Stop cloned and fake versions of your app
A cloned app is your brand, your UI and your customers’ trust, in an attacker’s hands. SecIron stops repackaged copies from running and tells you where they are being tried.
Two apps, one brand, and only one of them is yours
A cloned app looks identical to the real one. It is distributed through phishing links and third-party stores, and it harvests logins and OTPs from customers who believe they are talking to you.
Integrity checks built into the hardened release mean a repackaged copy fails on first launch, and the attempt is reported to IronSKY with the device and region it came from.
How clones reach your customers
Cloning needs no exploit. It needs your public APK, a decompiler and a channel to distribute the result.
Repackaged with malware
Your app plus a credential stealer, re-signed and pushed through third-party stores and chat groups.
Phishing by lookalike
Fake apps advertised on social media and search, harvesting logins, OTPs and card numbers.
Modified features
Builds with ads, licence checks or in-app purchases removed, costing revenue and support effort.
Side-loaded ‘updates’
Smishing campaigns that convince users to install a cloned update outside the store.
Brand and regulatory fallout
Losses attributed to your app, regulator questions and takedown costs long after the fact.
No visibility
Most organisations learn about a clone from a customer complaint, weeks after it went live.
Clones that cannot run, and proof that they tried
Integrity protection makes a modified build refuse to start. Monitoring turns every refused launch into intelligence about the campaign behind it.
Assess with IronSCAN
Identify what makes your current build easy to repackage.
- Missing integrity verification
- Debuggable or signature-agnostic configs
- Resources and assets easily swapped
Harden with IronWALL
Bind the build to its signature and contents.
- Signature and integrity verification at launch
- Anti-tampering and anti-repackaging
- Obfuscation that makes modification unreliable
Monitor with IronSKY
See every cloned launch, where it happens and how often.
- Repackaged-build alerts by region and device
- Trend data to time takedowns and user warnings
- Evidence for law enforcement and regulators
How teams like yours protect their apps with SecIron
See how an international bank kept cloned and re-signed copies of its app out of circulation.
International bankCase study · BankingHow SecIron helped an international bank meet its mobile security mandatesA central regulatory mandate required every banking app to be protected, within weeks. IronWALL was deployed on-premise for iOS and Android, with no SDK and no source code changes, so the bank could harden its app without slowing a single release.2 weeksto the first protected appMinutesto harden every update0source code changesRead the case studyWhat changes once the app is protected
| Scenario | Before SecIron | With SecIron |
|---|---|---|
| Clone pushed through a third-party store | Runs and harvests credentials | Integrity check fails; the clone will not start |
| Smishing update campaign | Users install the fake | Fake refuses to run; attempts reported to IronSKY by region |
| Ad-free modified build | Revenue loss | Modified build will not run |
| Takedown prioritisation | Guesswork | Launch telemetry shows which clone campaigns are active |
| Regulator asks what happened | Reconstruction after the fact | Timestamped evidence of attempts and responses |
Frequently asked
How quickly is a cloned app detected?
On its first launch. The hardened app verifies its own signature and integrity before it runs, so a modified copy fails immediately and the attempt is reported.
Can clones still appear in app stores?
Yes, protection cannot stop someone uploading a file. It stops that file from working and gives you the evidence to request a takedown.
Do our developers need to change code?
No. IronWALL protection is codeless: you upload the compiled APK, AAB or IPA, select the protection modules and receive a hardened build. There is no SDK to wire in and no source code access required.
Does this work for Flutter and React Native apps?
Yes. SecIron protects native Android and iOS apps as well as Flutter, React Native, HarmonyOS and HarmonyOS Next, because protection is applied to the compiled app rather than the source.
Resources on cloned and fake apps
Guides, research and practical checklists from the SecIron team.
BlogHow fraudsters clone banking apps and how to catch them in secondsRead the article →
BlogProtecting mobile apps from threats with application hardeningRead the article →
GuideProtecting mobile apps against malware: a 16-page guideRead the article →Browse all blog posts, success stories and whitepapers and guides.
See it on your own app
Send us a build and we will harden it live, so your team can judge the protection and the performance impact before you decide.
End-to-end mobile application security. Assess, harden and monitor Android and iOS apps with codeless integration.
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