Latest news with #adfraud
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Pixalate's May 2025 Delisted Mobile Apps Reports: 49,613 Apps Delisted from Google Play Store & 39,131 from Apple App Store
Pixalate research finds 14,602 apps delisted from the United States (U.S.) Google Play Store were ad-enabled (e.g. have an file), while 3,348 apps delisted from the Apple App Store were ad-enabled London, June 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pixalate, the leading global platform for ad fraud protection, privacy, and compliance analytics, today released the May 2025 Delisted Mobile Apps Reports for the United States (U.S.) Apple App Store and Google Play Store. The reports analyze apps delisted in May, including those enabled for programmatic advertising. The reports include a list of the top delisted apps by app store, enabled for programmatic advertising (based on the presence of an file). The report identifies applications that are no longer available for download from the U.S. Apple App Store and Google Play Store, according to Pixalate's data. Delisted apps do not indicate who initiated the delisting action, 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 expose advertisers 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 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 (as indicated by an file).Key Findings: Delisted Mobile Apps (May 2025)Google Play Store Delisted apps: 49,613 apps delisted in May 2025, representing a 19% decrease from April 2025 14,602 apps delisted were enabled for programmatic advertising (i.e., had declared an file) in May 2025 Country of origin: United States-registered apps had the highest number of delistings (1,882) in the Google Play Store, followed by South Korea (929) in May 2025 Among the apps that provided a country of registration, 3,842 were registered in Asia-Pacific (APAC), which is the highest among global regions, followed by 2,812 in EMEA, 2,062 in North America, and 735 in LATAM, according to PixalateGoogle Play Store: Top 5 Delisted Apps in May 2025 (by downloads) Rank App ID App Title Estimated Downloads Developer Name 1 Qblock: Wood Block Puzzle Game 100M Oakever Games 2 PAC-MAN 100M Bandai Namco Entertainment America Inc. 3 mAst: Music Status Video Maker 100M mAst App 4 Control Center Simple 50M TD Application 5 Kpop Music Game - Dream Tiles 50M Dream Tiles Piano Game Studio Apple App Store Delisted apps: 39,131 apps delisted in May 2025, down 11% from April 2025 3,348 apps delisted were enabled for programmatic advertising in May 2025 Country of origin: United States-registered apps had the highest number of delistings (1,389) in the Apple App Store, followed by China (494) and South Korea (360) in May 2025 Among the apps that provided a country of registration, 1,755 were registered in APAC, which is the highest among global regions, followed by 1,502 in North America, 1,272 in EMEA, and 166 in LATAM, according to PixalateApple App Store: Top 5 Delisted Apps in May 2025 (by downloads) Rank App ID App Title Estimated User Ratings Developer Name 1 1668632772 爸爸的面馆-记忆中的小店 148.7K Guangzhou Yoqu Technology Co., Ltd 2 1417033792 BoxFresh 匿名質問アプリ - ボックスフレッシュ 67.1K App-CM Inc. 3 1393913947 Miles - Travel, Shop, Get Cash 66.0K ConnectIQ Labs Inc 4 417281773 Авито: бронирование отелей 37.8K LLC DOUBLETAPP 5 1578231174 グランサガ (Gran Saga) 33.7K Npixel Co., Ltd. To compile this research, Pixalate's data science and analyst team analyzed over 2 million apps delisted from the United States Apple App Store and over 5.6 million apps delisted from the United States Google Play Store between January 2021 and May 2025. Download the complete reports here: Google Play Store Apple App Store About PixalatePixalate 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). The content of this press release, and the May 2025 US Google Play Store & US Apple App Store Delisted Mobile Apps Reports (the 'Reports'), 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@
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Pixalate's April 2025 Top Grossing Mobile Apps in APAC: ‘ToonBlast' Ranked No. 1 on Google Play Store in Japan; ‘OLX' Led on Apple App Store in India; ‘Spider Fighter 3' Ranked No. 1 on Apple App Store Australia
