- Google says it blocked 1.75m apps and 80,000 bad developer accounts in 2025
- Play Protect scanned 350bn apps daily, flagging 27m malicious apps outside Play Store
- GenAI models boosted app review process, finding complex malicious patterns faster
Google has revealed it rejected 1.75 million apps from the Play Store for violating its policies in 2025, as well as banning more than 80,000 “bad developer accounts” whichsought to publish harmful apps, and blocked 255,000 apps from gaining access to sensitive user data.
In its annual review of Android and Google Play security, the company said initiatives like developer verification, mandatory pre-review checks, and testing requirements “significantly reduced” the paths for bad actors to enter, and have “raised the bar” for the Google Play ecosystem.
Throughout 2025, Google Play ran more than 10,000 safety checks on every app that was published, and these safety checks continue even after the apps get published.
Blocking spam ratings and reviews
Going with the trends, Google also said it integrated the latest Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) models into its review process, but kept humans onboard, who can now find complex malicious patterns faster.
“Our commitment to privacy-forward app development, supported by tools like Play Policy Insights in Android Studio and Data safety section, has empowered developers to continue to minimize privacy-sensitive permission requests, and prioritize the user in their design choices,” Google said.
The company also worked on blocking spam ratings and reviews, and its anti-spam protections blocked 160 million spam ratings and reviews last year (including inflated and deflated reviews). Average 0.5-star rating drops for apps targeted by review bombing were also prevented.
Finally, Google said 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 about them.
Looking ahead, Google said it will continue investing in AI-driven defenses, and will roll out Android developer verifications to “hold bad actors accountable” and prevent them from hiding behind anonymity.
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