Apple announced that in 2022, the App Store thwarted over $2 billion in possible fraudulent transactions and rejected around 1.7 million app submissions for not meeting its rigorous standards in privacy, security, and content.
Account Fraud in 2022
Apple has been working hard to stop account fraud on its platforms. Last year, it shut down 428,000 developer accounts and 282 million customer accounts that were involved in fraud and abuse. It also rejected 105 million suspicious developer enrollments and blocked 57,000 unsafe apps from unauthorized marketplaces.
Moreover, it prevented 3.9 million attempts to install or run apps from the Developer Enterprise Program, which is meant for internal use by large organizations. Apple also stopped 198 million fraudulent new accounts from being created.
App Review in 2022
Apple ensures app safety and quality with Xcode and App Review. Xcode scans apps for malware and authorized technologies. App Review checks apps for quality and safety standards. It reviews 100,000 apps a week and helps developers with rejections.
Last year, it rejected 1.7 million apps for fraud and privacy issues. It also blocked or removed 24,000 apps that changed their look or function to deceive users.
App Review rejects apps that are spam, copycats, misleading, or have hidden features. It also rejects apps that take users’ personal data without consent. Last year, it rejected 153,000 apps for being spam, copycats, or misleading, 29,000 apps for having hidden features, and 400,000 apps for privacy violations.
App Review removes fraudulent or malicious apps reported by users. It also blocks apps from banned developers. Last year, it stopped 84,000 apps like that from going on the App Store.
Ratings and Reviews
Ratings and reviews help users choose apps and developers improve them. Fake ratings and reviews from fraudulent or bot accounts can trick users into downloading bad apps that lie about their quality.
Last year, Apple processed over 1 billion ratings and reviews and blocked and removed more than 147 million of them for not meeting moderation standards.
Payment and Credit Card Fraud
Apple uses secure payment technologies like Apple Pay and StoreKit to protect users’ financial information. Nearly 943,000 apps use these technologies to sell goods and services on the App Store.
Apple is serious about stopping credit card fraud on the App Store. For example, Apple Pay does not share credit card numbers with merchants, making payments safer. Last year, Apple stopped 3.9 million stolen credit cards from buying things, and banned 714,000 accounts from paying again. In 2022, Apple prevented $2.09 billion in scam transactions on the App Store.
Announcing the update, Apple said:
Apple never stops working to make the App Store a secure and reliable place for users and developers. As fraudsters change their tricks and lies, Apple enhances its antifraud efforts with feedback from various sources from news articles to social media to AppleCare calls and will keep creating new ways and tools to stop fraud from hurting App Store users and developers.