Fewer malicious apps are making their way onto the Play Store, according to the latest safety report from Google.
In its new Android app ecosystem report, the company said it stopped 1.75 million policy-violating apps from being published on Google Play in 2025. That number is lower than the 2.36 million blocked in 2024 and 2.28 million in 2023, suggesting that fewer bad actors are successfully attempting to enter the platform.
Google credits this drop to stronger proactive security systems and deeper investments in artificial intelligence. The company said it banned more than 80,000 developer accounts in 2025 that attempted to publish harmful apps. This is a significant decrease compared to 158,000 bans in 2024 and 333,000 in 2023. According to Google, stricter developer verification, mandatory pre-review checks, and enhanced testing requirements have made it much harder for malicious developers to access the Play ecosystem.
The company now runs more than 10,000 security checks on every app before it is published and continues scanning apps even after they go live. Google has also integrated its latest generative AI models into the review process, helping human reviewers detect more complex malware patterns faster. The company says it plans to expand its AI-driven defenses further in 2026 to stay ahead of evolving threats.
Beyond blocking suspicious apps, Google reported that it prevented more than 255,000 apps from requesting excessive access to sensitive user data, a sharp drop from 1.3 million in 2024. It also blocked 160 million spam reviews and ratings, protecting apps from review bombing and maintaining fair visibility in search rankings.
However, while fewer harmful apps are appearing on the Play Store itself, Google’s built-in security system, Play Protect, detected over 27 million new malicious apps installed from outside the Play Store. This is a major increase compared to 13 million in 2024 and five million in 2023. The figures suggest that cybercriminals may be shifting their focus away from official app stores and targeting users through alternative distribution methods instead.
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