Google Play used AI to help block 1.75 million bad apps in 2025
TL;DR
Google used AI to block 1.75 million bad apps in 2025, a decrease from 2024 due to improved AI protections deterring attempts. It conducts over 10,000 safety checks per app and helps reviewers detect threats faster.
Source: Engadget
Google announced that with the help of AI, it blocked 1.75 million apps that violated its policies in 2025, down from 2.36 million in 2024. The lower numbers this year, it said, are because its "AI-powered, multi-layer protections" are deterring bad actors from even trying to publish bad apps. Google said it now runs more than 10,000 safety checks on every app and continues to recheck them after they're published. Its use of the latest generative AI models helps human reviewers discover malicious patterns more quickly. The company stopped 255,000 apps from gaining excessive access to sensitive user data in 2025, down from 1.3 million the year before. Meanwhile, Google Play Protect, the company's Android defense system, sniffed out over 27 million new malicious apps, either warning users or preventing them from running. Full Story