New York, Nov 21 (IANS): An analysis of mobile apps has revealed that between 75 and 97 percent of apps - on both android and iOS devices - have been hacked.

A report by the mobile security firm Arxan Technologies threw up these alarming statistics that all app users must keep in mind while downloading them.

The security firm analysed the top 100 paid apps and top 20 most popular free apps in the "State of Mobile App Security" report.

It found that 97 percent of the top, paid android apps and 87 percent of the top, paid iOS apps have been hacked.

Free apps did not fare better, with 80 percent of them on Android and 75 percent on iOS found vulnerable.

These applications "are clear targets for hackers who are rallying to carry out malicious and sophisticated attacks," the firm said in a statement.

Earlier, an analysis by Trend Micro, a global leader in anti-virus cloud computing security and internet content security software and services, revealed that fake apps were more likely to be high-risk malware rather than mere harmless copycats.