Apple on App Store fraud numbers: $2.2 billion outflow prevented
Apple emphasizes the security of its online software store. However, it is increasingly under attack. Billions of fraudulent accounts have been deactivated.
App Store icon against a cloudy background.
(Image: Tada Images / Shutterstock)
According to Apple's figures, the danger from fraudulent apps is increasing rather than decreasing. Apple's App Review team (or its AI system) rejected over 2 million potentially problematic apps last year, the company announced. In 2024, the figure was still 1.9 million. The amount of fraudulent payments that Apple claims to have prevented also rose: from 2 billion to 2.2 billion US dollars. The company states that it has prevented a total of 11.2 billion dollars in fraud over the last six years.
More fraud, more damage
Particularly surprising: In 2025, there were 1.1 billion attempts to create fraudulent App Store accounts, which Apple was able to prevent. The number was still 711 million the previous year. Malicious actors have further developed their fraud methods and are using bot networks for account creation, among other things. However, the number of customer accounts that Apple subsequently deactivated due to fraud and abuse decreased: from around 130 million in 2024 to 40.4 million now.
Developer accounts, without which no app can be listed in the App Store, were terminated for 193,000 due to suspected fraud. According to Apple, 138,000 registrations were rejected directly. Apple also claims to have identified and “blocked” 28,000 illicit apps on pirate websites, including gambling, malware, pornography, and copies of regular apps. “By restricting these storefronts and illegal distribution channels, Apple also protects developers from their apps being cloned, modified, or misused as a weapon for distributing malware,” the company claims. However, it does not make it easy for developers to make alternative app marketplaces successful.
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More and more Vibecoding apps
Apple also actively prevents the execution of problematic apps. In the past month alone, it prevented 2.9 million installations or launches that were “illegally distributed outside the App Store or approved alternative app marketplaces.” Apple claims to have improved its detection tools as part of the app review process. This is also necessary, as more and more apps are being developed using Vibecoding.
The company has recorded a sharp increase in submissions here. “In 2025, the App Review team reviewed over 9.1 million app submissions, helping to welcome more than 306,000 new developers to the platform,” the company said. Two million app submissions, 1.2 million of which were new and 800,000 updates, were rejected. 22,000 of these reportedly contained “hidden or undocumented features,” 371,000 copied other apps, were spam, or, according to Apple, “misled” users. Apple identified privacy issues in 443,000 submissions and rejected them.
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