Google has confirmed it has blocked more than 2.3 million apps as it publishes a new Android and Google Play security update—what you need to know.

Google blocked 2.36 million apps and 158,000 developer accounts to maintain Play Store safety in 2024. 1.3 million apps had access to unnecessary permissions, curtailed by Google. Play Protect flagged 13 million new apps outside Google Play,

AI became a hot topic. Its influence even bled into the Google Play security division, which used AI in 92% of app security reviews.

Google blocked 2.3 million Android app submissions to the Play Store in 2024 due to violations of its policies that made them potentially risky for users.

Google’s post recapping Play Store and Android protections in 2024 is live, while highlighting new Play Protect features, like during calls.

We’re talking permission abuse, which has always been a serious threat to users. A new report is just the latest “alarming” wake-up call, “uncovering alarming security and privacy concerns.” This latest research has also exposed “hardcoded secrets embedded within some apps… which poses a serious risk of unauthorized access and data breaches.”

In November, online security firm Kaspersky noted that the number of users encountering apps that pose as free VPNs increased by 2.5 times, between just Q2 and Q3 of 2024

Google Play Protect will automatically revoke app permissions for harmful Android apps. In today’s Security Blog, Google mentions that the new feature will prevent malicious app