Over the past few decades, Apple has established a reputation for operating its complex ecosystem with efficiency and meticulous attention to detail. Now, however, one report is challenging that image, courtesy of Apple's relatively lax attitude towards hosting apps from US-sanctioned entities.
Apple App Store found to be hosting 52 apps from sanctioned entities vs. the Google Play Store's count of 18 apps from proscribed developers
The Tech Transparency Project (TTP) has now published a worrying report, detailing how sanctioned entities were able to sneak in their apps into the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
The TTP was able to identify dozens of apps from a number of US-proscribed entities that were hosted on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
These sanctioned entities include Russian financial institutions like Gazprombank and National Standard Bank, which have been proscribed by the US Treasury Department for their role in facilitating the war in Ukraine, as well as China's Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC), which remains under a punitive spotlight for repressing the Uyghurs minority in China.
As for its methodology, the TTP downloaded the full list of the US Treasury Department's Specially Designated Nationals (SDNs), and then stripped all enterprise-related suffixes from those names, including Inc., LLC, etc.
The TTP then "used a simple Python script to search for each SDN name on the app store domains apps.apple.com and play.google.com," while supplementing this method with a manual search as well.
As a result, the TTP was able to identify 52 apps on the Apple App Store from sanctioned entities, as well as 18 on the Google Play Store.
Interestingly, Google removed all but one app from its Play Store after being informed of the report's findings. In contrast, Apple removed just 35 apps, with 17 disappearing during the course of TTP's research period from the middle of 2025 till November 2025.
Do note that Apple was penalized by the US government back in 2019 for failing to remove an app linked to a sanctioned Slovenian drug trafficker. At the time, Apple settled for just $466,912 and promised to improve its sanctions screening tools.
Given the latest episode, it seems Apple's sanctions screening tools for the App Store leave much to be desired.
Of course, as we noted in a dedicated post recently, Apple's App Store is already stagnating as a result of allowing third-party app stores to eat into its lunch in the EU. The latest report only adds to the image of the App Store increasingly besieged from all corners.
About the author: Writing is my one incontrovertible passion. Over the past six years, he has authored over 2,200 distinct articles on financial and tech-related topics, spanning nearly 1 million words. And he has been a member of Wcctech mobile team since 2025. As an alumnus of the University of Toronto, Rotman Commerce Program, I bring nuance, in-depth knowledge, and a unique perspective to every topic that I cover. When I'm not writing, I'm traveling the world, exploring hidden confectionaries and restaurants as an aspiring food connoisseur.
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