Apple revealed that it will prevent more than $2.2 billion in potentially fraudulent transactions by 2025. This is part of the company’s efforts to strengthen security across the App Store through a combination of human review and machine learning technology.
The company also rejected more than 2 million app submissions last year and blocked more than 1.1 billion attempts to create fraudulent customer accounts, highlighting the scale of malicious activity targeting the App Store ecosystem.
Apple says the App Store has more than 850 million weekly visits across 175 stores worldwide, making fraud prevention and platform security a major focus for the company.
Apple cracks down on fake accounts and malicious apps
Apple reports that scammers are now using advanced methods such as bot networks and artificial intelligence to create fake reviews, manipulate app rankings, spam users, and push fraudulent apps.
Apple said its trust and safety team is using advanced machine learning systems and human review to identify suspicious activity faster and more accurately.
In 2025, Apple terminated approximately 193,000 developer accounts related to fraud issues and denied more than 138,000 developers access to the platform before they had signed up. The company also deactivated an additional 40.4 million customer accounts related to fraud and abuse.
Apple also blocked 28,000 illegal apps distributed through pirated storefronts. These include malware-infected apps, gambling apps, pirated software, and modified versions of legitimate App Store apps.
The company also revealed that it blocked nearly 2.9 million attempts to install or launch apps distributed outside of the App Store or approved alternative markets last month alone.
Reviewed over 9 million application submissions
Apple said the rise of artificial intelligence development tools has significantly increased the number of app submissions received by the App Store review team.
In 2025, Apple reviewed more than 9.1 million app submissions and welcomed more than 306,000 new developers to the platform. However, more than 2 million submissions were rejected for violating App Store guidelines.
This includes more than 443,000 submissions that were rejected for violating privacy, and more than 371,000 submissions that were blocked for spamming, copying existing applications, or misleading users. Another 22,000 submissions were rejected due to hidden or undocumented functionality.
Apple also highlighted the growing problem of “bait and switch” apps. These apps initially appear harmless during the review process, such as puzzle or calculator apps, but later change their functionality after approval to commit scams or financial fraud.
According to the company, nearly 59,000 apps were removed in 2025 due to such behavior. Apple’s TestFlight platform has also come under tighter scrutiny, with more than 2.5 million app submissions blocked from distribution due to security or fraud concerns.
Fake reviews and payment fraud remain major issues
The company said it will process more than 1.3 billion App Store ratings and reviews by 2025. Of these, nearly 195 million fraudulent ratings and reviews were blocked before being made public.
Apple also blocked approximately 7,800 deceptive apps from appearing in App Store search results and another 11,500 apps from appearing in the App Store rankings.
On the payments front, Apple revealed that it prevented more than 5.4 million stolen credit cards from being used for fraudulent purchases last year. Nearly 2 million user accounts were also banned from further transactions.
The company noted that more than 680,000 apps currently use Apple’s payment technology, including Apple Pay and StoreKit.
Apple says App Store security investments will continue
The company highlighted tools such as Screen Time, Ask to Buy, and stricter Kids category guidelines aimed at improving safety for younger users. In 2025 alone, Apple rejected more than 5,000 apps from appearing in the Kids category for not meeting its standards.
As AI-driven scams and fraud attempts become more sophisticated, Apple is increasingly focusing on automated detection systems to maintain the security of the App Store, while leveraging human review teams to improve accuracy.
