Research into “abandoned apps” (2+ years with no update) finds that 49% of likely child-directed apps from the Apple App Store and 33% in the Google Play Store are abandoned
LONDON, UK December 18, 2023 -- Pixalate, the global market-leading ad fraud protection, privacy, and compliance analytics platform, today released the Q3 2023 Abandoned Mobile Apps Report, analyzing apps from the Google Play Store and Apple App Store that have been “abandoned.” An app is considered abandoned if it has not been updated in at least two years. As of Q3 2023, over two million apps are now abandoned between the Google (1.4+ million) and Apple (565k) app stores - up 14% YoY.
Abandoned apps may pose privacy risks for both children and consumers as updates to apps could incorporate not only bug fixes but also changes to data collection practices, consumer opt-in or age verification practices, and notices of privacy policy updates. In a note to developers regarding app abandonment, Apple emphasized the importance of keeping apps up-to-date to keep pace with “innovations in security and privacy.”
Pixalate’s report analyzes profile information about abandoned apps such as developer country of origin, app store category, and child-directedness under COPPA (as determined by Pixalate). The report also contains insight into the apps’ behaviors in the programmatic advertising bid stream, such as transmission of personal information, location data, and estimated ad spend.
The full abandoned apps report includes:
Download a free copy of the report today 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 Abandoned Mobile Apps Report: Q1 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.
