F-Secure Mobile Security Review 2025: Does It Provide Enough Antivirus Protection?

Formerly known as Lookout Life, F-Secure Mobile Security claims to be an antivirus product, but it’s more focused on anti-theft and anti-fraud. No recent third-party testing, confusing pricing, and antivirus features that are limited to Android users all add up to make this a less-than-satisfactory addition to your mobile security stack. 

F-Secure Mobile Security did pass our malware detection tests, but it appeared to flag some false positives during our scans. The anti-theft and identity theft protection features do seem to provide the protection it claims, and the Wi-Fi scanner is a nice touch, but can this app stand up to the best antivirus for mobile? 

At a glance

Price	$2.49-$9.99/mo
Free plan	Yes
# of devices protected	5
Malware scans	Yes (Android only)
Real-time protection	Yes
EICAR test results	2/3
Firewall	Yes
Phishing protection	Yes
Compatibility	Android, iOS
Extras	Identity monitoring, identity theft insurance
24/7 customer support	No
Details	Get F-Secure Mobile Security

We last tested F-Secure Mobile Security on January 16, 2025.

Our experience

We had a confusing experience with F-Secure Mobile Security. The app was formerly called Lookout Life, but the Lookout consumer business was acquired by F-Secure. Since our last retest, the app has completely replaced the Lookout name with F-Secure. 

Despite this name change, F-Secure Mobile Security looks almost exactly the same as Lookout Life once did. There's also a separate F-Secure mobile app, called F-Secure: Total Security & VPN, which is a completely different subscription. It's been hard to keep up.

We were also surprised that F-Secure Mobile Security labeled itself as an "antivirus and identity guard," but the antivirus features aren't on the iPhone app whatsoever. There are features listed to flag any threats on our Wi-Fi network, scan our email address for data breaches, and locate our device if it goes missing. 

One of our team members downloaded the app on their Android to review its antivirus capabilities. The app was able to flag the malware tests we downloaded, but it failed to flag the phishing test site. Plus, F-Secure flagged some apps that we believe were false positives.

Ultimately, we're not sure what the point of F-Secure Mobile Security is, especially as an iPhone user. There are other ways to get data breach scanning, Wi-Fi protection, and lost device tracking that are more affordable. 

Who is F-Secure Mobile Security best for?

• Recommended for Android users wanting anti-theft and anti-fraud protection

F-Secure Mobile Security may be for you if you’re looking for anti-theft or anti-fraud for your mobile device. Features include real-time protection while surfing the web, a locator if your phone is lost or stolen, and a Wi-Fi scanner that checks public Wi-Fi for safety. 

Other personal safety features include scans to check if your email address was part of a breach and ensuring you’re running the most current (and safest) version of your phone’s operating system.

F-Secure Mobile Security Premium Plus builds on these features by offering identity theft protection features. This include identity monitoring and protection of your personal information and up to $1 million in identity theft insurance in the event of identity theft.

Note that this F-Secure mobile app touts itself as an antivirus, but those features are only available for Android. The price point remains the same for Android and iOS, so we really only think F-Secure Mobile Security worthwhile if you have an Android. 

F-Secure Mobile Security prices and subscriptions

F-Secure Mobile Security has a Premium and Premium Plus plan, which can cost $2.49-$9.99/mo. The cost will depend on how much protection you're seeking and your preferred term length (annual or monthly). 

F-Secure Mobile Authority is a decent price, especially because it covers five devices. However, the value drops if you have any iPhone users in your family that you wish to cover. The iPhone app won't include any antivirus features, so it'll exclusively be for anti-fraud protection.

The best antivirus programs have their own Android or iPhone apps, or they include coverage for multiple device types. Here are some examples to compare for pricing:

• TotalAV: Multi-device coverage starts at $29.00/first yr for five devices
• Norton: Mobile app costs $19.99/first yr, multi-device coverage starts at $39.99/first yr for three devices
• Bitdefender: Mobile app costs $14.99/yr (first year only), multi-device coverage starts at $30.00/first yr for three devices

We weren't able to find a plan breakdown on the website, so the information in the table below is directly from the app and from scouring the help center. 

