Apple rejected almost a million apps from the App Store since 2020

While many criticize Apple’s approach to reviewing every app and app update that hits the App Store, there’s good reason for it. Protecting users from malicious apps. And it appears that from 2020 to 2022, Apple has rejected roughly 958,000 apps.

These are apps that were trying to obtain to much sensitive data, or violate user privacy in any other way. Privacy is something that Apple takes very seriously, so this should come as no surprise. We also see a lot of malware apps on Android, and countless lists of apps that people need to uninstall immediately. That’s not so much the case on iOS.

Apple prevented more than $5B in fraudulent transactions since 2020

While these apps are often times looking to grab information from users, and potentially sell it. Often times they are also looking to grab money from these users. And Apple has said that it has prevented more than $5 billion in fraudulent transactions since 2020. It has also blocked millions of stolen credit cards from transacting.

Why do hackers use apps to get this information? Well, apps do generated a ton of important data that can be easily collected and monetized by developers. This includes your location, what other apps you have on your phone and open periodically, and so much more.

Now, on Android, Google does welcome third-party app stores. That’s not the case on Apple’s iOS, at least not yet. That will be changing thanks to the EU. But as we can see here, Apple’s walled-garden approach does work for protecting its customers from malicious developers. Don’t forget that Apple also takes a 30% commission on every purchase in the App Store, and that includes in-app purchases.

So criticize Apple’s reviewing policy for apps and app updates all you want, it does save users a lot of headaches. When it comes to dealing with developers with malicious intent.