QR checks, the internet blocker, app and phone checks, Website watch, data use, freeing space, live status and the on-device AI helper. Tessiv is free: no payments, no ads and no registration. More features will follow, and Tessiv will be published on Google Play.
On the roadmapAn Arabic interface, a review of an app file before you install it, a connection-level firewall, a production-signed release on Google Play, and testing on more phones and manufacturers. Play Protect status stays unavailable because Android offers no public way to read it. Tessiv cannot certify a device as safe.
FREE PILOTTessiv for Android
Version 0.5.0 · Pilot · ARM64
The pilot APK is being prepared. Download will become available after the build is verified.
Download Android APKAndroid 8.0 or later · 64-bit ARM phones · AI: 6 GB RAM recommended
Installation & build information
Open the APK on your phone and approve installation from your browser when Android asks. Keep Android’s security checks enabled; Play Protect may warn because the pilot is not on Google Play yet.
This pilot is signed with a development key. Uninstall it before installing the future Google Play version.
Build verification pending.
A FEW GOOD QUESTIONS
Before you install.
Does Tessiv need a server or an account?
No. There is no Tessiv server and no account. Audits, settings, history and AI answers are processed and stored on your phone. The only downloads are the app itself and, if you choose, the AI model. This website uses no cookies, trackers or analytics.
Does the AI send my data anywhere?
No. The AI model runs on your phone. Your questions, its answers and the facts it reads never leave the device and are not used for training. You can see exactly what the model was given under every answer, and it works without internet once downloaded.
Is Tessiv really free?
Yes. This pilot is free, with no payments, no ads and no registration. It exists to test Tessiv on real phones before the Google Play release.
Will Tessiv come to Google Play?
Yes, that is the plan. More advanced features will be added during the pilot, and Tessiv will then be published on Google Play. Uninstall the pilot before installing the store version.
Is this a full antivirus or firewall?
Not quite. Tessiv recognises known stalkerware and advanced spyware from public, credited lists, spots fake copies of popular apps and explains what each app can do, but new or unknown malware can be missed. The internet blocker cuts chosen apps off completely and Website watch blocks known spyware servers, but a connection-level firewall that filters individual connections is still missing.
Can Tessiv stop zero-click attacks?
No app can stop every one, because these attacks use flaws in Android or in other apps. Tessiv shows the steps that make them much harder, using real facts from your phone, and blocks servers known spyware reports to. Installing updates and restarting your phone every week matter most.
Does the scam checker read my messages or open links?
No. Tessiv sees only the text you share, select, paste or pick in a screenshot. It checks it on your phone, never opens links or QR codes, and keeps no message history. It cannot prove a message is safe; it shows the warning signs it knows.
Can it see when another app uses my camera?
Standard Android access does not provide Tessiv with reliable system-wide live camera or microphone events. Tessiv audits permissions and links to Android’s Privacy Dashboard instead.
Will it delete my files automatically?
No. Folder access is user-selected through Android’s storage picker. You review selected files and confirm deletion. Results depend on the selected storage provider.
Which phones are supported?
64-bit (ARM64) Android phones running Android 8.0 or later. The pilot has been tested on phones running Android 10 with 4 GB of RAM and Android 15 with 8 GB of RAM. Some features need newer Android versions, optional access or enough memory; the AI needs about 4 GB of RAM, and 6 GB or more for the recommended model.