Mashable: In 2023, a staggering 2.28 million apps were prevented from being published on the Google Play Store due to significant policy violations. The tech giant recently released a report outlining the measures it has taken to safeguard the security and privacy of Play Store users.

Google Says it Blocked 2.28 Million Apps from Google Play Store: In 2023, Google said it blocked 2.28 million bad applications from being published on Google Play and banned 333,000 developer accounts.

The post Google Says it Blocked 2.28 Million Apps… https://t.co/CvOPIS8NsF pic.twitter.com/3uBH2FHYHi — Shah Sheikh (@shah_sheikh) April 29, 2024

Additionally, the company emphasized that it has banned 333,000 developer accounts from the platform for confirmed instances of malware and repeated serious policy breaches. To enhance the overall user experience within the app marketplace, Google has also implemented new policies.

Google detailed the actions it implemented in 2023 to safeguard its users from harmful applications, malware, and online scams in a blog post dedicated to security.

In addition to blocking 2.28 million apps due to policy breaches and suspending 333K developer accounts, the company also addressed approximately 200K app submissions that failed to adhere to proper usage of sensitive permissions. These permissions encompassed background location tracking, access to SMS and Contacts, among others.

Furthermore, the app marketplace has initiated legal action in federal court against two app developers who have repeatedly tried to upload deceptive investment and cryptocurrency exchange apps in order to deceive users.

The company emphasized that these fraudsters have also made false claims to exploit a loophole in the app acceptance procedure. "This legal action is an essential measure to hold these unethical individuals responsible and to convey a strong message that we will vigorously pursue those who attempt to exploit our users," Google stated.

In order to enhance user safety, the tech giant is implementing policy changes. Apps that facilitate account creation will now be required to include an option for initiating account and data deletion within the app and online. Additionally, this feature has been incorporated into the Data safety section of the Play Store.

Google has also restructured its App Defense Alliance (ADA) in collaboration with Microsoft and Meta as steering committee members.

Google stopped 2.28 million apps from being published and banned 333,000 developer accounts last year.https://t.co/jrCHA57qhT#newsupdates #newsupdate #newshighlights #newsheadlines #businessnews #businessupdates #businessupdate #google #googlenews #googleplaystore — Insperon Journal (@journalinsperon) April 30, 2024

ADA is now under the Joint Development Foundation, which is a part of the Linux Foundation family. The purpose of this alliance is to adopt best practices and guidelines for app security, as well as develop countermeasures against emerging security risks.