According to Pixalate’s research into “abandoned” apps, United States-registered app “Draw In™” was on the top of Pixalate’s Global Likely Abandoned Apps List on Apple App Store, while Korea-registered “GUNSHIP BATTLE: Helicopter 3D” was No. 1 on the list for Google Play Store

LONDON, March 19, 2026 -- Pixalate, the leading global platform for ad fraud protection, privacy, and compliance analytics, today released the February 2026 Top 100 Abandoned Mobile Apps with Ads Reports, analyzing apps that have been “abandoned” globally across the Google Play Store and Apple App Store.

An app is considered abandoned by Pixalate if it has not been updated in at least three years. Abandoned apps may pose privacy risks for both children and consumers, as updates to apps could incorporate not only bug fixes but also changes to data collection practices, consumer opt-in requirements, and privacy policies.

Top 5 Global Abandoned Apps with Ads - Apple App Store - February 2026

Top 5 Global Abandoned Apps with Ads - Google Play Store - February 2026

To compile the research, Pixalate's data science team analyzed over 4.2 million mobile apps in the Google Play Store and Apple App Store in February 2026. Pixalate’s report analyzes profile information on abandoned apps, including developer country of origin, app store category, and child-directedness under the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) (as determined by Pixalate).

Explore the top 100 abandoned apps

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 Abandoned Mobile Apps Report (the "Report"), reflects 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 in the time period studied. Per the Media Rating Council (MRC), “‘Invalid Traffic’ is defined generally as traffic that does not meet certain ad serving quality or completeness criteria, or otherwise does not represent legitimate ad traffic that should be included in measurement counts. Among the reasons why ad traffic may be deemed invalid is it is a result of non-human traffic (spiders, bots, etc.), or activity designed to produce fraudulent traffic.” Where the traffic characteristics are suggestive of deliberate intent to mislead, such IVT is often referred to as “ad fraud.” Also per the MRC, “'Fraud' is not intended to represent fraud as defined in various laws, statutes and ordinances or as conventionally used in U.S. Court or other legal proceedings, but rather a custom definition strictly for advertising measurement purposes.”