Google has released its annual “malicious apps” report. The search giant announced that it banned 173,000 developer accounts in 2022 to stop fraudulent activities and prevent millions of Android users from infecting their mobile devices.The Californian company also says it has blocked 1.43 million apps from posting on Google Play that violated the service’s policies. The report also included information that more than $2 billion in fraudulent and malicious financial transactions was prevented.
Added additional requirements for developers
In addition to all these, Google also announced that it brings additional requirements for developers who want to join the Google Play ecosystem. These requirements include authentication by phone number and email.
This seemingly simple measure has resulted in a significant reduction in the number of accounts used to distribute apps against Google Play rules. Google also states that in the last 3 years, it has prevented nearly 500,000 apps from unnecessarily accessing sensitive permissions.
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