Apple says App Store blocked $2.2 billion

Apple said on May 20 that its App Store stopped more than $2.2 billion in potentially fraudulent transactions in 2025, as the iPhone maker detailed a broader anti-fraud push across apps, accounts and developer enrollments. The company said the figure brought the total value of blocked fraudulent transactions to more than $11.2 billion over the past six years. Apple published the numbers in a newsroom report about App Store safety measures. The company said the store now serves more than 850 million weekly visitors across 175 storefronts. ### Where did the $2.2 billion figure come from? Apple said the $2.2 billion total reflects transactions it identified as potentially fraudulent and stopped in 2025. The company did not break out the figure by fraud type in the release, but said its defenses target deceptive payment schemes, malicious software and abuse aimed at users and developers. The May 20 report said Apple uses a mix of human review and machine learning to detect suspicious activity. Apple framed the latest number as part of its annual App Store fraud analysis, which it has published in prior years. ### How much of this was about fake accounts? Apple said its systems rejected 1.1 billion fraudulent customer account creation attempts in 2025 and deactivated another 40.4 million customer accounts for fraud and abuse. (apple.com) The company said fake accounts can be used to spam users, manipulate charts and submit false reviews. In 2025, Apple also terminated 193,000 developer accounts over fraud concerns and rejected more than 138,000 developer enrollments, according to the report. (apple.com) The company said those steps were meant to keep bad actors from entering the App Store ecosystem in the first place. ### What happened to apps that Apple considered risky? (apple.com) Apple said it rejected more than 2 million problematic app submissions in 2025. The company said the review process is designed to catch apps that could harm users or violate App Store rules before they go live. The same report said Apple detected and blocked 28,000 illegitimate apps on pirate storefronts in 2025. (apple.com) Apple said those apps included malware, pornography apps, gambling apps and pirated versions of legitimate App Store software. ### How does this compare with the prior year? Apple said in a May 27, 2025 report that it had prevented more than $2 billion in potentially fraudulent transactions in 2024 and more than $9 billion over the previous five years. (apple.com) That earlier report said Apple rejected nearly 2 million risky app submissions in 2024, rejected more than 711 million customer account creations and deactivated nearly 129 million customer accounts. The year-over-year comparison in Apple’s own reports shows a higher blocked transaction total in 2025 than in 2024, while the mix of account actions shifted. Apple did not give a detailed explanation in the May 20 report for changes in each category. ### What else did Apple say users and developers should know? Apple said the App Store remains available in 175 storefronts and reaches more than 850 million weekly visitors. (apple.com) The company said its fraud controls are meant to protect users from scams while also preventing legitimate developers from competing against fraudulent actors. (apple.com) In the last month alone, Apple said it prevented 2.9 million attempts to install or launch apps distributed illicitly outside the App Store or approved alternative app marketplaces. The company’s next annual fraud update, if it follows the same pattern as prior years, would likely come in 2027. (apple.com)