Is the Antivirus necessary for Android phone?

[fa1988]

I have been using 360 Antivirus in my phone but recently I changed it to Avast but unfortunately, it uses more battery energy and drains it away especially when I'm using the phone so I decided to uninstall it. I surf Internet by my phone and sometimes install some APPs from GooglePlay. My phone has not been rooted and I wouldn't root it. I've heard that non-rooted phones don't need any Antivirus because no malicious APP can damage these phones means they cannot access to security permissions because the phone hasn't been rooted.
I want to know if this claim is true? Can I use my phone without any danger of damage to the phone (e.g. soft or hard brick).
The only hazard which flinches me is physical damage to the phone such as soft or hard brick. I had an Android phone before that it became hard brick because of installing an APP while it was rooted. I threw it away.
My current phone is Huawie Ascend G525

 

[Hadron]

If you are only installing apps from the Play Store you are pretty safe. Makes sure the option to install from unknown sources is turned off and then you can't install from anywhere else. And always apply a bit of common sense with app permissions (e.g. a flashlight app that wants access to your accounts and personal information may be dodgy as that isn't needed either for its function or to show a few ads).

It's important to know that there are no viruses, i.e. self-installing malware. Malware exists, but it needs you to install it yourself. So take the precautions above and you're fine without any AV software.

BTW did you have Avast set to scan apps whenever they are used? If you wanted to save power you could set it to only scan when apps are installed. But as I say, you don't actually need it.

 

[nickdalzell]

I never use Anti-Virus and feel the app needlessly wastes resources. it panders to a fear that simply does not exist.

The only malware i've seen in Android (been using it since the days of FroYo in 2010) is Airpush spam. these are often from free apps (which is why most of my Play Store apps are paid, not free) and these come in as notifications, often a '+' or 'heart' symbol, or some weird 'face' that resembles an Anime character. they will show things like 'download this free app!' or 'You won an iPad!' much like pop-ups on a desktop computer browser. annoying, but not going to kill your device. uninstalling the app often removes Airpush spam.

 

[breadnatty08]

A worthwhile read:
http://androidforums.com/android-ap...explained-security-tips-avoiding-malware.html