Pixalate research finds 19.6k (24%) apps delisted from the Google Play Store and 1.9k (8%) from the Apple App Store had open programmatic advertising enabled (e.g., an app-ads.txt file)
London, Feb. 20, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Pixalate, the global market-leading ad fraud protection, privacy, and compliance analytics platform, today released the January 2025 Delisted Mobile Apps Report – Apple App Store and Google Play Store. The reports analyze apps that were found to be delisted in January, including those enabled for open programmatic advertising.
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 indicate who the initiator of the delisting action was, i.e., Apple, Google, or the app developer.
While some apps are delisted for benign reasons, others are removed due to 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 various reasons, Pixalate neither asserts nor assigns a reason for any delisting action. Additionally, it is generally not publicly available information as to who the initiator of the delisting is, so it is often not possible to know whether the app store or the developer triggered the removal.
Pixalate’s research focuses on app profile information. It 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: Delisted Mobile Apps (January 2025)
Google Play Store
- Delisted apps: 82k apps delisted in January 2025, up 22% from December 2024
- 20k apps delisted had open programmatic advertising (i.e., an app-ads.txt file) enabled in January 2025, 24% of all apps delisted
- Country of origin: United States-registered apps had the highest number of delistings (3,107) in the Google Play Store, followed by India (1,895) in January 2025
- 81% of apps delisted from the Google Play Store in January 2025 had no listed country of registration
- Of apps that did have a country of registration, 6,403 were registered in Asia-Pacific (APAC), which is the highest among global regions, 5,344 in EMEA, 3,337 in North America, and 698 in LATAM, according to Pixalate
Google Play Store: Top 5 Delisted Apps in January 2025 (by downloads)
| Rank | App ID | App Title | Estimated Downloads | Developer Name |
| 1 | com.racergame.cityracing3d | City Racing 3D | 50M | 3DGames |
| 2 | com.music.ops.retroappdownload2 | Download Music Mp3 | 50M | Bayzid Hossain Shaded |
| 3 | com.racergame.cityracinglite.free | City Racing Lite | 10M | 3DGames |
| 4 | com.banaa.videoimagesmo | File Recovery: Photo Restore | 10M | devfatii |
| 5 | com.captha.didymoi | HiTV – HD Drama, Film, TV Show | 10M | Super drama world |
Apple App Store
- Delisted apps: 24k apps delisted in January 2025, down 93% from December 2024
- 1.9k apps delisted had open programmatic advertising (i.e., an app-ads.txt file) enabled in January 2025, 8% of all apps delisted
- 2,7115 apps with app-ads.txt were removed in December 2024
- Country of origin: United States-registered apps had the highest number of delistings (788) in the Google Play Store, followed by India (242) and Republic of Korea (232) in January 2025
- 89% of apps delisted from the Google Play Store in January 2025 had no listed country of registration
- Of apps that did have a country of registration, 895 were registered in APAC, which is the highest among global regions, 849 in North America, 765 in North America, and 81 in LATAM, according to Pixalate
Apple App Store: Top 5 Delisted Apps in January 2025 (by downloads)
| Rank | App ID | App Title | Estimated User Ratings | Developer Name |
| 1 | 502808508 | АЗС «Газпромнефть» | 221K | Gazpromneft – Tsentr OOO |
| 2 | 1524938546 | Anime High School Girl Life 3D | 88K | Muhammad Ifran |
| 3 | 1546690167 | VPN Bucks – Best VPN Master | 88K | GAO TECH LIMITED |
| 4 | 6470341665 | HlTV – video & drama | 56K | 国华 张 |
| 5 | 1396718502 | Shadow Ninja Assassin Game | 44K | Muhammad Ifran |
To compile this research, Pixalate’s data science and analyst team analyzed more than 1.9M apps delisted from the Apple App Store between January 2021 and January 2025.
Download the complete reports here:
The reports include 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
