350 Billion Daily Scans: How Google Play Protect Keeps Android Secure

Google has released its latest safety report, revealing a massive crackdown on malicious software and fraudulent developers over the past year. According to Vijaya Kaza, Google’s VP of App and Ecosystem Trust, the company used new AI-driven tools to block more than 1.75 million apps from ever reaching the Play Store.

The report highlights a significant push against financial fraud and privacy invasions. Google banned 80,000 bad actor developer accounts and prevented 255,000 apps from gaining unnecessary access to sensitive user data. The company’s built-in security, Google Play Protect, now scans 350 billion apps daily across the global Android ecosystem.

A major focus for 2025 was stopping what’s known as review bombing and fake ratings. Google’s automated systems blocked 160 million spam reviews last year. This helped prevent an average 0.5-star rating drop for apps targeted by coordinated attacks, ensuring users see more accurate feedback before downloading.

“User safety is at the core of everything we build,” Kaza stated on Thursday. She noted that real-time scanning caught 27 million new malicious apps outside of the Play Store, protecting users who sideload apps from the web.

New protections also targeted phone scams. A feature introduced last year now prevents users from accidentally disabling their security settings during a phone call, a common tactic used by social engineers to trick victims into downloading malware. Yeah, it’s not getting any safer out there.

With Android 16, Google is introducing a single line of code that will allow developers to automatically protect sensitive bank logins from tapjacking and other sophisticated fraud. We may find out new protections when Google unveils Android 17 at its I/O developer conference later this spring.