In their annual report they detailed how they were fighting increasingly sophisticated AI-powered attacks to keep the Android ecosystem safe for billions of people around the world.
Google provided a comprehensive report on its security work, combating applications and threats that cause real-world harm, including malware, fraud and data abuse. In their annual report they detailed how they were fighting increasingly sophisticated attacks – powered by AI – to keep the Android ecosystem safe for billions of people around the world.
“As malicious actors take advantage of AI to change its tactics and launch increasingly sophisticated attacks, “We have deepened our investments in AI and real-time defenses over the last year to maintain the advantage and stop these threats before they reach users,” they highlight in their report.
Among the main key results were:
- Google prevented more than 1.75 million policy-violating apps from being published on Google Play.
- They suspended more than 80,000 malicious developer accounts, further improving user protection.
- Expanded fraud protection, blocking 266 million installation attempts of risky apps in 185 markets.
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This data demonstrates how proactive protections and AI detection are neutralizing threats before they reach consumers. How did they achieve it?
- AI Enhanced Detection: Integrating advanced AI models into the review process to identify complex malicious patterns faster.
- Preventing unnecessary access to sensitive data: Prevented more than 255,000 apps from excessively accessing private data, reinforcing privacy policies.
- Blocking spam reviews and ratings: They blocked 160 million fake reviews, preventing manipulation and protecting trust in Google Play.
- Protection for children and families: They added new layers of security to prevent minors from accessing potentially harmful content.
Google Play Protect continues to evolve as Android’s built-in defense, scanning over 350 billion apps a day. Thanks to its real-time protections, the system identified more than 27 million new malicious apps outside the official store in 2025.
“As Android’s built-in defense against malware and unwanted software, Google Play Protect It now scans over 350 billion Android apps daily. “This proactive protection constantly checks both Play apps and those from other sources to ensure they are not potentially harmful,” they stated in their report.
“In 2025, we are focused on reducing friction for developers and giving them tools to protect their businesses,” they added.
Looking to the future
From the technology giant they indicated that the main priority continues to be making Google Play and Android the most reliable application ecosystems for everyone. “This year, we will continue to invest in AI-powered defenses to stay ahead of emerging threats and equip Android developers with the tools they need to securely build apps.”
“To empower developers who distribute their apps on Google Play, we will maintain our focus on incorporating controls to help create apps that are compliant by design, while also providing guidance to help proactively prevent policy violations before an app is published. We will also implement checks for Android developers to hold bad actors accountable and prevent them from hiding behind anonymity to cause repeated harm,” they said.