Apple claims its App Store policies have blocked over $9 billion in fraudulent transactions in the past five years. The company says more than $2 billion of that was stopped in 2024 alone. This announcement comes as Apple faces renewed criticism over its App Store practices, particularly around in-app payment restrictions.
The company argues its current system protects users and developers from scams, spam, and other bad actors. Apple says it blocked nearly 2 million app submissions in 2024 for security, privacy, or quality issues. It also terminated or rejected more than 285,000 developer accounts last year due to fraud concerns.
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Massive Crackdown on Fraudulent Activity
In 2024, Apple says it stopped over 146,000 fraudulent developer accounts and rejected 139,000 new enrollments for similar concerns. On the user side, the company blocked over 711 million attempts to create suspicious customer accounts and shut down nearly 129 million others. These accounts, Apple says, were linked to spam, fake reviews, or manipulation of App Store rankings.
The company also claims it intercepted 4.6 million attempts to install apps distributed outside authorized channels. More than 10,000 apps found on pirate storefronts, including those with malware, pornography, or gambling functions, were blocked.
App Review, Apple’s human and automated screening system, rejected over 1.9 million submissions last year. Among those, 400,000 were turned down for privacy violations, and 320,000 were flagged as spam, copycats, or scams. Over 37,000 apps were pulled after being found to engage in fraudulent behavior post-approval.
Payment Protections and Review Manipulation
Apple says its anti-fraud tools identified 4.7 million stolen credit cards in 2024 and banned more than 1.6 million accounts from making transactions. It also removed over 143 million fake App Store ratings and reviews, and took down nearly 17,000 apps that misled users with bait-and-switch tactics.
The company highlighted StoreKit and Apple Pay as tools that keep payment data secure. Developers using these systems reportedly help minimize risks by avoiding direct handling of sensitive information.
According to Apple’s press release, over 420,000 apps currently use its payment infrastructure. The App Store handles more than 813 million weekly visits across 175 countries.
As told by Apple in its latest fraud analysis, these measures are part of an ongoing strategy to secure the App Store and maintain user trust.
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