Apple says it blocked $2.2B in fraud on the App Store in 2025, rejected more than 2 million app submissions

Apple has released new figures detailing fraud prevention activity across the App Store ecosystem, reporting that it blocked more than $2.2 billion in potentially fraudulent transactions during 2025 while increasing enforcement efforts across apps, developer accounts, payments, and user reviews.

The update arrives ahead of the company’s annual developer conference and outlines how Apple handled fraud detection across a platform that now reaches more than 850 million weekly visitors across 175 storefronts.

According to Apple, the company combined human review processes with machine learning systems to identify malicious activity ranging from fake accounts and fraudulent reviews to cloned applications and payment abuse.

Over 2 Million App Submissions Rejected

Apple said its App Review team evaluated more than 9.1 million app submissions in 2025 and rejected over 2 million submissions that failed to meet App Store requirements.

Among the rejected apps were:

• More than 443,000 submissions flagged for privacy violations
• Over 371,000 apps identified as spam, copycats, or misleading experiences
• More than 22,000 submissions containing hidden or undocumented functionality
• Nearly 59,000 apps removed for “bait-and-switch” practices, where approved apps later changed behavior to enable financial fraud

Apple also reported blocking 2.5 million TestFlight submissions due to security or fraud concerns.

At the same time, the platform added over 306,000 new developers during the year.

Fraud Prevention Expanded to Accounts and Developer Access

The company said account fraud remained a major focus area in 2025.

Apple reported rejecting over 1.1 billion attempts to create fraudulent customer accounts, while an additional 40.4 million accounts were deactivated for abuse-related activity.

On the developer side, Apple terminated approximately 193,000 developer accounts linked to fraud concerns and rejected more than 138,000 developer enrollment attempts.

The company also said it identified and blocked 28,000 illegitimate apps distributed through pirate storefronts, including malware, gambling software, pirated versions of legitimate apps, and adult content applications.

Apple added that during the last month alone it prevented 2.9 million attempts to install or launch apps distributed outside approved channels.

Nearly 195 Million Fraudulent Reviews Blocked

Ratings and reviews continue to play a major role in app discovery, and Apple says moderation efforts increased significantly last year.

The company processed more than 1.3 billion ratings and reviews in 2025 and prevented close to 195 million fraudulent reviews and ratings from appearing on the platform.

Additional discovery-related actions included:

• Blocking nearly 7,800 deceptive apps from appearing in App Store search results
• Preventing around 11,500 apps from being featured in App Store charts due to suspected manipulation

Apple said artificial intelligence tools are increasingly being used to identify review spam, suspicious behavior patterns, and ranking manipulation.

Payment Fraud Remains a Key Enforcement Area

Apple also shared new data related to payment protection across the App Store ecosystem.

According to the company, it prevented more than 5.4 million stolen credit cards from being used for fraudulent purchases and banned nearly 2 million user accounts from making future transactions.

Apple noted that over 680,000 apps currently use its payment technologies, including Apple Pay and StoreKit integrations.

The company said fraud prevention systems now analyze activity across accounts, devices, and payment methods to identify emerging abuse patterns faster.

Focus Expands to Family Safety and Kids Apps

Apple also highlighted measures related to child-focused experiences.

The company said it rejected more than 5,000 apps from appearing in the App Store’s Kids category after they failed to comply with stricter requirements covering age ratings, advertising practices, and child safety standards.

The update additionally referenced tools such as Screen Time, Ask to Buy, and developer-focused APIs intended to support age-appropriate app experiences.

The latest figures bring Apple’s reported total of blocked fraudulent transactions to more than $11.2 billion over the last six years, reflecting the growing scale of fraud prevention efforts as app submissions and marketplace activity continue to expand.