Apple’s App Store has prevented over $2 billion in potentially fraudulent transactions in 2022, according to a recent announcement by the company. The App Store has become a reliable and secure platform for users to safely discover and download apps, while providing developers with an opportunity to showcase their ideas and grow their business. Apple has introduced various measures to support an ecosystem that benefits both users and developers, including preventing the creation of potentially fraudulent accounts and rejecting nearly 1.7 million app submissions for failing to meet the App Store’s high standards for privacy, security, and content.
Apple also takes action against fraudulent customer accounts, and in 2022, disabled over 282 million customer accounts associated with fraudulent and abusive activity. The App Store’s front line of defense protected users from hundreds of thousands of unsafe apps in 2022. Apple performs a number of safety checks on every app before it makes its way onto the App Store, and nearly 1.7 million app submissions were rejected from the App Store for various reasons, including concerns related to fraud and privacy.
Ratings and reviews are an important feature of the App Store. Users rely on them to help decide which app to download, and developers use them as vital feedback for improving their apps. Inauthentic ratings and reviews from fraudulent or bot accounts can mislead users into downloading an untrustworthy app that attempts to game the system through misrepresentation. In 2022, with over 1 billion ratings and reviews processed, Apple blocked and removed more than 147 million ratings and reviews for failing to meet moderation standards.
Apple’s work to keep the App Store a safe and trusted place for users and developers is never done. As bad actors evolve their dishonest tactics and methods of deception, Apple supplements its antifraud initiatives with feedback gleaned from a myriad of channels and will continue to develop new approaches and tools designed to prevent fraud from harming App Store users and developers.
