News > Internet & Security Apple Says It Removed 1 Million Suspicious Apps Last Year Preventing fraud on the App Store By Allison Murray Allison Murray Twitter Tech News Reporter Southern Illinois University Allison reports on all things tech. She's a news junky that keeps her eye on the latest trends. Allison is a writer working out of Chicago, IL, with her only coworker: her cat Norbert. lifewire's editorial guidelines Updated on May 14, 2021 03:09PM EDT Fact checked by Rich Scherr Fact checked by Rich Scherr Twitter University of Maryland Baltimore County Rich Scherr is a seasoned technology and financial journalist who spent nearly two decades as the editor of Potomac and Bay Area Tech Wire. lifewire's fact checking process Tweet Share Email Tweet Share Email Internet & Security Mobile Phones Internet & Security Computers & Tablets Smart Life Home Theater & Entertainment Software & Apps Social Media Streaming Gaming Apple claims that it stopped more than $1.5 billion of potentially fraudulent transactions in its App Store and rejected a total of 1 million apps last year. The tech giant said it turned away 215,000 of the apps for privacy violations, prevented more than 3 million stolen cards from making purchases, and deactivated 244 million customer accounts, among other actions. Marko Geber “It takes significant resources behind the scenes to ensure these bad actors can’t exploit users’ most sensitive information, from location to payment details,” Apple wrote in its announcement. “While it’s impossible to catch every act of fraud or ill intent before it happens, thanks to Apple’s industry-leading anti-fraud efforts, security experts agree the App Store is the safest place to find and download apps.” Apple said fraud in the App Store includes fake ratings and reviews, account fraud, and payment and credit card fraud. The company said it rejects or removes apps when it spots these actions taking place. According to Apple, 48,000 apps were removed for “hidden or undocumented features,” 150,000 were removed because they copied another app, 215,000 were taken down over collecting user data, and 95,000 were removed for fraud. Security experts agree the App Store is the safest place to find and download apps. Most notably, Apple removed Epic Games’ Fortnite app last August after Epic refused to pay Apple’s 30% fee on digital purchases. Epic bypassed what’s been called the “Apple tax” by letting players buy Fortnite’s in-game currency, V-Bucks, which Apple said violated its App Store guidelines. Last July, Apple released a study (commissioned by Apple) defending itsApp Store fees, saying that its 30% commission rate for paid apps and in-app purchases is the same or similar to 38 digital marketplaces. However, investigations from The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal in 2019 found that Apple favors its own apps in the App Store over those made by third parties. Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Email Address Sign up There was an error. Please try again. You're in! Thanks for signing up. There was an error. Please try again. Thank you for signing up! Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit