Pixalate’s September 2024 Delisted Mobile Apps Report: Over 120K Apps Delisted From Apple App Store & Google Play Store

Pixalate’s data science team analyzed over 1.8 billion apps found to be delisted from the Google Play Store and Apple App Store from January through September 2024 to compile this research

London, Oct. 22, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) —  Pixalate, the market-leading fraud protection, privacy, and compliance analytics platform for Connected TV (CTV) and Mobile Advertising, today released the September 2024 Delisted Mobile Apps Report – Apple App Store and Google Play Store, analyzing apps that were found to be delisted in September 2024.

The report identifies applications that are no longer downloadable from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, according to Pixalate’s data. 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 risks. 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 research focuses on app profile information and provides various insights observed in the programmatic advertising bid stream, such as the developer’s country of registry, the level of app abandonment, and the number of delisted apps with advertising (an app-ads.txt file).

Key Findings:

Google Play Store:

• 102.3+ apps found to be delisted in September 2024
  • 26.9k+ of apps that were delisted had open programmatic advertising (app-ads.txt)
• 65% of delisted apps had no listed country of registration
  • 4.3k+ delisted apps were registered in North America
  • 10.5k+ delisted apps were registered in Asia-Pacific (APAC)
• The United States (U.S.) had the highest number of delistings in Google Play Store, (4k+), followed by India with 3k.

Apple App Store:

• 620 apps found to be delisted in September 2024
  • 13k+ of apps that were delisted had open programmatic advertising (app-ads.txt)
• 97% of the delisted apps had no listed country of registration in the Apple App Store
• The United States (U.S.) and China had the highest number of delistings in the Apple App Store, followed by France and the United Kingdom (U.K).

Top 10 Apps Delisted From Apple App Store in September 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. ABC: TV Shows & Live Sports – 273k Downloads
2. Brainy Solitaire – Card Game – 10k Downloads
3. Gem Mine Connect – 8k Downloads
4. PIA VPN – 1k Downloads
5. Coin Rush Master – Win Prizes – 1k Downloads
6. DRAGON BALL PROJECT:Multi – <1k Downloads
7. Files App – <1k Downloads
8. Secret Diary Journal with Lock – <1k Downloads
9. Movie8 – Movie Tracking Box – <1k Downloads
10. Grau é Arte – <1k Downloads

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

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

1. Авито: квартиры, авто, работа – 100 Million Downloads
2. HBO Max: Stream TV & Movies – 100 Million Downloads
3. Moto Photo Editor – 100 Million Downloads
4. Screenshot Editor – 100 Million Downloads
5. Time Zone Data – 100 Million Downloads
6. Moto Tour – 100 Million Downloads
7. PicSay – Photo Editor – 50 Million Downloads
8. Mobile Number Location – Phone – 50 Million Downloads
9. Moto File Manager – 50 Million Downloads
10. Screen Stream Mirroring – 10 Million Downloads

Download the full reports

Download and explore a complimentary copy of the September 2024 Delisted Mobile Apps Report – Apple App Store and Google Play Store, which includes a list of the top 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. Any data shared is grounded in Pixalate’s proprietary technology and analytics, which Pixalate is continuously evaluating and updating. Any references to outside sources should not be construed as endorsements. 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