---
title: Q3 2025 Global Made for Advertising (MFA) Benchmarks Report for Mobile Apps
description: Pixalate's Q3 2025 Global Made for Advertising (MFA) Benchmarks Report for Mobile Apps offers an overview of the state of MFA ad spend in open programmatic advertising.
image: https://www.pixalate.com/hubfs/Made%20for%20Advertising%20(MFA)%20Mobile%20Apps%20Benchmarks%20Report%20-%20Q3%202025%20-%20GLOBAL.png
---

[![pixalate-full-logo](https://www.pixalate.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Pixalate_Logos/pixalate-full-logo.jpg?width=150&height=60&name=pixalate-full-logo.jpg "pixalate-full-logo")](https://www.pixalate.com)

Search

**Menu**

** **

![](https://www.pixalate.com/hubfs/Blog_Media/Blog%20photos/pixalate-blog-bg.png)

[CTV](https://www.pixalate.com/blog/topic/ctv) | [Research Reports](https://www.pixalate.com/blog/topic/research-reports) | [Made for Advertising](https://www.pixalate.com/blog/topic/made-for-advertising) | [Ad Spend](https://www.pixalate.com/blog/topic/ad-spend) | [MFA - Research](https://www.pixalate.com/blog/topic/mfa-research) |

 2 min read

# Pixalate Releases Q3 2025 Global Made for Advertising (MFA) Benchmarks Report for Mobile Apps

 Written by [Pixalate](https://www.pixalate.com/blog/author/pixalate)

 Dec 2, 2025 9:00:00 AM

*According to Pixalate’s research, 10% of global open programmatic web ad spend — approximately $716 million — went to domains identified as Made for Advertising (MFA)*

**LONDON, UK – December 2, 2025** – Pixalate today released its [Q3 2025 Global Made for Advertising (MFA) Mobile Apps Benchmarks Report](https://www.pixalate.com/made-for-advertising-mobile-report).

This report details open programmatic advertising activity and trends for mobile apps identified by Pixalate as likely MFA across the Google Play Store and Apple App Store in Q3 2025 (September).

**Key Findings**

- **MFA App Count:** 1,508 mobile apps were flagged by Pixalate as likely MFA in Q3 2025 (1,105 on Google Play Store; 403 on Apple App Store), an increase of 233 from Q2 2025 (June) to Q3 2025 (September)
- **Anonymous Registration:** 1,155 flagged MFA mobile apps (77%) had an “anonymous” country of registration (859 on Google Play Store; 296 on the Apple App Store)
- **Top Category:** “Games” had the highest volume of MFA-flagged apps, totaling 954 apps (674 on Google Play Store; 280 on the Apple App Store)

**Methodology**

Pixalate’s data science team analyzed 22 billion global open programmatic advertising impressions and 215,000 mobile apps across the Google Play Store and Apple App Store in Q3 2025 (September). The analysis highlights the presence of MFA mobile apps based on specific outlier characteristics, including ad refresh rate, popularity score, and user reviews

 

[![MFA Websites](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/2364596/b8d7d078-f252-4283-9d05-4fa82025a824.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/2364596/b8d7d078-f252-4283-9d05-4fa82025a824)    [![MFA Mobile Apps](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/2364596/1a2376eb-259f-4561-a753-5ad65ea710b0.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/2364596/1a2376eb-259f-4561-a753-5ad65ea710b0)    [![MFA CTV Apps](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/2364596/30c08577-bd28-4b71-91e5-bee81d873992.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/2364596/30c08577-bd28-4b71-91e5-bee81d873992)

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](https://www.pixalate.com/) 

Disclaimer

*The content of this press release, and the Q3 2025 Global Made For Advertising Benchmarks Report for Mobile Apps  (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.”*

### Search Blog

Search

### Follow Pixalate

<https://twitter.com/pixalateinc> <https://www.linkedin.com/company/pixalate> <https://www.facebook.com/pixalate> [**](https://www.pixalate.com/hubfs/Pixalate%20Wechat.png?utm_campaign=Company%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_ZtCSHiG6VOXsk-H9wZxOKVhNZxU_38xbLSOf7jCI9cht_GS6NejKw3dZ_BY3kYiwF7Hc9ZWlilTmIVK5YSB9-baUW2w&_hsmi=336270631&utm_content=336270631&utm_source=hs_email)

