Google blocked 2.3 million Android app submissions to the Play Retailer in 2024 on account of violations of its insurance policies that made them probably dangerous for customers.
As well as, 158,000 developer accounts have been banned for making an attempt to publish dangerous apps like malware and spyware and adware on Android’s official app retailer.
As compared, Google blocked 2,280,000 dangerous apps in 2023 and 1,500,000 apps in 2022, whereas the figures for blocked Play developer accounts have been 333,000 and 173,000, respectively.
The bigger variety of blocked apps in 2024 is partly attributed to AI helping human evaluations, which was utilized in 92% of the violating instances.
“In the present day, over 92% of our human evaluations for dangerous apps are AI-assisted, permitting us to take faster and extra correct motion to assist stop dangerous apps from turning into out there on Google Play,” defined Google.
“That is enabled us to cease extra dangerous apps than ever from reaching customers via the Play Retailer, defending customers from dangerous or malicious apps earlier than they’ll trigger any harm.”
Aside from rejections and blocks, Google studies that it has additionally prevented 1.3 million apps from getting extreme permissions that may have granted them pointless entry to delicate consumer knowledge.
Google Play Shield, Android’s built-in safety system, acquired important upgrades in 2024 to boost real-time safety in opposition to malicious apps, scams, and fraud, even for apps put in exterior the Play Retailer.
The tech big says Android’s default safety suite scanned over 200 billion apps day by day, performing dwell code-level evaluation. Throughout 2024, these scans recognized over 13 million new malware apps sourced from exterior Google Play.
App builders have been additionally given new instruments to higher safe their apps from malicious SDKs and abuse, with the Google Play SDK index increasing enormously final 12 months so as to add one other 80 trusted SDKs.
Furthermore, elevated adoption of the Play Integrity API noticed an 80% discount in abuse from untrusted sources. As compared, 91% of app installs now use safety and privateness safety options out there in Android 13 and later.
Supply: Google
Google’s untrusted APK set up blocking system, first launched as a pilot in Singapore in February 2024, has now been expanded to Brazil, Hong Kong, India, Kenya, Nigeria, the Philippines, South Africa, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Its 2024 success is mirrored in stopping 36 million set up makes an attempt of 200,000 distinctive apps from nesting in 10 million Android units.
As Google strengthens Android protections yearly, gaps in safety stay, and cybercriminals make use of new, extra superior strategies to bypass automated scanners.
Customers should stay vigilant, solely belief respected publishers, maintain the variety of put in apps on the minimal needed, scrutinize and revoke dangerous app permissions, and guarantee Play Shield is working always.