Apple has reported that last year, it removed almost half a million developer accounts from its App Store for fraud and abuse. In its App Store safety report, the tech giant highlighted that it dropped over $2 billion in possible fraudulent transactions in 2022. The company stated that it refused almost 1.7 million app submissions for various reasons, including privacy violations, spammy or misleading features, and hidden or undocumented capabilities. It also took down 282 million customer accounts, blocked around 105,000 Apple Developer Program enrollments with suspected malicious activities, and detected and blocked more than 147 million fraudulent ratings and reviews.
Explaining Apple’s security mechanisms, the report states that it conducts multiple safety checks on every app before it appears on the App Store, with the team reviewing more than 100,000 app submissions every week on average. Nearly 90% of them receive a review within 24 hours. The report also showed that over the past 30 days, Apple blocked almost 3.9 million attempts to install or launch apps distributed illicitly through the Developer Enterprise Program, which enables large organizations to deploy internal apps for use by their employees.
The news comes shortly after Google reported that it banned 173,000 developer accounts from Google Play in 2022. Despite the efforts of both tech giants, malicious apps have still managed to sneak into their official app stores. Cybercriminals are constantly refining their tactics, sometimes submitting benign apps to get past filters and updating them later with malicious functionality. App stores eventually catch up to the offenders, but it is still a game of whack-a-mole to weed them out.
Apple emphasized that its job is never done, as bad actors are evolving their dishonest tactics and methods of deception. To supplement its antifraud initiatives, the company said it collects feedback from various channels, such as news sources, social media, and customer support calls. Apple hopes to continue to develop new approaches and tools intended to prevent fraud from harming App Store users and developers.
The company’s consistent efforts to protect its users from fraudulent activities are critical, as the App Store is a thriving marketplace with more than 36 million registered Apple developers. As more people rely on apps for their daily needs, Apple must ensure that its platform remains safe for everyone to use. By implementing stringent measures to combat fraud and abuse, the tech giant is demonstrating its ongoing commitment to maintaining a trusted and secure App Store environment.