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Fewer criminals are targeting Google Play with malicious software, the company says, a change the tech giant credits to increased investment in AI-powered security systems.
Its latest Android ecosystem software security report released on Thursday, Google said it had banned 1.75 million content-infringing apps from being published on Google Play in 2025, starting 2.36 million in 2024 and 2.28 million in 2023.
The annual report shows how Google keeps Android users safe by monitoring and evaluating apps to protect against malware, financial fraud, privacy attacks, fraudulent registrations, and other threats.
For example, Google says it banned more than 80,000 accounts in 2025 that tried to spread this malicious software. This number has also decreased annually from 158,000 in 2024, and 333,000 in 2023.
Google demonstrated how its investments in AI and virtual reality defenses have helped combat these types of threats, and how they have served as a deterrent.
“Initiatives such as developer verification, pre-screening, and testing requirements have greatly enhanced the Google Play ecosystem, greatly reducing the number of ways malicious actors can gain entry,” the company’s post said, adding that “AI-powered, multilayer protections” have been “preventing malicious actors from spreading malicious software.”
Google noted that it now checks more than 10,000 security features for every app it publishes and continues to review apps after they are released. The company has also integrated its latest AI models into the software’s analysis process, which has helped human analysts to quickly find malicious problems. Google said it plans to increase its AI investment in 2026 to meet the emerging threats.
In addition, Google said it blocked more than 255,000 apps from accessing users’ private information, the number being released. 1.3 million in 2024. The company also blocked 160 million spam ratings last year, and prevented a 0.5 star drop in the apps it reviews. bomb comments.
Currently, Android security, known as Google Play Protect, has detected more than 27 million malicious apps, warning users or blocking the app from running. That’s an increase from the 13 million non-Play Store apps identified in 2024 and the five million seen in 2023. This increase seems to indicate that malicious actors now often avoid the Play Store when targeting users for their malicious apps.
