Apple Purges Mobile App Store: Pixalate’s December 2024 Delisted Mobile Apps Report Finds 400K+ Apps Delisted Across Apple (336.5K) & Google (64K) App Stores
Pixalate research finds 2.6 million apps were delisted from the Google Play Store (2.1 million) and Apple App Store (500k) in 2024
/EIN News/ -- London, Jan. 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pixalate, a leading global platform for ad fraud protection, privacy, and compliance analytics, today released the December 2024 Delisted Mobile Apps Report - Apple App Store and Google Play Store, analyzing apps that were found to be delisted in December 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, 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, the initiator of the delisting is not generally publicly available information, 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 (December 2024)
Google Play Store
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Millions of Apps Delisted: 2.1M total delisted in 2024
- 63,803 apps delisted in December 2024
- 383,102 apps delisted had open programmatic advertising in 2024 (i.e., an app-ads.txt file)
- 13,051 apps with app-ads.txt were removed in December 2024
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Ghost Apps: 81% of apps delisted from the Google Play Store in December 2024 had no listed country of registration
- 3.2k+ delisted apps were registered in North America
- 4.6k apps delisted in December 2024 were registered in Asia-Pacific (APAC), the most among global regions
- United States-registered apps had the highest number of delistings in the Google Play Store (3k+), followed by India (1.3k)
Apple App Store
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Apple App Store Exodus: 336.5k apps delisted in December 2024, representing 68% of all apps delisted in 2024
- Q4 2024 saw the most apps delisted from the Apple App Store (337k) since Q2 2022 (439k)
- 40k apps delisted had open programmatic advertising in 2024 (app-ads.txt)
- 27k apps with apps-ads.txt were removed in December 2024
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Ghost Apps: 89% of apps delisted from the Apple App Store in December 2024 had no listed country of registration
- 12.6k apps delisted in December 2024 were registered in North America (NA), the most among global regions
- United States-registered apps had the highest number of delistings in the Apple App Store Store (11.4k+), followed by China with (4.4k)
Top 10 Apps Delisted From Apple App Store in December 2024, as measured by Pixalate
| Rank | App ID | App Title | Estimated User Ratings | Developer Name |
| 1 | 339532909 | REDBOX: Rent, Stream & Buy | 531K | redbox |
| 2 | 356336433 | 5-0 Radio Police Scanner | 425K | Smartest Apps LLC |
| 3 | 1661087323 | 飞机大厨：空中烹饪 | 384K | Nordcurrent UAB |
| 4 | 497595276 | The Simpsons™: Tapped Out | 189K | Electronic Arts Inc. |
| 5 | 1403455040 | Hello Stars | 184K | SamShui Corporation |
| 6 | 589625334 | Yummly Recipes & Meal Planning | 149K | Yummly, Inc |
| 7 | 1582575774 | Beat Duel - Music Battle | 142K | Dalian Jingmao Electronic Technology Co.,Ltd. |
| 8 | 6450140383 | Talkie: Personalized AI Chats | 124K | SUBSUP PTE. LTD. |
| 9 | 370790558 | Submarino: Compras Online | 111K | americanas s.a. |
| 10 | 1517616712 | Blush Mark: Girls Happy Hour | 111K | BLUSH MARK OUTFITTERS INC |
Top 10 Apps Delisted From Google Play Store in December 2024, as measured by Pixalate
| Rank | App ID | App Title | Estimated Downloads | Developer Name |
| 1 | com.gameloft.android.ANMP.GloftAGHM | Asphalt Nitro | 100M | Gameloft SE |
| 2 | com.gameloft.android.ANMP.GloftA3HM | Brothers in Arms™ 3 | 50M | Gameloft SE |
| 3 | com.budgestudios.StrawberryShortcakeSweetShop | Strawberry Shortcake Sweets | 50M | Budge Studios |
| 4 | com.flashalert2017.version1 | Flashlight: Led Torch Light | 50M | JP Software Studio |
| 5 | com.feelingtouch.gnz.realistic | Zombie World War | 10M | FT Games |
| 6 | com.chaozhuo.gameassistant | Octopus - Gamepad, Keymapper | 10M | Octopus Gaming Studio |
| 7 | com.dianyun.chikii | Chikii-Play PC Games | 10M | Chikii Cloud Game |
| 8 | com.ea.gp.easportsufc2 | EA SPORTS™ UFC® Mobile 2 | 10M | ELECTRONIC ARTS |
| 9 | com.budgestudios.ludorum.chuggington | Chuggington: Kids Train Game | 10M | Budge Studios |
| 10 | com.budgestudios.googleplay.StrawberryShortcakeIceCreamIsland | Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream | 10M | Budge Studios |
To compile this research, Pixalate's data science team examined over 7.2 million delisted apps from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store between January 2021 and December 2024.
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.
Nina Talcott
ntalcott@pixalate.com
Distribution channels: Business & Economy, Media, Advertising & PR ...
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