A new study conducted by security researchers found that the way the Android platform was installed on an array of handsets was flawed, meaning that no-gooders could easily hack into the smarties.

In more detail, the error allowed attackers to access personal information, send out text messages remotely and record phone calls.

North Carolina State University based scientists looked at widely available handsets from tech giants including Samsung, Motorola and HTC for the study.

As Android does not have an apps restricting process such as Apple, applications can be installed solely be asking the user for his permission to run the app.

The computer scientists said they used an "interprocedural data flow" procedure to pinpoint the instances where malicious apps could gain access to personal data stored on the smartphone as well as carry out unauthorised processes (such as sending out texts).

The researchers were quoted as saying:

"These leaked capabilities can be exploited to wipe out the user data, send out SMS messages to premium numbers, record user conversation, or obtain the user's geo-location data on the affected phones - all without asking for any permission."

They also revealed that they used a system called the Woodpecker which pointed out that out of 13 permissions asked when installing an app - 11 could be maliciously misused.