- Google claims to have blocked 1.75 million apps and 80,000 malicious developer accounts in 2025
- Play Protect scanned 350 billion apps daily, reporting 27 million malicious apps outside the Play Store
- GenAI models have boosted the application review process, enabling complex malware patterns to be detected more quickly
Google revealed that it rejected 1.75 million apps from the Play Store for violating its policies in 2025, banned more than 80,000 “bad developer accounts” that sought to publish harmful apps, and blocked 255,000 apps from accessing sensitive user data.
In its annual review of Android and Google Play security, the company said initiatives like developer vetting, mandatory due diligence, and testing requirements “have significantly reduced” bad actors’ avenues of entry and “raised the bar” for the Google Play ecosystem.
Throughout 2025, Google Play has performed more than 10,000 security checks on every published app, and these security checks continue even after apps are published.
Block spam reviews and ratings
Following trends, Google also said it has integrated the latest generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) models into its review process, but kept humans on board, who can now find complex malicious patterns more quickly.
“Our commitment to privacy-friendly app development, supported by tools like Play Policy Insights in Android Studio and Data Security, has enabled developers to continue to minimize privacy-sensitive permission requests and put the user first in their design choices,” Google said.
The company has also worked on blocking spam ratings and reviews, and its spam protections blocked 160 million spam ratings and reviews last year (including inflated and deflated reviews). Average rating drops of 0.5 stars for apps targeted by review bombardment were also avoided.
Finally, Google said that Play Protect, its built-in Android anti-malware solution, now scans more than 350 billion Android apps every day. In 2025, the tool identified more than 27 million new malicious apps from outside the Google Play ecosystem and warned users.
Looking ahead, Google said it would continue to invest in AI-based defenses and roll out Android developer audits to “hold bad actors accountable” and prevent them from hiding behind anonymity.
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