### Subscribe to our blog

*By entering your email address and clicking Subscribe, you are agreeing to our [Terms of Use ](https://www.pixalate.com/terms)and [Privacy Policy.](https://www.pixalate.com/privacypolicy)

Previous Story

[← Pixalate’s Q3 2025 CTV Ad Supply Chain Trends Report: Hisense Drives Major Q3 Adoption (+138% QoQ) in North America CTV Market Share; Roku Leads in North America (36% SOV)](https://www.pixalate.com/blog/pixalates-q3-2025-ctv-ad-supply-chain-trends-report)

[** ](https://www.pixalate.com/blog)

Next Story

[Pixalate Releases Top 100 Connected TV (CTV) Bundle ID Rankings For Global Open Programmatic Ad Spend in November 2025; ‘Fawesome’ Bundle ID is No. 1 on Amazon Fire TV →](https://www.pixalate.com/blog/top-100-connected-tv-ctv-bundle-ids-in-november-2025)

## You May Also Like

These Stories on CTV

[![](https://www.pixalate.com/hubfs/Blog%20Media/2026%20Covers%20and%20Images/OpenEPG%20landing%20page%20hero%20image.png) ](https://www.pixalate.com/blog/pixalate-launches-openepg-1.0-analytics-to-bring-linear-tv-grade-measurement-verification-to-open-programmatic-ctv)

[Mobile](https://www.pixalate.com/blog/topic/mobile)

### [Pixalate Launches OpenEPG™ 1.0 Analytics to Bring Linear TV-Grade Measurement & Verification to Open Programmatic CTV; OpenEPG DB™ Unlocks 12,875 Shows From 318 Channels Using Bidstream Bundle ID](https://www.pixalate.com/blog/pixalate-launches-openepg-1.0-analytics-to-bring-linear-tv-grade-measurement-verification-to-open-programmatic-ctv)

 Jun 16, 2026 8:33:30 AM |

 5 min read

[![](https://www.pixalate.com/hubfs/vMVPD%20Apps%20Traffic%20Analysis%20Report%20blog%20cover.png) ](https://www.pixalate.com/blog/pixalate-releases-global-top-20-most-popular-ctv-virtual-multichannel-video-programming-distribution-vmvpd-apps-reports-for-q1-2026)

[Ad Fraud](https://www.pixalate.com/blog/topic/ad-fraud)

### [Global Top 20 Most Popular CTV Virtual Multichannel Video Programming Distribution (vMVPD) Apps Reports for Q1 2026: ‘Hulu’ No. 1 on Apple TV, ‘Tubi’ Leads on Roku, ‘Pluto TV’ leads on Amazon Fire TV](https://www.pixalate.com/blog/pixalate-releases-global-top-20-most-popular-ctv-virtual-multichannel-video-programming-distribution-vmvpd-apps-reports-for-q1-2026)

 Jun 10, 2026 9:00:00 AM |

 3 min read

[![](https://www.pixalate.com/hubfs/Blog%20Media/2026%20Covers%20and%20Images/MONTHLY%20MOST%20COMMON%20CTV%20AD%20FRAUD%20TYPES%20BLOG%20COVER.jpg) ](https://www.pixalate.com/blog/pixalates-may-2026-most-common-programmatic-ad-fraud-types-in-ctv-apps)

[Ad Fraud](https://www.pixalate.com/blog/topic/ad-fraud)

### [Pixalate Releases May 2026 Most Common Programmatic Ad Fraud Types in CTV Apps: ‘Proxy’ Most Common on Samsung Smart TV & LG Smart TV, ‘App Spoofing’ Most Common on Amazon Fire TV & Apple TV](https://www.pixalate.com/blog/pixalates-may-2026-most-common-programmatic-ad-fraud-types-in-ctv-apps)

 Jun 9, 2026 9:00:00 AM |

 3 min read

**

### Subscribe to our blog

*By entering your email address and clicking Subscribe, you are agreeing to our [Terms of Use ](https://www.pixalate.com/terms)and [Privacy Policy.](https://www.pixalate.com/privacypolicy)

![pixalate-logo-red-small](https://www.pixalate.com/hs-fs/hubfs/2018NewTemplate/pixalate-logo-red-small.png?width=208&name=pixalate-logo-red-small.png "pixalate-logo-red-small")

**

 By entering your email address and clicking Subscribe, you are agreeing to our [Terms of Use](https://www.pixalate.com/terms) and [Privacy Policy](https://www.pixalate.com/privacypolicy)