	F-Secure Mobile Security Premium	F-Secure Mobile Security Premium Plus
Price for the first year	$2.49/mo (billed annually)	$4.99/mo (billed annually)
# devices supported	5	5
Compatible with	Android, iOS	Android, iOS
Manual and auto scan	Yes (Android only)	Yes (Android only)
Phishing protection
Firewall
Real-time protection
Ransomware protection
ID scan
Data breach reports
Identity monitoring
Identity theft insurance
Learn more	View plan	View plan

Featured F-Secure Mobile Security alternatives to consider

F-Secure Mobile Security security features

F-Secure Mobile Security has several useful features for keeping up with online best practices.

Malware and antivirus scan

On Android, F-Secure Mobile Security can scan the apps on your phone for any threats. During our scan, the app flagged two out of 548 apps as safe.

On iPhone, F-Secure Mobile Security’s malware and antivirus scanning is built into the Safe Browsing feature via the Safe Browsing scanners and ID Scan. It performs real-time scans of apps and websites you’re using on your phone to check for potential threats but not much more than that.

It also allows you to toggle the feature off and on depending on your needs. There doesn’t seem to be a difference in speed and load time if the toggle is on or off for Safe Browsing. Neither of these options provides strong antivirus or anti-malware scanning, but at least there’s something.

Phishing protection

F-Secure Mobile Security includes phishing protection and anti-spam features, but we couldn’t really determine whether these features worked. We went into our email spam folder and didn’t see a difference in the email presentation. No alerts came up on our phone or appeared in the app. 

The app does show flagged URLs in the Safe Browsing feature, but it doesn’t mention if those come from email or web browsing. The app also fails to mention if those addresses contain any spyware, adware, or other more aggressive forms of malware.

Firewall

The Domain Name System (DNS) proxy offered with F-Secure Mobile Security is an easy toggle after you’ve installed the app. You will have to give permission to enable the feature in your phone’s settings.

F-Secure Mobile Security walks you through how to enable this feature. Its protection is built on a triple tier of encryption, authentication, and integrity, assuring it has thoroughly checked the website you’re visiting.

Real-time protection

Real-time protection is probably the most apparent feature of the F-Secure Mobile Security app. Located in the Safe Browsing tab, F-Secure Mobile Security gives you real-time updates about URLs that are flagged. Although there don’t appear to be any alerts as you’re browsing, the app runs in the background collecting information.

There didn’t appear to be any ad blockers or overt malware alerts included with the app.

Ransomware protection

Again, this is built into the Safe Browsing feature. It says it stops ransomware from downloading to your phone, but we didn’t see any instances of the app specifically stopping ransomware. It’s a “take our word for it” situation. 

The feature is supposed to work in real time, so you can continue to look at the URLs blocked in the app.

Anti-fraud protection

Anti-fraud protection is the flagship feature of the F-Secure Mobile Security app. ID Scan searches the internet to see whether your email was a part of any security breaches. Breach Report will allow you to search specific sites or apps to see whether they have been breached. 

Both of these features are reactive rather than proactive, so it doesn’t protect you from a breach. The app just lets you know if your information has been exposed.

If you upgrade to Premium Plus, you’ll also receive the Identity Monitoring and Protection suite. The Identity Monitoring service is a proactive feature. This service will alert you if your data is being used someplace it shouldn’t by monitoring both the dark web and regular web for your personal information.

You also receive up to $1 million in losses if fraud happens as a direct result of F-Secure Mobile Security failing to secure your data. Plus, you'll get 24/7 restoration support from F-Secure Mobile Security's team of ID restoration experts.

Bonus features

If F-Secure Mobile Security thinks your phone may have been stolen, it will email you and let you know. You can then log in to the F-Secure Mobile Security website to see where your device may have been taken.

F-Secure Mobile Security test results

It’s difficult to know whether some of F-Secure Mobile Security's purported features are working. Usually, this can be backed up by third-party testing sites such as AV-TEST and AV-Comparatives. Unfortunately, recent data for F-Secure Mobile Security simply isn’t available.

