Play Protect's Real-Time Scanning: A Speed Boost That May Not Be Worth It

Google Play Protect's real-time scanning can slow down app installations on Android devices. A writer for Android Police, who has been covering consumer technology for over a decade, decided to turn off this feature to see if it would improve performance.

The writer noticed that the scan during installation was causing a noticeable pause, but only for apps that Play Protect hadn't evaluated before. Once an app is known and trusted, the check doesn't repeat on every launch.

After turning off real-time scanning, the writer found that sideloaded installations felt a bit snappier, shaving maybe a second or two off each install. However, there wasn't a significant change in performance overall.

The writer decided to turn the feature back on due to the trade-off between speed and security. Google Play Protect's ongoing behavior monitoring is an important protection against malicious apps, especially with Android 17 actively watching for newer tricks like SMS forwarding.