Google has sneaked a mysterious new app onto your Android phone — and now we think we know what it does

• Android Pulse has appeared on the Google Play Store
• It’s available as an update for some users, showing that it’s already on their phones
• The description suggests this runs in the background to check for misbehaving apps

Android Pulse is an app that you probably don’t know you have — but if you’ve got an Android phone then there’s a chance it’s already running in the background, and there’s an easy way to find out.

As spotted by 9to5Google, just such an app has appeared on the Google Play Store, and more tellingly, you might find it in your list of available Google Play Store app updates — meaning it’s already on your phone, even though you won’t have knowingly downloaded it.