Is the Flashlight App That was Already on My Alcatel Icon Phone a Threat?

[AC Question]

I have an Alcatel Pop Icon smartphone (Tracfone). I recently saw a news report about the dangers of installing most flashlight apps because they are actually Trojans from either China or Russia that access sensitive information and can wreak havoc on your phone and personal security. The advice was to uninstall it and re-set the phone. I'm not very tech savvy and will have a hard time re-setting the phone and don't want to if it's not really necessary. I didn't install any app, but one was already there when I purchased the phone, (version 4.4.2-472-0) along with several others. It does have that scary language about accessing all kinds of information, but since I didn't install it, there was no place for me to accept it. Is this safe because I myself didn't accept the terms? Or is it safe because the manufacturer installed it? Or is it not safe at all? Thanks so much for any help you can give me. I'm very worried about this.

 

[srkmagnus]

If you download a reputable app you will be fine. Just be sure to take a look at the download count user comments to see what others are saying. This goes for any app really.

 

[ginnyjean]

Thank you for your response. Can I uninstall the factory app without causing a problem with my phone?