Apple on Tuesday morning released new anti-fraud data related to its iOS App Store operations, blocking more than $7 billion in “potentially fraudulent transactions” over four years from 2020 to 2023. claimed to have done so.
More than $1.8 billion of this was blocked in 2023, according to Apple, which is less than the $2 billion in potentially fraudulent transactions Apple reported blocking in 2022. It also announced that it has blocked more than 14 million stolen credit cards and more than 3.3 million stolen accounts. It is expected to be traded again between 2020 and 2023.
Like other self-reported company metrics, its purpose is to shape a narrative. In Apple's case, there's a longstanding claim that the mobile ecosystem sets “standards for security, reliability, and user experience,” as the company says in a blog post.
It's worth noting that opposing narratives exist, such as developer lawsuits settled by Apple in fall 2022 where complaints of unfair app rejections, fraud, and abuse were filed.
The timing of Apple's blog post, coincidentally or not, coincides with the kickoff of Google's I/O developer conference. This is interesting as Mountain View has been piloting new automated anti-fraud measures for its app store, Google Play, in recent months, increasing the competition for mobile security credibility thanks to AI. This is because it suggests that
Another pressure point for Apple on ecosystem integrity comes from regulators. In the European Union, iPhone makers have been forced to allow third-party app stores and sideloading of apps since February under the European Union's Digital Markets Act (DMA). We also need to allow developers to use third-party payment technology (rather than proprietary) if they wish. Apple claims that forced openness through DMA weakens the security of the iOS ecosystem.
Apple today announced its 4th Annual Fraud Prevention Analysis, which examines where the company's App Store ecosystem stands in stopping fraud and other problematic behavior before EU regulators intervene. It shows retrospectively what happened.
This seems like a marketing pitch to developers, who, at least in the EU, have more choice in how they distribute their apps rather than being forced to submit them to Apple's App Store to reach iOS users. You can also read it.
App Store Integrity in Frames
Apple reported additional metrics for 2023, saying it rejected more than 1.7 million app applications for not meeting “strict” standards for privacy, security, and content. App Store's efforts to prevent and reduce fraud also resulted in the suspension of approximately 374 million developer and customer accounts and the suspension of “nearly” 152 million ratings and reviews due to fraud concerns. He also said that he had deleted it.
Apple also announced that it closed nearly 118,000 developer accounts in 2023. This is a notable decrease from his 428,000 closures the previous year (2022), according to the company's blog post. The company attributed this decrease to “continuous improvements” made to prevent the creation of potentially fraudulent accounts in the first place, but did not specify what changes were made.
In further action last year, Apple refused to register more than 91,000 developers citing “fraud concerns” and submitted what it identified as “problematic apps” to the App Store from these accounts. announced that it had prevented them from doing so.
Apple says its App Review team has more than 500 people and is tasked with evaluating every application submitted. “The team reviews approximately 132,500 apps per week on average, and by 2023, we have helped more than 192,000 developers publish their first apps to the App Store.” In 2019, we reviewed approximately 6.9 million app submissions.”
Apple said its app review workflow includes both automated processes and human reviews to try to spot and block fraud and other harm. In 2023, more than 1.7 million app applications were rejected by Apple for “a variety of reasons, including privacy violations and fraud.”
“Malicious actors employ deceptive tactics to harm users, including disguising potentially dangerous apps as benign ones,” the company wrote. “Over the past year, App Review has shown that apps that were initially incorrectly labeled as benign products (such as photo editors and puzzle games) were later labeled by post-review as pirated movie streaming platforms, illegal gambling apps, or fraudulent and fraudulent products. There have been numerous instances of companies turning into predatory loan issuers.”
“In some extreme cases, the team also uses complex and malicious software designed to deceive users, such as apps that impersonate known services to facilitate phishing campaigns and offer fraudulent financial or investment services.” “We have identified and removed a financial services app that was involved in certain social engineering activities,” Apple added. Over the year, App Store reviewers noted that the company “removed or rejected 40,000 apps from developers who engaged in bait-and-switch tactics.”