Apple releases anti-fraud measures data related to App Store

Over $1.8 billion of that total was stopped in 2023, according to Apple, which is down from the $2 billion in potentially fraudulent transactions Apple reported preventing in 2022

Apple released new data about anti-fraud measures related to its operation of the iOS App Store on Tuesday morning, trumpeting a claim that it stopped more than $7 billion in “potentially fraudulent transactions” across the four years between 2020 and 2023.

Over $1.8 billion of that total was stopped in 2023, according to Apple, which is down from the $2 billion in potentially fraudulent transactions Apple reported preventing in 2022. It also said it blocked more than 14 million stolen credit cards and over 3.3 million accounts from transacting again between 2020 and 2023.

Apple claimed that its mobile ecosystem sets “the standard for security, reliability, and user experience”, as its blog post puts it.

It is worth noting that counter-narratives do exist, like the developer lawsuit Apple settled back in fall 2022, which had raised complaints about unfair app rejections, scams and fraud.

The timing of Apple’s blog post coincides with the kick-off of Google’s developer confab. Google has been running a pilot of a new automated anti-fraud measure for its own app store, Google Play, indicating competition to burnish mobile security credibility is heating up.

Apple’s other pressure point on ecosystem integrity comes from regulators. In the EU the iPhone maker has, since February, been forced into allowing third-party app stores and app sideloading under the bloc’s Digital Markets Act (DMA). It must also let developers use third-party payment tech (instead of its own) if they wish. Apple argues the Digital Markets Act’s enforced openness is weakening the security of its iOS ecosystem.

The “fourth annual fraud prevention analysis” Apple has published today offers a retrospective look at where its App Store ecosystem stood on stopping scams and other controversial policies before EU regulators got involved.