Research reveals nearly 68,000 ad-supported apps removed from app stores in Q2 2023; 11.9k delisted mobile apps are still sharing geolocation data with advertisers
LONDON, October 12, 2023 -- Pixalate, the market-leading fraud protection, privacy, and compliance analytics platform for Connected TV (CTV) and Mobile Advertising, today released the Q2 2023 Delisted Mobile Apps Report, analyzing Q2 2023 DEFASED apps (Delisted From the App Store) - apps that are no longer available for download from the Google Play Store and Apple App Store, including apps that have programmatic advertising.
Apps can be delisted from the app stores yet may remain on a user's mobile device, leaving users unaware of potential privacy and security risks. While some apps are delisted for benign reasons, others are removed as a result of more nefarious behaviors or risks to platforms’ corporate liability, including non-compliance with app store policies - such as not having a privacy policy. Advertisers can continue to serve ads on these apps even after they have been delisted, potentially exposing themselves to compliance risks as a result. Pixalate's report analyzes app profile information and various insights observed in the programmatic advertising bid stream, including:
Rovio Entertainment’s “Angry Bird Seasons” - which had over 100 million Google Play Store downloads - was delisted from both the Google Play Store and Apple App Store, as was Zynga’s “Wheel Smash” (over 1 million downloads from the Google Play Store).
Below are the top three delisted developers with the most open programmatic advertising in Q2 2023, as measured by Pixalate.
The full report contains the list of the top 10 delisted developers with the most open programmatic ad traffic, according to Pixalate’s data.
Download the full report
Download a free copy of the report, including a list of the top 200 delisted apps by store with programmatic advertising (based on the presence of an app-ads.txt file), here:
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 Delisted Mobile Apps Report (the "Report"), reflect Pixalate's opinions with respect to factors that Pixalate believes may 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.