Products

[Analytics](https://www.pixalate.com/products/analytics) [Blocking](https://www.pixalate.com/products/blocking) [Media Rating Terminal](https://www.pixalate.com/products/mrt) [Publisher Trust Indexes](https://www.pixalate.com/rankings/?group=app&reportId=publisherTrustIndex) [Seller Trust Indexes](https://www.pixalate.com/rankings/?group=app&reportId=publisherTrustIndex) [IoT Device Rankings](https://www.pixalate.com/rankings/?group=app&reportId=iotDeviceReach)

Resources

[Blog](https://blog.pixalate.com/) [Press](https://www.pixalate.com/press) [Careers](https://www.pixalate.com/jobs) [Team](https://info.pixalate.com/pixalate-leadership-team)

Contact

Email

[** sales@pixalate.com ](mailto:sales@pixalate.com)

[** privacy@pixalate.com ](mailto:privacy@pixalate.com)

US:

[** +1 888 749 2528 ](tel:+1%20888%20749%202528)

EU:

[** +44 (0)800 011 2050 ](tel:+44%20(0)800%20011%202050)

Slack:

[Join ATSAPI Slack Channel ](https://atsapi-pixalate.slack.com/join/shared_invite/zt-10dtow5cj-OEtlNr5yzJkrZMQUqcEEow#/shared-invite/email)

Offices

Global Offices

US

1775 Greensboro Station Place, Suite 425, McLean, VA 22102

UK

20 North Audley Street   
London, W1K 6WE, United Kingdom

EU

10 Earlsfort Terrace   
Dublin 2, D02 T380, Ireland

Singapore

10 Anson Road, #22-02 International Plaza, Singapore 079903

[![facebook](https://www.pixalate.com/hubfs/footer/icons/facebook.png) ](https://www.facebook.com/pixalate) [![x](https://www.pixalate.com/hubfs/footer/icons/twitter-x.png) ](https://twitter.com/pixalateinc) [![linkedin](https://www.pixalate.com/hubfs/footer/icons/linkedin.png) ](https://www.linkedin.com/company/pixalate) ![wechat](https://www.pixalate.com/hubfs/footer/icons/wechat.png) [![slack](https://www.pixalate.com/hubfs/footer/icons/slack.png) ](https://atsapi-pixalate.slack.com/join/shared_invite/zt-10dtow5cj-OEtlNr5yzJkrZMQUqcEEow#/shared-invite/email)

[Terms of Use](https://www.pixalate.com/terms) [Privacy Policy](https://www.pixalate.com/privacypolicy) [GDPR Compliance](https://www.pixalate.com/gdpr) Disclaimer

Copyright © 2025 Pixalate

[Back to top **](https://www.pixalate.com/blog/q3-2025-global-made-for-advertising-mfa-benchmarks-report-for-mobile-apps#)

# Disclaimer

 Disclaimer: The content of this page reflects Pixalate’s opinions with respect to the factors that Pixalate believes can be useful to the digital media industry. Any proprietary 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 - opinion, not facts or guarantees.

 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. Also per the 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.”

**

**

*By clicking Download and entering your email address, you are agreeing to our [Terms of Use](https://www.pixalate.com/terms) and have read and acknowledge our [Privacy Policy](https://www.pixalate.com/hubfs/2024-08-20_Pixalate_Privacy_Policy.pdf).

*Copyright © 2025 Pixalate** *

* *

* *

* *

* *

* *

* *

* *

* *

* *

* *

* *

* *

* *

*

×

## Subscribe to the Pixalate Blog

The first step in ad fraud prevention.

Loading...

 By entering your email address and clicking Submit, you are agreeing to our [Terms of Use](https://www.pixalate.com/terms) and [Privacy Policy](https://www.pixalate.com/privacypolicy).

![pixalate-logo-white](https://www.pixalate.com/hubfs/Blog_V2_08_26_2016/logo/Pixalate_Logo_WHITE.png)

##### Contact Us12

Loading...

![pixalate-logo-white](https://www.pixalate.com/hubfs/Blog_V2_08_26_2016/logo/Pixalate_Logo_WHITE.png)

##### Download GSTI

Loading...

Schedule your demo today

Please complete all fields

Loading...

By entering your email address and clicking Submit, you are agreeing to our [Terms of Use](https://www.pixalate.com/terms) and [Privacy Policy](https://www.pixalate.com/privacypolicy).

*

* *

*

*