The return type any should be avoided because it prevents the type safety checks normally done by the compiler. When a function returns a primitive type (i.e. number, string or boolean) it is safe to replace any with number, string or boolean type respectively, or remove the return type completely and let compiler infer it.

Noncompliant Code Example

function foo() : any { // Noncompliant
  return 1;
}

Compliant Solution

function foo() {
  return 1;
}
// or
function foo(): number {
  return 1;
}