According to Pixalate's research, 'Weather Zone' ($74K) ranked at the top on Google Play Store in Australia; 'Craftsman: Building Craft' ($12K) was No. 1 on Google Play Store in China London, June 16, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pixalate, the leading global platform for ad fraud protection, privacy, and compliance analytics, today released the May 2025 APAC Top Grossing Mobile Apps Reports for China, Japan, Singapore, India, and Australia. The reports cover mobile apps on the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store. The reports highlight the estimated top-grossing apps in open programmatic advertising revenue for mobile apps. In addition to the reports for China, Japan, Singapore, India and Australia, Pixalate released Top Grossing Mobile & Connected TV (CTV) Apps reports for the United States (U.S.), Canada, the United Kingdom (UK), Spain, France, Germany, Israel, Ukraine, Netherlands, Mexico, and Brazil. Top Grossing Mobile Apps in May 2025 - APAC China Mobile: '沙威玛传奇 - 中国版' was the top grossing app ($30K in estimated open programmatic ad revenue) on the Apple App Store, and 'Craftsman: Building Craft' was No. 1 ($12K) on the Google Play Store Japan Mobile: 'トリマ-移動・歩数がポイントに！お小遣い稼ぎの歩数計アプリ' ($864K) led on Apple App Store, and 'ToonBlast' ($395K) was No. 1 on Google Play Store Singapore Mobile: 'imo-International Calls and Chat' ($78K) was at the top on the Google Play Store, and ' ($42K) led on the Apple App Store India Mobile: 'OLX' ($177K) led on the Apple App Store, and 'TeraBox' ($590K)) was No. 1 on the Google Play Store Australia Mobile: 'Spider Fighter 3: Action Game' led on the Google Play Store ($107K) and 'Weather Zone' ($74K) was No. 1 on the Apple App Store In May 2025, Pixalate's data science team analyzed over 27 billion global open programmatic impressions from over 6 million Apple App Store and Google Play Store apps. For this research, Pixalate also examined over 6,000 CTV apps and 2 billion global ad impressions across various platforms, including Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Roku, and Samsung Smart TV. Download the Global Top Grossing Mobile & CTV Apps Reports: Mobile U.S. Canada Mexico Brazil China Japan Singapore India Australia United Kingdom Spain France Germany Israel Ukraine Netherlands CTV United States Canada Mexico 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). content of this press release, and the May 2025 APAC Top Grossing Mobile Apps (the 'Reports'), reflect Pixalate's opinions with respect to factors that Pixalate believes can 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@ in to access your portfolio
Entrepreneur
06-06-2025
- Business
- Entrepreneur
UAE Tech Firm Launches Country's First Ad Exchange Platform To Combat Ad Fraud
The platform was developed under the country's innovative NextGenFDI initiative that helps connect local companies with verified advertisers and publishers. Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. You're reading Entrepreneur Asia Pacific, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media. VeraViews, a United Arab Emirates-based adtech firm developing ad-fraud detection solutions has announced the country's first home-grown Ad Exchange and Supply-Side Platform (SSP), according to a recent media report. The platform was developed under the country's innovative NextGenFDI initiative that helps connect local companies with verified advertisers and publishers. The announcement further introduces the UAE's biggest media outlet Khaleej Times as its the first official publisher. The futuristic move aims to ensure the ad experience remains free from malicious actors, and enforces the rigorous Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and digital crime prevention regimes put in place by the Emirati government. According to one article from Forbes, global ad fraud is projected to reach a massive $172 billion. The solution by VeraViews aims to cut out intermediaries and minimize invalid traffic (IVT) to help boost the UAE's profile as a top ad destination. Employing blockchain technology to help combat fraud is a natural use case of the distributed ledger approach. After capturing the UAE market, its next aim is to target the global advertising sector. The project is being launched under the umbrella of the country's ambitious Digital Economy Strategy 31, a wide-ranging initiative to boost the country's digital economy footprint through investments in blockchain technology, AI, and IoT infrastructure. Khaleej Times and VeraViews The renowned Gulf media Khaleej Times is the first official verified publishing partner on the new VeraViews platform. It offers fully certified, fraud-free ad placements for companies of all backgrounds. The media house offers a locally built, completely transparent programmatic ad inventory and is proud to be an exclusive partner of the anti-fraudulent ad initiative. "By launching the UAE's first home-grown, fraud-proof Ad Exchange, (the firm) speaks to our mandate for trust, transparency, and advanced data governance," stated Dr Thani Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade, UAE government. The CEO of Khaleej Times Charles Yardley welcomed the improved ad experience of the media house and further commented that "Khaleej Times is proud to light the way for the UAE's next-gen digital economy. Onboarding to the VeraViews Ad Exchange means our inventory is not just premium — it will be 100 per certified and fraud-free, with a significant increase in demand. Advertisers gain instant, accountable access to