Google simply nuked almost 2 million malicious Android apps utilizing AI

[ad_1] <img class="e_Gh" decoding="async" loading="eager" sizes="(min-width: 64rem) 51.25rem, 80vw" title="Photo of an Android phone with out of date software" srcset="https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Photo-of-an-Android-phone-with-out-of-date-software-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Photo-of-an-Android-phone-with-out-of-date-software-64w-36h.jpg 64w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Photo-of-an-Android-phone-with-out-of-date-software-1000w-563h.jpg 1000w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Photo-of-an-Android-phone-with-out-of-date-software-1920w-1080h.jpg 1920w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Photo-of-an-Android-phone-with-out-of-date-software-1536w-864h.jpg 1536w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Photo-of-an-Android-phone-with-out-of-date-software-675w-380h.jpg 675w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Photo-of-an-Android-phone-with-out-of-date-software-300w-170h.jpg 300w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Photo-of-an-Android-phone-with-out-of-date-software-1280w-720h.jpg 1280w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Photo-of-an-Android-phone-with-out-of-date-software-840w-472h.jpg 840w" alt="Photo of an Android phone with out of date software" src="https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Photo-of-an-Android-phone-with-out-of-date-software-scaled.jpg"/> Mishaal Rahman / Android Authority

TL;DR

Google says it’s been more and more counting on AI to counter AI-powered malware, strengthening Android defenses earlier than threats attain customers. Over 1.75 million dangerous apps have been blocked from the Play Retailer in 2025, alongside 80,000 malicious developer accounts. Privateness protections tightened, with 255,000 apps blocked from requesting pointless delicate information like location or photographs.

Synthetic intelligence helps hackers discover new methods to sneak malware onto your telephone, so Google is preventing fireplace with fireplace. The Android world has at all times been a back-and-forth battle, however in 2025, Google cranked up its machine-learning defenses to catch scammers earlier than they attain the Play Retailer.

A brand new report from Vijaya Kaza, Google’s vice chairman of App & Ecosystem Belief, says Google stopped over 1.75 million policy-breaking apps from reaching the Play Retailer final 12 months. It additionally eliminated greater than 80,000 developer accounts making an attempt to publish dangerous apps.

How is Google making this occur? The reply is AI. The corporate says it has added AI fashions instantly into the app evaluation course of. Human reviewers are nonetheless concerned, however the AI helps discover complicated malicious patterns a lot sooner than an individual might by manually reviewing code.

Don’t need to miss one of the best from Android Authority?

<img class="e_Gh" decoding="async" loading="lazy" sizes="9.375rem" title="google preferred source badge light@2x" srcset="https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/google_preferred_source_badge_light@2x.png 676w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/google_preferred_source_badge_light@2x-64w-20h.png 64w" alt="google preferred source badge light@2x" src="https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/google_preferred_source_badge_light@2x.png"/><img class="e_Gh" decoding="async" loading="lazy" sizes="9.375rem" title="google preferred source badge dark@2x" srcset="https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/google_preferred_source_badge_dark@2x.png 676w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/google_preferred_source_badge_dark@2x-64w-20h.png 64w" alt="google preferred source badge dark@2x" src="https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/google_preferred_source_badge_dark@2x.png"/> You additionally get extra privateness safety routinely. Final 12 months, Google blocked over 255,000 apps from asking for an excessive amount of delicate information, like location requests from apps that don’t want it or picture entry for a calculator. Builders additionally get assist from instruments like Play Coverage Insights in Android Studio, which level out attainable points whereas they're nonetheless writing code.

Spam can be being tackled. In 2025, Google blocked 160 million spam rankings and critiques, together with faux five-star campaigns and arranged efforts to decrease an app’s rating. The corporate says it stopped a mean 0.5-star drop for apps focused by evaluation bombing.

<img class="e_Gh" decoding="async" loading="lazy" sizes="(min-width: 64rem) 51.25rem, 80vw" title="Android security update 2025" srcset="https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Android-security-update-2025.jpg 1920w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Android-security-update-2025-64w-36h.jpg 64w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Android-security-update-2025-1000w-563h.jpg 1000w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Android-security-update-2025-1536w-864h.jpg 1536w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Android-security-update-2025-675w-380h.jpg 675w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Android-security-update-2025-300w-170h.jpg 300w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Android-security-update-2025-1280w-720h.jpg 1280w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Android-security-update-2025-840w-472h.jpg 840w" alt="Android security update in 2025" src="https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Android-security-update-2025.jpg"/> The protections transcend the Play Retailer. Google Play Shield, Android’s built-in malware scanner, now checks over 350 billion apps daily. Final 12 months, its real-time scanning discovered 27 million new malicious apps from exterior Google Play. When you have ever put in an app from an untrusted web site, you could have seen a warning seem. That's Play Shield at work.

This characteristic can be enhancing. Enhanced fraud safety now blocks installations from web sources, comparable to browsers or messaging apps, that request delicate permissions. In 2025, it launched in 185 markets, masking 2.8 billion units, and stopped 266 million dangerous set up makes an attempt. Which means 266 million instances somebody prevented putting in one thing harmful.

Google additionally made modifications to battle social engineering. In case you are on a telephone name, Play Shield now removes the choice to show it off. It is because scammers typically attempt to persuade individuals to disable their protections whereas they're distracted. Now, that technique now not works.

Trying ahead, Google says it would open developer verification to everybody this 12 months, together with college students and hobbyists, however with a less complicated course of. In Android 16, a single line of code can now shield delicate data, comparable to banking logins, from “tapjacking” assaults.