According to the iPhone group, fraudulent transactions worth almost 1.4 billion euros have been prevented. And that’s only in 2021.
The pressure on Apple is growing from all sides: regulatory authorities and governments in many countries around the world want to crack the iPhone group’s platform, which has so far been completely closed, and in future allow so-called sideloading, with which apps can be played directly on the device can be.
Apple always responds by saying that its “walled garden” is simply safer for users. For the second time, the company is coming up with concrete numbers that should speak for the continuation of the sideloading ban.
Barrage of fire on App Store users?
As Apple in writes a message from Wednesday evening, it is said to have been possible in 2021 to “fraudulent transactions of almost 1.5 billion US dollars (1.4 billion euros)” to prevent. Overall, the group wants “1.6 million risky and untrustworthy apps and app updates” phased out during this year. This way you have protected your customers directly.
Apple’s figures on possible fraud attempts are intended to show how hard the company is struggling with its security team. However, they also show that the App Store is not a perfect world. In fact, cases are becoming known again and again in which fraudulent programs simply slip through and even bring their creators millions without Apple’s “App Review” steps in.
New threats, new methods
According to the release, Apple’s specialists have found that “criminals are constantly expanding their methods of online fraud” developed and it “more and more difficult” going to “recognize their machinations”. “For this reason, Apple has continued to improve its processes, created new procedures and developed solutions to counter these threats,” the company claims.
The scam is also not letting up. In 2020, fraudulent transactions prevented by Apple are said to have totaled more than $1.5 billion. At that time, almost a million problematic new apps were not approved, according to Apple. There is “constant monitoring and control by several teams” through. The app review process is “multi-layered” and combine automation with manual review.
Spam, clones, feature fraud
“App Review uses proprietary tools that leverage machine learning, heuristics, and data collected since the launch of the app Store are used to quickly extract large amounts of information about possible problems and violations of an app,” according to the company. However, the rejections are not just for fraud. It’s also about bugs or lack of moderation of user-generated content. In addition, developers are apparently trying to smuggle functions past App Review.
“In 2021 alone, the App Review Team rejected more than 34,500 apps because they contained hidden or undocumented functions,” according to Apple. Almost 160,000 times it was spam, app clones or misleading users. Sometimes there is also function fraud, in which apps only pretend a feature. There are also violations of data protection.
