Occasionally we like to bring readers details of really useful apps for their devices, and something that seems to be increasingly concerning people these days is security and privacy. Many of us are storing increasing amounts of personal information on our mobile devices, and considering some Android security issues we should maybe be taking steps to safeguard that information. Therefore today we’ve rounded up some of the best Android apps for security and privacy.

Some of these Android security apps will enable Android device users to have more control over what kind of information is sent to various sources from their smartphones. When you think of the kind of information that is now stored on a smartphone, such as contacts, email accounts, financial affairs, and credit card details to name just a few, it may make you realize how important is to protect your privacy. You may well want to use more than one of these Android privacy apps for optimum protection, and if you want to see more or download any of our suggestions simply click on any title link to be taken directly to Google Play for that app.

We’ll begin with Norton Security antivirus, a free Android security app that offers protection for Android phones and tablets against loss, theft, malware and viruses. If you lose your phone or have it stolen it uses remote location, and the app will also scan new apps and updates as well as SD cards against malware or privacy risks.

Another well-known name in this area is McAfee, so how about the McAfee Antivirus & Security app. This offers comprehensive security with the use of award winning privacy, security and antivirus McAfee software. This is offered as a free trial for 14 days, after which it can be purchased within the app.

The Lookout Security & Antivirus app is free and protects against viruses, malware, loss and theft. Although this is a free app, users may want to upgrade to Lookout Premium and it’s possible to try that on a free two-week trial. This is claimed to be the most downloaded mobile security and antivirus app available in the Google Play Store.

Another free app is Privacy Master — Free App Lock. This Android privacy app can be installed to safeguard privacy to apps and data including SMS, Contacts, Photos, Videos, Games, eMail and more. It features a home-screen widget, voice alerts, option to block anonymous install or uninstall, option to block anonymous settings changes, option to block task manager and much more.

The Smart AppLock — (App Protector) app offers privacy protection for Android devices. It’s another free app and enables users to lock SMS, Mail, Photo, Contacts and more. This kind of protection is great for people who may allow others to use their device from time to time, as you can make sure they don’t read things that you don’t want them to. Users can set a list of protected apps with lock pattern or password protection and this can also be used for parental control.

Moving on we have the Mobile AntiVirus Security PRO app from AVG. This varies from the other apps we’ve recommended so far as it’s a paid app. The price is currently $10.49, reduced from the usual $14.99 price and this offer runs until July 14. This is AVG’s premium app and gives protection from viruses, malware and spyware as well as against online exploitation in real-time.

The APP Lock is a free app and one of the simplest Android privacy apps available. It gives plenty of options to protect privacy so that friends, workmates and kids won’t be able to access certain information on your device. Users can lock SMS, Facebook, Gallery, Market, Settings, Calls, Gmail, and other apps of their choice.

The TrustGo Antivirus and Mobile Security app is free and will give your device a high level of privacy. It can scan apps and warn you about unsafe apps and Cnet rated this as one of the “most robust Android security apps” available. This offers malware and virus protection and will also safeguard against rogue apps that try to steal your personal identity and data. It also has a Find My Phone feature.

The Clueful Privacy Advisor is a free app from Bitdefender. This app can demonstrate to you, just how easy it is for an installed app to gather personal information and how this can be abused. It’s almost like having a Privacy Consultant who can give you details of what an app can be doing in the background, and you may be quite shocked at how many things an app can learn about you.

Our final app suggestion is NQ Mobile Security & Antivirus. This is free and offers the usual protection against viruses and malware as well as spyware, trojans and phone hacking. Some of the features are anti-harassment, system optimization, privacy protection, data backup, safe browsing and traffic monitoring and it’s compatible with many of the top Android smartphones.

These are some of the very best Android privacy and security apps available and we hope you will find at least some of these suggestions useful. We only need to think about the recent fake BBM app for Android for example, to see how easy it is to be duped by a rogue app, and many of these apps offer excellent protection against that kind of security abuse. We’d like to hear from you if you find any of these apps particularly good, so do please send us your comments.