The Infocomm Media Development Authority said on 24 October that its first audit of designated app stores under the Online Safety Act tested more than 7,000 apps, removed 65 harmful listings and flagged 24 for wrong age ratings after a review window from April 2025 through December 2025.
What the audit covered
Regulators examined storefronts operated by Apple, Google, Huawei, Microsoft and Samsung, focusing on sexual content, violence, vice material and apps that digitally undress subjects without consent. Breakdowns published with the release cited 59 sexual apps, four violent titles and two vice-related listings among those pulled.
Wrong-age ratings were a separate bucket: two dozen apps marketed to children while containing adult interactions or nudification features. IMDA ordered stores to remount age gates and refund policies where minors could download risky tools.
How OSAR works
The Online Safety App Store Regime requires designated operators to run Singapore-specific compliance checks, including rapid removal when IMDA issues directions. Stores must submit periodic attestations on moderation staffing and escalation paths, not just rely on global default rules.
Developers whose apps were delisted can appeal with technical evidence, but IMDA said appeals will not stay removal when child-safety risks are immediate.
User and parent actions
Parents should verify family-sharing settings after the audit because some delisted apps may still sit on devices until manually deleted. Schools distributing tablets are advised to rerun allowed-app lists before term assessments.
IMDA will publish aggregate metrics twice yearly so policymakers can see whether harmful listings reappear under new names. Stores that miss deadlines face financial penalties under the Act.
Next audit cycle
The authority said 2026 reviews will expand to emerging mini-app platforms embedded inside super-apps. For now, the October release shows 65 harmful apps removed from five major stores after the first full OSAR testing pass.
Breakdown and appeals
IMDA’s published tally—59 sexual apps, four violent titles, two vice-related listings, plus 24 wrong age ratings—gives developers a sense of which categories drew the hardest enforcement. Stores must notify users who downloaded removed apps and provide refunds where paid content was involved.
Apple and Google representatives at a media briefing said they assigned Singapore-based reviewers to handle IMDA directions within 24 hours, while smaller storefronts leaned on regional hubs in Shenzhen and Dublin. Microsoft and Samsung pledged to mirror age-rating metadata on Windows and Galaxy stores so parents do not face conflicting labels across devices.
The audit window from April 2025 through December 2025 means some removals landed before the October announcement but were counted in the first OSAR scorecard. IMDA said it will publish store-by-store compliance grades in 2026 so users can compare how quickly each operator acted on takedown orders.
Developers of education apps welcomed the wrong-rating crackdown, arguing that miscategorised games polluted search results for school-approved downloads.