In 2023 alone, Google managed to block more than two million malicious applications uploaded to the Google Play Store and which presented a real threat to its users. Furthermore, the company also banned 333,000 developers from the platform who have repeatedly violated store guidelines and for malicious activities as well.
Thanks to SAFE, Google was able to identify fraudulent applications, authors and networks that aimed to harm users through malicious software. Because it is more accessible and open to users, Android is often more susceptible to malware vulnerabilities through applications.
In a new post on its blog, the company said that 2.28 million applications were blocked from reaching the Play Store. 200 thousand were applications that asked for confidential permissionssuch as access to SMS and background location.
Malicious developers often add malware to their applications so they can trick users with a fake software pretending to be originalsuch as: banking applications, videos, games or anything that may have a strong audience considered more “layman”, which makes it easier for scammers on duty.
The Play Store’s security verification systems hardly allow any malicious application to pass through, however, criminals try in every way to find possible loopholes and tirelessly try to get their application to pass through this security barrier and sometimes they succeed. in these attempts.
