Google blocked over 1.75 million Play Store app submissions in 2025

Source: Bleeping Computer

Google reports that through 2025 it blocked more than 255,000 Android apps from obtaining excessive access to sensitive user data and rejected over 1.75 million apps from being published on Google Play due to policy violations. The annual review of Android and Google Play security highlights the effectiveness of the company’s protection measures in maintaining an ecosystem of honest developers and compliant apps.

“We’re constantly improving our policies and protections to encourage safe, high‑quality apps on Google Play and stop bad actors before they cause harm,” – Google.

Key Statistics

• 255,000+ apps denied access to sensitive user data.
• 1.75 million+ policy‑violating apps rejected.
• 80,000+ “bad developer” accounts banned.
• 160 million spam ratings blocked, preventing an average 0.5‑star drop from review‑bombing attacks.
• 350 billion app scans per day by Play Protect, identifying 27 million malicious sideloaded apps.
• 266 million installation attempts blocked across 2.8 billion Android devices in 185 markets.
• 20 billion daily checks processed by the Play Integrity API.

Source: Google

User Protection Measures

• Implemented 10,000+ safety checks on published apps.
• Integrated Google’s latest generative AI models into the review process, enabling faster and more accurate detection of complex malicious patterns.
• Expanded “enhanced fraud protection” to cover over 2.8 billion devices, blocking 266 million risky installation attempts from 872,000 unique apps.

Play Protect

Android’s built‑in security suite, Play Protect, now scans over 350 billion apps daily. It has identified 27 million malicious apps that were sideloaded from outside Google Play. The service’s enhanced fraud protection helps safeguard users across a wide range of devices and markets.

Play Integrity API

The Play Integrity API allows developers to protect their software against abuse and unauthorized access. It now processes over 20 billion checks each day. In 2025, Google added new hardware‑backed signals and in‑app remediation prompts to strengthen the service.

Additional Protections

• Tapjacking defenses introduced in Android 16 (released June 2025) block hidden windows that load ads automatically tapped for fraudulent financial gains, requiring minimal effort from developers.

Future Outlook

Google plans to continue investing in AI‑driven defenses, expand developer verification, and embed compliance tools directly into development workflows to prevent policy violations before apps are published.