Google says its AI-powered defenses helped block 1.75 million apps that violated Play Store policies in 2025, down from 2.36 million the previous year. The company credits its AI-driven multi-layer protections for deterring bad actors from even attempting to publish malicious apps. Google now runs over 10,000 safety checks on every app and continues monitoring them after publication.

Beyond app blocking, Google prevented 160 million spam ratings and stopped 255,000 apps from accessing excessive user data in 2025. The company's Play Protect system detected over 27 million new malicious apps across 2.8 billion Android devices in 185 markets. It also blocked 266 million risky side-loading installation attempts, protecting users who download apps outside the official store.

Google has long used app safety investments to justify its 15-30% commission fees on app purchases and subscriptions. However, the Play Store faces mounting regulatory pressure, particularly in Europe where authorities claim it constitutes a monopoly. Despite changing its fee structure for alternative payment methods last year, EU regulators recently alleged Google still isn't complying with Digital Markets Act regulations.