Pixalate’s May 2023 Invalid Traffic Overlap Report for Google Mobile Apps Reveals Botnet-like Behavior: Peacock TV Mobile App Shares >50% IVT Traffic with discovery+, Pluto TV, and Philo

Xumo, Haystack, CBS News among top Android Apps affected, in May 2023

LONDON, July 3, 2023 -- Pixalate, the market-leading fraud protection, privacy, and compliance analytics platform for Connected TV (CTV) and Mobile Advertising, today released the IVT Overlap Report for Google Mobile Apps May 2023. The report reveals which Google Android mobile apps share elevated levels of invalid traffic (IVT).

Pixalate’s monthly analysis of suspicious traffic patterns between mobile devices and apps provides advertising buyers and sellers the data necessary to combat potential ad fraud. Traffic overlap is one signal for potential botnets - which do exist in the mobile app ecosystem. 

To learn more about our IVT Overlap analysis and the methodology used to create these top impacted apps charts, please visit our inaugural IVT Overlap Report blog post.

Key findings:

• Xumo Play, Haystack News, and CBS News among Google Play Store apps apparently targeted, with over 50% shared IVT traffic
• 프로야구 LIVE - KBO 완전정복 필수 앱 shows strong overlap up with 50% with ScoreCenter Live : All sports, 타임캐시 - 돈버는 어플 and 메모G_사진 메모, 비밀 노트, 할일 정리
• Popular apps like Tubi, Pluto TV, and Plex were found to be associated with the apps with the most overlap on the Google Play store indicating that these apps may also be targeted

Top Mobile Apps with Overlapping Invalid Traffic in May 2023

Here’s how to read the table:

• The apps on the left are the targeted apps
• The “Associated apps” column shows apps that the IVT-generating devices also visited
• The “Overlap % range” column shows what percentage of the targeted apps’ IVT was shared with each respective associated app

Android Apps

Download the full list of Google Android mobile apps with most IVT overlap in May 2023:

About Pixalate

Pixalate is the market-leading fraud protection, privacy, and compliance analytics platform for Connected TV (CTV) and Mobile Advertising. We work 24/7 to guard your reputation and grow your media value. Pixalate offers the only system of coordinated solutions across display, app, video, and CTV for better detection and elimination of ad fraud. Pixalate is an MRC-accredited service for the detection and filtration of sophisticated invalid traffic (SIVT) across desktop and mobile web, mobile in-app, and CTV advertising. www.pixalate.com

Disclaimer

The content of this press release, and the Mobile Invalid Traffic Overlap Report May 2023 (the "Report"), reflect Pixalate's opinions with respect to factors that Pixalate believes can be useful to the digital media industry. Pixalate’s opinions are just that, opinions, which means that they are neither facts nor guarantees. Pixalate is sharing this data not to impugn the standing or reputation of any entity, person or app, but, instead, to report findings and trends pertaining to programmatic advertising activity across mobile apps in the time period studied.