In 2024, Google significantly strengthened its Android ecosystem with a series of security upgrades aimed at protecting user data and guarding against harmful apps. Throughout the year, Google’s security measures led to the blocking of 2.36 million risky Android apps on the Play Store, including apps that violated policies or were identified as malicious through AI-assisted reviews.
These steps are part of Google’s continuous efforts to improve Android security, with new features including enhanced biometric authentication and the implementation of passkeys for user data protection.
A key element of this initiative is the implementation of AI-powered threat detection, which automates 92% of human assessments, significantly improving the speed and accuracy of identifying malicious apps before they reach users. This is especially crucial as AI-powered cyberattacks become an increasing threat to mobile users.
Google also introduced new tools for developers aimed at safeguarding apps from misuse and rogue SDKs (software development kits). As part of this initiative, the Google Play SDK database added 80 more reliable SDKs, further fortifying the platform’s security.
As part of the broader industry push toward better privacy practices, Google added several important privacy features. One of the standout measures was preventing 1.3 million apps from accessing users’ private information. This was part of a larger push to ensure greater transparency and control over data handling by developers, including the introduction of a new “Data Deletion” option.
Google’s Play Protect system detected more than 13 million new malicious apps from sources outside of the Play Store, reflecting a substantial rise in security measures. The company also rolled out stronger fraud prevention pilots, protection against social engineering attacks, and automatic permission revocation for apps deemed harmful.
After a successful pilot in Singapore, Google extended its untrusted APK installation blocking system to other regions including Brazil, India, Nigeria, South Africa, and more. This feature helps prevent unauthorized app installations that could exploit sensitive permissions, a significant security concern in many regions.
As mobile malware becomes more sophisticated, such as with the “ghost tapping” scam targeting banking users, Google encourages Android users to take precautions. These include installing apps only from reliable sources, keeping the number of installed apps to a minimum, regularly monitoring app permissions, and ensuring Play Protect is always enabled.
