- 3,002
- 280
- 1,730
Google reported that in 2024, it blocked more than 2.3 million apps from the Google Play store that could pose a potential threat to users. It also blocked 158,000 developer accounts that attempted to publish malware in the app store.
In comparison, Google blocked 2.28 million potentially dangerous apps in 2023 and 1.5 million in 2022, while the number of blocked developer accounts was 333,000 and 173,000, respectively.
The increase in blocked apps in 2024 is partly due to the use of AI, which now assists humans in reviewing apps and was used to detect violations in 92% of cases.
[td]“To date, more than 92% of malware checks performed by humans were performed with the help of AI, allowing us to take faster and more accurate action to prevent malicious apps from appearing on Google Play,” the company explains.[/td]Google also reported that last year, 1.3 million apps were unable to obtain excessive permissions that could have given them unwanted access to sensitive user data. The developers say that in 2024, Google Play Protect received a number of updates and became even more effective. Thus, it scans more than 200 billion apps daily, conducting code-level analysis in real time. Over the year, these checks identified more than 13 million new malicious apps installed from outside Google Play. In addition, it is noted that due to the widespread implementation of the Play Integrity API (which helps check whether apps have been maliciously modified or launched in potentially compromised environments), the number of abuses associated with untrusted sources has decreased by 80%. Also, 91% of installed apps now use the security and privacy features available in Android 13 and later versions of the OS. The blocking system for untrusted APKs, first launched in February 2024 in Singapore as a pilot project, also continues to evolve. It has now expanded to Brazil, Hong Kong, India, Kenya, Nigeria, the Philippines, South Africa, Thailand and Vietnam. In 2024, this protection mechanism blocked 36 million attempts to install 200,000 unique apps on 10 million Android devices. @ xakep.ru
In comparison, Google blocked 2.28 million potentially dangerous apps in 2023 and 1.5 million in 2022, while the number of blocked developer accounts was 333,000 and 173,000, respectively.
The increase in blocked apps in 2024 is partly due to the use of AI, which now assists humans in reviewing apps and was used to detect violations in 92% of cases.