Google and Apple removed over 2 million apps in 2025

Android leads the global mobile operating system market with 3.8 billion users¹, accounting for approximately 71.4% share, while iOS captures a solid 28.6%, translating to 1.52 billion active users². Both Google and Apple provide users with platforms — Google Play and the App Store — where billions of people discover and download apps every day. However, downloading an app from these stores doesn't always guarantee a safe and secure experience.

Key insights

• Nearly 2.2 million apps were removed from Google Play and the App Store in 2025, averaging approximately 6,000 per day. However, the two dominant app ecosystems trended in opposite directions. According to the Google Play Annual Transparency Report, Google deleted over 2 million apps due to violations of terms and conditions — nearly half the number deleted in 2024. Meanwhile, Apple’s App Store Transparency Report revealed that app removals more than doubled, to nearly 167,000, compared with over 82,500 in 2024.
• The App Store indicated that the main reasons for app removals were fraud (54%) and the ongoing effort to clean up outdated apps (43%). Fraud-related removals were primarily associated with developers from China (13%), Pakistan (11%), the United States (11%), Turkey (11%), and Vietnam (8%), indicating a concentration in Asia, similar to the pattern seen the year before.³
• The Google Play Annual Transparency Report highlighted data protection and privacy violations as the leading cause of app removals (44%). Other violations included content, goods, and services ineligible for distribution through Google Play (35%), consumer information infringements (13%), and scams or fraud (5%). Additionally, to help keep users safe from fraud, Google Play Protect blocked 266 million risky installation attempts and protected them from 872,000 high-risk applications in 2025.⁴
• Before being released on either platform, apps must undergo a review process. In 2025, Apple rejected 23% of submissions to the App Store, whereas Google Play's rejection rate was nearly three times lower at 8%, meaning 9 out of 10 submissions went through.
• In addition to removing individual apps, platforms also terminate developer accounts. In 2025, Apple terminated over 193,000 developer accounts, a 32% year-over-year increase. Google reported a 19% decline in account closures, resulting in the termination of approximately 126,000 developer accounts. At the same time, account restorations saw a massive lift: Google reinstated over 12,500 accounts in 2025 — an eightfold increase from the above 1,500 restored in 2024. Meanwhile, Apple brought back nearly 500 developer accounts, which was more than double the 225 they restored the year before.

Methodology and sources

This study is based on information provided in the Google Play and App Store transparency reports and supplemental data files. While the main focus is on 2025, the analysis also includes historical data going back to 2024. The exploration covers various aspects, such as the number of apps removed, the reasons for their removal, the rates of app submissions and rejections before release on the platforms, and the number of terminated developer accounts.

Data was collected from:

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