Pixalate Releases May 2026 Global Abandoned Mobile Apps Report: “Draw In™” at the top on Apple App Store, “GUNSHIP BATTLE: Helicopter 3D” tops Google Play Store

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, June 22, 2026 -- Pixalate, an ad fraud and privacy compliance platform, today released the May 2026 Abandoned Mobile Apps with Ads Report, 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 - May 2026

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

To compile the research, Pixalate's data science team analyzed over 14 million mobile apps in the Google Play Store and Apple App Store in May 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 25 abandoned apps on Google Play Store and Apple App Store each here:

About Pixalate

Pixalate is a global platform for privacy compliance, ad fraud prevention, and data intelligence in the digital ad supply chain. Founded in 2012, Pixalate’s platform 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 MRC-accredited for the detection and filtration of Sophisticated Invalid Traffic (SIVT). www.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.”