Apple today shared stats that paint the App Store as a safe and trusted place for both customers and developers, even though the reality is that fraudulent or deceptive apps continue to make it past Apple's review process from time to time.
In 2025, Apple said its App Review team evaluated more than 9.1 million App Store submissions, with a mix of human review and AI. The company rejected over two million of these submissions, including over 1.2 million new apps and nearly 800,000 pending app updates, for failing to adhere to the App Store's Review Guidelines.
As bad actors continue to evolve their methods, Apple said it continuously improves its multilayered defenses, leveraging a combination of human review and advanced machine learning in an attempt to detect and prevent malicious activity.
"By utilizing AI to rapidly identify complex malicious patterns, analyze app similarity, and flag potentially problematic changes in app updates, Apple's systems help human reviewers focus their expertise where it matters most," said Apple. "This not only improves the customer experience by ensuring a high-quality, curated storefront, it also helps legitimate developers get their great apps and updates to users faster."
Apple added that it terminated 193,000 developer accounts over fraud concerns and prevented over $2.2 billion in potentially fraudulent transactions in 2025.
In 2025, Apple processed over 1.3 billion App Store reviews and ratings. Using a mix of human review and AI, the company said it identified and blocked close to 195 million fraudulent reviews and ratings from ever appearing.
"Apple's Trust and Safety teams integrate AI throughout the entire moderation process to detect spam, offensive content, and inauthentic reviews at scale," the company explained. "Additionally, AI-powered dashboards and rapid data analysis tools accelerate the discovery of new fraud vectors, enabling Apple's teams to react quickly to deceptive activity and protect the integrity of the platform."
Apple's press release contains many more stats that highlight the company's efforts to ensure the App Store is secure, even if they are not perfect.
