Keeping Google Play & Android app ecosystems safe in 2025
Posted by Vijaya Kaza, VP and GM, App & Ecosystem Trust The Android ecosystem is a thriving global community built on trust, giving billions of users the confidence to download the latest apps.
Posted by Vijaya Kaza, VP and GM, App & Ecosystem Trust The Android ecosystem is a thriving global community built on trust, giving billions of users the confidence to download the latest apps. In order to maintain that trust, we’re focused on ensuring that apps do not cause real-world harm, such as malware, financial fraud, hidden subscriptions, and privacy invasions. Upgrading Google Play’s AI-powered, multi-layered user protections We’ve seen a clear impact from these safety efforts on Google Play. In 2025, we prevented over 1.75 million policy-violating apps from being published on Google Play and banned more than 80,000 bad developer accounts that attempted to publish harmful apps.
User safety is at the core of everything we build. Over the years, we’ve continually introduced ways to help users stay safe and make informed app choices — from parental controls to data safety transparency and app badges .
We’re constantly improving our policies and protections to encourage safe, high-quality apps on Google Play and stop bad actors before they cause harm. Apps on Google Play undergo rigorous
Who is affected
User safety is at the core of everything we build.
Over the years, we’ve continually introduced ways to help users stay safe and make informed app choices — from parental controls to data safety transparency and app badges .
How organizations are responding
We’re constantly improving our policies and protections to encourage safe, high-quality apps on Google Play and stop bad actors before they cause harm.
Apps on Google Play undergo rigorous
What to watch next
Watch for additional exploitation reporting, newly published indicators, and changes to vendor guidance.
What remains unknown
The available reporting does not establish whether the issue is being actively exploited in the wild.
The available reporting does not establish who is behind the activity, if an attacker is involved.