Pixalate’s Q2 2024 Delisted Mobile Apps Report – Apple App Store and Google Play Store: 1.1M Google Play Store Apps Removed, Representing 34% of All Apps

Pixalate’s data science team found that 74% of Google Play Store delisted apps in Q2 2024 were “abandoned” (not updated in over two years), compared to 25% in Q2 2023

London, Aug. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) —  Pixalate, the market-leading fraud protection, privacy, and compliance analytics platform for Connected TV (CTV) and Mobile Advertising, today released the Q2 2024 Delisted Mobile Apps Report – Apple App Store and Google Play Store, analyzing Q2 2024 delisted apps.

The report identifies applications that are no longer available for download from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. Delisted apps do not reflect the initiator of the delisting action, i.e., Apple or Google, or the app developer. While some apps are delisted for benign reasons, others are removed as a result of more nefarious behaviors, including ad fraud, and non-compliance with privacy regulations or app store policies, which may cause advertisers to be exposed to potential financial or legal risk as well. Because apps can be delisted for a variety of reasons, Pixalate is neither asserting nor assigning a reason for any delisting action. Additionally, the initiator of the delisting is not generally publicly-available information, so it is often not possible to know whether the removal was triggered by the app store or the developer.

Pixalate’s delisted apps research focuses on profile information and various insights observed in the programmatic advertising bid stream, such as the developer’s country of registry, the level of app abandonment, and delisted apps with advertising (an app-ads.txt file).

Key Findings:

Google Play Store:

• 1.1 million apps delisted, equating to 34% delisting rate compared to a historical average of 8%
• 74% of delisted apps were abandoned (not updated in over two years) in Q2 2024, compared to 25% in Q2 2023
• 39% of delisted apps were not updated in the last four years in Q2 2024, compared to 6% in Q2 2023

Apple App Store:

• 57k apps were delisted, equating to 3% of apps being delisted compared to an average delisting rate of 8.2% in previous quarters
• 46% of delisted apps were abandoned (not updated in over two years) in Q2 2024, similar to Q2 2023
• 15% of delisted apps were not updated in the last four years in Q2 2024

Top 10 Apps Delisted From Apple App Store in Q2 2024, as measured by Pixalate:

Here are the top 10 delisted mobile apps in the Apple App Store by number of estimated user ratings:

1. Food Network Kitchen
2. ディズニー ツムツムランド
3. Gas
4. 画像検索と画像加工 – 「プリ画像」byGMO
5. Ultimate Disc 3D
6. DriverKing – Get the Crown
7. ミニ四駆 超速グランプリ
8. WOW Pixel – Live Wallpapers
9. Mighty DOOM
10. Disney Sorcerer’s Arena

Top 10 Apps Delisted From Google Play Store in Q2 2024, as measured by Pixalate:

Here are the top 10 delisted mobile apps in the Google Play Store by number of downloads:

1. Resso Music – Songs & Lyrics – 100+ Million Downloads
2. XOS Launcher -Cool Stylish – 100+ Million Downloads
3. Real Football – 100+ Million Downloads
4. Noizz: video editor with music – 100+ Million Downloads
5. HiOS Launcher – Fast – 100+ Million Downloads
6. Craft World – Master Block 3D – 100+ Million Downloads
7. Block Crazy Robo World – 100+ Million Downloads
8. Karaoke – Sing Unlimited Songs – 50+ Million Downloads
9. Download Manager for Android – 50+ Million Downloads
10. Biugo-video maker&video editor – 50+ Million Downloads

Download the full reports

Download and explore a complimentary copy of the Q2 2024 Delisted Mobile Apps Report – Apple App Store and Google Play Store, which includes a list of the top 100 delisted apps by store with programmatic advertising (based on the presence of an app-ads.txt file).

About Pixalate

Pixalate is a global platform specializing in privacy compliance, ad fraud prevention, and digital ad supply chain data intelligence. Founded in 2012, Pixalate is trusted by regulators, data researchers, advertisers, publishers, ad tech platforms, and financial analysts across the Connected TV (CTV), mobile app, and website ecosystems. Pixalate is accredited by the MRC for the detection and filtration of Sophisticated Invalid Traffic (SIVT). 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.

CONTACT: Nina Talcott
ntalcott@pixalate.com