loyal Gulf audiences, while we advance the nation's drive for transparent, tech-led media." Olena Buyan, the Chief Product Officer at VeraViews detailed the strategic nature of the verified ad economy and taking KT onboard: "Khaleej Times onboarding as the first premium publisher partner signals — both to the market and to Centennial 2071 ambitions — that the UAE intends to lead, not follow, in creating a trust-first advertising ecosystem." Massive Advantage for Legitimate Businesses At the fundamental level, VeraViews' SSP platform is a digital marketplace for adverts. It helps connect advertisers with available ad space across multiple websites and mobile apps automatically. Local news sites, video platforms, and mobile apps remain the primary destination these days, but through an automated protocol, the publishing experience is streamlined and gives companies complete control over their monetization. Brand integrity is a crucial component of the online ad experience, and the new ad marketplace allows firms to maintain their unique brand identity. The ad platform uses well-tested technologies like AdTrace and Proof of Traffic (PoT) to help detect fraud and incorporate strict Know Your Business (KYB) protocols. It ensures every ad impression is legitimate and every transaction can be traced back to legitimate sources, as every participant within the ecosystem is verified. According to Jean Laurent Vion, the MD of Global Media outlet Mazarine: "The launch of the VeraViews Ad Exchange and SSP marks a pivotal moment for the region's digital advertising ecosystem [...]. We're proud to support this next-generation solution, which aligns perfectly with our commitment to innovation, performance, and integrity in brand storytelling," The launch of the new platform by VeraViews is being treated as a major turning point in the UAE advertisement sector, which is forecasted to be worth $1.7 billion in the current 2025 calendar year. While it is only a fraction of the global advert market, worth reportedly in excess of $1 trillion, the small Middle Eastern country is a global trendsetter and home to a growing blockchain economy. If VeraViews is able to succeed here, it will set a benchmark for other countries and possess the first-mover advantage in the nascent economy.
Phone Arena
09-05-2025
- Phone Arena
These dangerous Android apps are installed 2.5 million times each month
The latest threat to Android phone owners is one that tricks them into installing certain apps that create problems as soon as they are downloaded on their handsets. Dubbed "Kaleidoscope," this is an ad-fraud attack with legitimate apps available in the Google Play Store. There are malicious counterparts to these apps found in third-party app stores, which contribute the fraudulent ads. IAS Threat Labs has given this attack the Kaleidoscope name because it is always changing to avoid detection. According to the data, 2.5 million new devices are compromised each month, with 20% of these found in India. Other areas where Kaleidoscope has been discovered include Indonesia, the Philippines, and Brazil. Driving the expansion of this threat are the installation of malicious apps via third-party app store fronts. Examples of the intrusive ads that appear on Android phones that have installed the malicious apps. | Image credit-IAS Kaleidoscope works like this. An Android user installs an app from the Play Store that looks and even runs like a legitimate app. A malicious duplicate of the app is listed in a third-party app store; messages and social media direct users to install the malicious version of these apps via the third-party app stores and direct installs. The Android device owner thinks that he has installed a legitimate app, and advertisers believe that their ads are being viewed on legit apps. If you have any of these apps on your Android phone, delete them immediately. | Image credit-Forbes Instead, once the malicious version of the app is installed on a phone, it shows intrusive ads, including full-screen images and videos that do not require any interaction from the user to run. You can see how annoying this could be to the unlucky device owners who end up with a phone that is making big bucks for cyber-criminals and prevents users from viewing their displays. Flagged titles have been removed from the Play Store by Google, and the latter adds that it will protect Android users from known versions of Kaleidoscope. The ad resellers involved in this scheme are said not to be very diligent in vetting the quality of the ad inventory they are delivering to advertisers. Usually, this type of malicious adware will cause a phone to overheat, drain the batteries quickly, and lead the device to run slowly with laggy performance. An incredible 2.5 million new installs of Kaleidoscope-infected apps take place each month making this a very serious and dangerous situation for Android users.
