Apple has released its 2024 App Store Transparency Report, offering unprecedented insights into the platform’s content moderation efforts across its nearly 2 million available applications.

The report demonstrates the significant challenges technology companies face in maintaining secure digital marketplaces while balancing developer access and user safety.

The scale of Apple’s review process is remarkable. During 2024, Apple reviewed over 7.7 million app submissions, rejecting approximately 1.9 million of them. This represents a rejection rate of nearly 25 percent, highlighting the company’s rigorous approach to app quality and security standards.

Performance-related issues dominated rejection reasons, accounting for 1.2 million rejections. Design violations, which include spam and copycat applications, resulted in 378,300 rejections, while legal compliance issues led to 445,696 rejections.

Safety concerns, though representing a smaller portion at 116,105 rejections, underscore Apple’s focus on protecting users from potentially harmful applications.

The report also reveals significant enforcement against fraudulent activities. Apple terminated nearly 147,000 developer accounts, with fraud violations representing the overwhelming majority at 146,583 terminations.

This aggressive stance against fraudulent developers helped prevent over $2 billion in potentially fraudulent transactions.

Government takedown requests affected 1,730 applications, with the Chinese mainland accounting for 1,307 of these removals. Russia followed with 171 takedowns, while South Korea and Ukraine had 79 and 55, respectively.

These regional variations reflect different regulatory environments and local legal requirements.

Despite strict enforcement, Apple’s appeal process restored 421 applications after developer appeals, demonstrating the company’s commitment to fair review processes.

The App Store continues to serve over 813 million weekly visitors, facilitating 839 million weekly downloads and maintaining its position as a critical gateway for mobile applications worldwide.