Apple says that the App Store managed to stop more than $2 billion in fraudulent transactions in 2022, a figure that happens to be a record.
The news comes as Apple comes under increasing scrutiny for the way it deals with developers and their sales. Fortnite continues to be absent from the App Store thanks to a spat with Epic Games over in-app purchases, and some developers want to be able to distribute their apps outside of the App Store entirely.
Now, Apple has issued a tubthumping press release outlining the impact of the App Store on fraud, hinting that payments outside of the App Store would not have had the same protections.
$2.09 billion in fraudulent transactions
In that press release, Apple says that it blocked almost 3.9 million stolen credit cards from being used to make purchases via the platform. As a result, it banned 714,000 accounts and blocked $2.09 billion in fraudulent transactions during 2022 alone.
"Apple’s work to keep the App Store a safe and trusted place for users and developers is never done," the company says. "As bad actors evolve their dishonest tactics and methods of deception, Apple supplements its antifraud initiatives with feedback gleaned from a myriad of channels — from news stories to social media to AppleCare calls — and will continue to develop new approaches and tools designed to prevent fraud from harming App Store users and developers."
Apple also shared details on how it protects App Store users via app review — ensuring that apps are checked before they are made available for download. Developers might disagree, however, and some have horror stories of apps being rejected for often ludicrous reasons. Meanwhile, app review isn't perfect, and some scam apps still slip through the cracks.
Apple maintains that the best iPhone is one that can only download apps from the App Store, protecting customers as a result. Whether that's accurate or not, there are rumors that iOS 17 will allow sideloading in some capacity.