Forbes
09-05-2025
- Forbes
Delete Any Apps On Your Phone That Are On This List
You have been warned — get deleting. A serious threat to Android users has been revealed today, with as many as 2.5 million dangerous apps being installed each and every month. The apps have a nasty trick that fools users into the initial download, and once on a phone the damage is done. There's a new list of apps to delete, but there's also a simple warning that will help keep you safe. The new report comes courtesy of Integral Ad Science (IAS), the same team that warned of the 'Vapor' attacks on Android phones in March this year. This new threat is dubbed 'Kaleidoscope — due to its constant transformations as it tries to evade detection and analysis." The name has changed but the threat is broadly the same. The cyber criminals behind this latest ad fraud machine plant benign apps on Google's Play Store that contain none of their malicious code. They then distribute malicious replicas of those apps through third-party app stores and direct installs. Users are directed to those duplicates via messaging and social media channels. To a user it seems that they're downloading a legitimate app through an ad or promotion. And to an advertiser, it seems their ad impressions are coming from legitimate apps. The attackers' payday comes via those advertisers who have no idea their ads are being pushed out at an industrial scale to infected phones, where they disrupt the normal use of the phone to generate impressions which turn to cash. "The malicious app delivers intrusive out-of-context ads under the guise of the benign app ID in the form of full-screen interstitial images and videos, triggered even without user interaction.' The SDK driving this malicious behavior has been updated and has now even been retrospectively added into apps that were previously caught doing the same. They now have a differently named SDK at their core. The infected apps are on this list. This type of threat is well established. A year ago, I reported on the 'evil twin' attacks flagged by Human Security, which warned that the 'Konfety' ad fraud operation had deployed as many as 250 decoy apps on Play Store. Those legitimate and malicious apps shared a common 'CaramelSDK' reference which aided detection and mitigation. Those references have been removed, albeit the original threat itself has not gone away. IAS says it 'analyzed both earlier and newer versions of benign and malicious variants associated with this scheme, examining previously known apps as well as newly discovered ones involved in this evolving threat.' Google has removed flagged apps from Play Store and assures Play Protect will safeguard users from known versions of the threat. But this is a sideloading problem and an industry problem. 'The entities behind Kaleidoscope have successfully identified a network of resellers who are not particularly diligent in vetting the quality of the inventory they deliver to advertisers, enabling them to effectively launder their traffic.' Advice on staying safe is simple. If you're in the habit of sideloading, then scan the list of infected apps and delete any you recognize. Then take care on how many such third-party or direct installs you allow onto your phone. "The 'Kaleidoscope' threat represents a sophisticated evolution in ad fraud tactics," IAS says, 'where threat actors continually adapt to evade detection and extend the scheme's reach. By rebranding their SDKs, shifting command-and-control infrastructure, and embedding malicious capabilities into benign-appearing applications, these threat actors demonstrate a relentless focus on circumventing defenses.'