F-Secure Mobile Security hasn't participated in third-party testing for several years. Its most recent AV-TEST show that it struggled a lot with malware protection, while its most recent AV-Comparatives score show that it detected the majority of malicious apps and had no false positives.

We were able to conduct EICAR testing on F-Secure Mobile Security this time around. It passed two out of the three tests, so we're glad to see it can work as an antivirus.

Scan speed

• Result: Slow

F-Secure Mobile Security only has one scan type, which took almost 12 minutes to complete. In our opinion, antivirus scans should be completed in 10 minutes or less, so this was slightly slower than we would've wanted. On the plus side, it didn't slow down our phone.  

Scan type	Time spent
Quick scan	11 minutes, 43 seconds

The scan also deemed two apps unsafe but didn't provide any additional details on this. We believe that these were all false positive results, which is why we wish F-Secure elaborated further.

EICAR test results

• Result: 2/3

EICAR stands for the European Institute of Computer Antivirus Research. The organization provides test files of various cyberthreats, like malware downloads and phishing links, so you can safely test how well your antivirus works from home. 

Test	F-Secure Mobile Security score
Malware detection	Pass
Drive-by malware downloads	Pass
Phishing pages detection	Fail

F-Secure Mobile Security detected the malware test files in real time and prevented us from downloading them. However, the app allowed us to visit the phishing test page. 

AV-TEST results

• Result: Aced the usability tests, but struggled with the protection test

AV-TEST is an independent research institute that tests antivirus programs with its extensive collection of digital malware samples. It runs tests focusing on three major test categories:

• Malware protection: Can the antivirus detect and block antivirus?
• Performance: Can the antivirus have minimal impact on device performance?
• Usability: Can the antivirus correctly detect cyberthreats?

Test type	Android 5.1.1 score
Protection	1.5/6
Performance	N/A
Usability	6/6
Total	7.5/12
Date	January 2016
Link to test	Link

The most recent tests found are from January 2016, which is forever in tech, especially if you’re talking about malware protection. The app was still called Lookout Life at that point. 

Even with those tests, its detection and response rate was significantly below the industry average, and the product was much different than the one offered today.

AV-Comparatives test results

• Result: Approved by AV-Comparatives, though it had a lower score than most popular antivirus programs.

AV-Comparatives is another independent organization we refer to for third-party test results. It creates a real-world environment to test antivirus software on Windows, macOS, and Android. 

Since F-Secure Mobile Security is a mobile app, we only reviewed mobile security scores. 

Test type	Mobile security
Score	99.6%
Platform	Android
Date	January 2019
Link	Link

In January 2019, the F-Secure Mobile Security app tested well enough with a 99.6% detection rate. Although it was surpassed by programs like Avast, Bitdefender, and McAfee, which all scored 100%, it still had a near-perfect score. Again, it’s unfortunate these tests were run on the old version of the app. 

F-Secure Mobile Security compatibility

F-Secure Mobile Security is a security product geared specifically toward Android and iOS products. There are no browser extensions or desktop apps for this specific service.

F-Secure Mobile Security customer support

Support is mainly a self-help situation with F-Secure Mobile Security. The Support and FAQs page is the only option provided when you click on the Support links on both the website and the mobile app.

The bottom of the support pages do have a link on text that reads, "Have a question? Submit a request." You'll be able to fill out a form for email support from F-Secure Mobile Security.

Top alternatives

F-Secure Mobile Security is best for anti-fraud situations, but what if you're looking for an app that specializes in antivirus? Here are some recommended alternatives for more well-rounded antivirus:

FAQs

Bottom line: Is F-Secure Mobile Security good?

We don't think F-Secure Mobile Security is good, at least not for being advertised as an antivirus program. Most of its antivirus features are exclusive to Android, but iPhone users will still have to pay the same price for the service. 

We do like that it blocked malware downloads, but we wish the app kept up with consistent third-party testing. Even with the anti-theft and Wi-Fi scanning features, it doesn’t seem worth it to use this app. The best antivirus products also carry mobile protection, like Norton and McAfee, so F-Secure Mobile Security is not the only option on the market.