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The App Store Annual Fraud Prevention Analysis

Nota Bene · 3 comments

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Just in time for WWDC, hello industrious eurocrats!

In 2025, Apple prevented over $2.2 billion in potentially fraudulent transactions, adding to a total of more than $11.2 billion in the past six years.

Here are the highlights:

  • 1.1 billion+ fraudulent customer account creations rejected
  • 138,000+ fraudulent developer enrollments rejected
  • 28,000 illegitimate apps on pirate storefronts detected and blocked
  • 9.1 million+ App Store submissions reviewed
  • 2 million+ app submissions rejected for failing to meet Apple's standards
  • 371,000+ app submissions identified as spam, copycats, or misleading
  • 443,000+ app submissions cited for privacy violations
  • 1.3 billion+ ratings and reviews processed
  • Nearly 195 million fraudulent ratings and reviews blocked
  • Nearly 7,800 deceptive apps prevented from appearing in App Store search results
  • Nearly 11,500 potentially fraudulent apps stopped from inclusion in App Store charts
  • $2.2 billion+ in fraudulent transactions prevented
  • 5.4 million+ stolen credit cards prevented from being used
  • Nearly 2 million user accounts banned from future transactions

Source: Apple Newsroom

NB: Do alternative app stores provide similar fraud prevention Analysis? Does the European Union review these analyses to determine how their citizens are protected. In the alternative, is the EU benefit analysis of users end at arbitrary market access metrics? I don't hear much about alternative App Stores and their popularity. Quelle surprise!

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3 comments

  1. deemery ·

    As an anecdotal data point, the (model railroad) bulletin board I co-moderate was hit by more than 75 spammy applications for membership from a single IP address. (Fortunately, the software allows us to block connections from a designated IP address.)

  2. Sacto Joe ·

    IMO, since the vast majority of EU smart device users are not Apple users, don’t care about Apple or are even hostile to Apple, the EU bureaucrats can get away with their various money grabs and power plays. Ironically, then, growing installed base but staying short of a majority of users should actually raise the level of noise countering the EU’s actions. Schools, for example, are again eyeing the Mac Neo as a superior choice over Chromebooks. As the numbers of Apple products in use increase, so should opposition to this EU nonsense.

  3. FredHS ·

    The infographic shows music, video and downloaded content all waning. That nullifies the gate keeper trope. Rightly so. In these cases the iPhone is passive, pass through.

    The growth comes from Apple's services, or where Apps use the iPhone (and its APIs, developer support etc., and Google TAC.

    Google TAC should climb nicely as Google search includes AI, making it more valuable to users and advertisers.

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