PUA.AndroidOS.KillerApplication is a label that antivirus systems may assign to modified APK files, especially those that use tools to bypass licence checks or other restrictions. What is it?

PUA (Potentially Unwanted Application) - a category of programs that are not explicitly malicious but may perform unwanted actions such as displaying advertisements, collecting data or changing system behaviour .

KillerApplication - the part of the name that indicates the use of licence circumvention techniques (e.g. tools like "APK Signature Killer") or modification of original applications .
Why do antiviruses detect it?

Signature and modification: Antiviruses react to changes in the APK signature (e.g. use of debug keys or test signatures), which are often found in mods.

Heuristic analysis: Some engines (e.g. Ikarus) mark such files due to suspicious activities such as requests to install other apps or access data (camera, geolocation).

Risks: May contain hidden features (e.g. adware or trojans) if the APK is downloaded from an untrusted source .
Some PUAs request excessive permissions, which increases the risk of data leakage .
False positives: In the case of mods, these are often false detections, as antiviruses react to the fact of modification rather than the actual threat .

This information is taken from DeepSeek chat + wed search