Bitdefender Mobile Security review: A lot of protection for your money

At a glance

Expert’s Rating

Pros

Excellent virus protection
Comprehensive web protection

Our Verdict

For just £2 a month, you get what seems like an extraordinary amount. Good virus protection, theft protection, VPN and web protection. However the VPN has limited data, so you may need a more expensive separate subscription.

Price When Reviewed

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Best Pricing Today

To run Bitdefender Mobile Security, you’ll pay £2 per month, but you can get a discounted price of just over £1 per month for the first year. And if you have a multi-platform licence with Bitdefender, this Android app is included.

But double-check that you don’t have Antivirus Plus or Internet Security. Those versions don’t include Mac, iOS and this Android solution, they’re Windows-only.

If you opt for Total Security for £39.50 for the first year (50% off) this includes five devices across Windows, Mac, Android and iOS. That price is in-app but oddly it’s £44.99 on the web, down from £79.99.

If you want to try before you buy, you can get a free full-featured version that is valid for 14 days. The only requirement is that you register an account with Bitdefender.

The protection against malicious apps is a bit better than what you get from Google Play Protect. According to AV-Test, it protects against all their attempts to infect your mobile phone with known bad apps.

It also keeps a tight rein on so-called real-time threats, i.e. undetected malicious apps, which Google’s solution lets through occasionally. It’s good if you have a habit of installing apps from less protected sources like downloaded apk files.

Keeps shady links out

In addition to good app protection, web protection is included for most mobile browsers including Chrome, Edge, Opera, Samsung Browser and Brave. You’re also protected against scam links in text messages, the chat apps Whatsapp, Messenger, Discord and Telegram, and in emails.

During my test with Bitdefender on my mobile phone, I received a scam text message from a fake “Postnord” sender that wanted to direct me to a dodgy site with a suspicious URL. Bitdefender agreed and wouldn’t let me blindly click on it.

The app also selects apps that you can put behind a biometric lock or pin code to launch. This ensures that no one can open apps that are not authorised, including other apps. It’s an extra layer of security if you’ve left your phone unlocked.

Good theft protection, minimal vpn

You get anti-theft protection that can be activated via a web interface. It allows you to locate your phone by IP and GPS, lock it if you lose it, take a picture to see if you can see who the thief is, or activate an alarm.

You should even be able to remotely wipe your phone, if keeping sensitive data on your device away from unauthorised people is more important than getting it back.

You get a simple VPN without a location selector, limited to 200MB per day. Just enough to read emails and do banking securely and anonymously. But not for streaming video, for example. You’ll have to get Bitdefender’s separate VPN app and subscription.

The interface is simple and Bitdefender’s Autopilot feature that continuously gives you wise recommendations makes it easy to use. Some features and settings are easier to find than others, but none are particularly hidden.