Google blocked 2.36 million untrusted apps from reaching Android, yet risks remain

Google prevented 2.36 million policy-violating apps from appearing on Google Play in 2024 and banned over 158,000 developer accounts. AI now assists 92% of human code reviews for dangerous apps. Play Protect scans over 200 billion installed apps daily and identified 13 million new malicious apps from sources outside Google Play. Despite these efforts, complex threats like Mandrake still evaded detection, affecting hundreds of thousands of users. Google plans to enhance Play Protect's capabilities to combat dangerous apps further.