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Many people I know, who are much smarter than me, keep their Android phones for 3, 4, 5 years. So I'm not sure this is an issue.

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It's totally an issue.

There have been tons of critical Android vulnerabilities over the last years that cannot be fixed by app updates, e.g. remote code execution via Bluetooth stack or MMS.

are there really people hunting around preying on old, vulnerable Androids? The argument is, there are too few of them for any serious actor to waste time trying to hack one. It's just not worth it. This makes them pretty secure, for the simple reason they are ignored. Obviously old Androids are only scarce because the general population keep buying the latest. They are essentially a buffer zone to protect the Hackers..

> are there really people hunting around preying on old, vulnerable Androids?

Yes. Because like windows the ecosystem is huge, and there are plenty of grandmas who don't know how or why to update things.

Much of the world can't afford to replace their phone every 2 years.

Yes. There are active Android malware campaigns sending out links via text message. I know because I recently received one.

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