Google has significantly strengthened its Android app security measures in 2024, blocking 2.3 million potentially harmful app submissions to the Play Store. This marks an increase from 2.28 million in 2023 and 1.5 million in 2022. The company also suspended 158,000 developer accounts for attempting to distribute malicious software.

AI-Enhanced Security Measures
The improved detection rates are largely attributed to AI integration, with 92% of human reviews now utilizing AI assistance for faster and more accurate threat detection. This enhancement has enabled Google to prevent 1.3 million apps from obtaining unnecessary permissions to sensitive user data.

Play Protect Improvements
Google Play Protect, Android’s built-in security system, underwent major upgrades in 2024:
– Daily scanning of over 200 billion apps
– Detection of 13 million new malware apps from external sources
– Real-time protection against malicious apps, scams, and fraud
– Extended protection for apps installed outside the Play Store

Developer Security Tools
New security features for developers include:
– Expanded SDK index with 80 additional trusted SDKs
– Enhanced Play Integrity API resulting in 80% reduction in abuse
– 91% of app installations now utilize Android 13+ security features

Global Security Initiative
Google’s APK installation blocking system expanded to multiple countries including Brazil, India, and Thailand, successfully preventing:
– 36 million installation attempts
– 200,000 unique malicious apps
– Protection for 10 million Android devices