Hundreds of thousands of apps have been rejected from Google Play in 2024, and for good purpose

Google is strict concerning the safety of its Play Store, and in 2024, it blocked extra malicious Android apps than ever that violated its insurance policies and posed safety dangers.

In a current security blog post, Google detailed how its AI-powered menace detection instruments helped forestall 2.36 million dangerous apps from being printed on the Play Retailer, a rise from 2023’s 2.28 million and 2022’s 1.5 million. Google additionally blocked 158,000 builders who tried to publish dangerous apps. It is not simply AI doing all of the work, both — people are nonetheless concerned.

“Immediately, over 92% of our human evaluations for dangerous apps are AI-assisted, permitting us to take faster and extra correct motion to assist forestall dangerous apps from turning into accessible on Google Play,” Google stated in a blog post. “That’s enabled us to cease extra dangerous apps than ever from reaching customers by means of the Play Retailer, defending customers from dangerous or malicious apps earlier than they will trigger any harm.”

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Google is taking extra steps to guard delicate knowledge

The tech large can also be mechanically revoking app permissions from dangerous apps

Google / Pocket-lint

Google additionally outlined how it’s working with builders to cut back the quantity of delicate knowledge apps must entry. The tech large stated that in 2024, it prevented 1.3 million apps “from getting extreme, pointless entry to delicate consumer knowledge.” Usually, an app that requests overly demanding consumer knowledge permissions is a purple flag to Google.

Google’s Play Shield service now mechanically revokes permissions from Android apps that probably pose a menace additionally. This implies Play Shield might minimize off an app’s permissions to entry delicate knowledge like your storage and images. Customers can restore the permissions in the event that they assume the app is protected.

Google additionally just lately added badges to particular apps like VPNs and official authorities companies. If you are going to obtain an app out of your native authorities, it ought to be marked with a authorities badge that reads, “Play Verified this app is affiliated with a authorities entity.” The identical goes for VPNs, which now have a “Verified” badge to point it’s protected to make use of. Google is taking many steps to guard Android customers, and primarily based on the numbers it introduced in its report and its actions, it’s paying off.

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