App-Ads.txt Adoption: Apple App Store and Trends
The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) has taken it upon themselves to help app publishers and advertisers combat mobile ad fraud.
Back in 2017, they devised the ads.txt and app-ads.txt ad fraud prevention standards, aimed at helping advertisers acquire mobile ad space from legitimate and authorized suppliers only. Indeed, by giving app publishers the ability to declare which companies are authorized to sell their ad inventory, app-ads.txt has become an important mechanism for addressing concerns like advertising transparency and revenue loss due to app spoofing.
With this in mind, we analyzed the state of app-ads.txt adoption on Apple App Store. We address how many apps have implemented app-ads.txt, the most commonly listed ad providers on app-ads.txt files, and more.
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How many apps on Apple App Store have adopted app-ads.txt?
15.46% of 
Apple App Store apps have implemented app-ads.txt. This means 279,824 out of all 1,810,136 apps have adopted the standard.
App-ads.txt Adoption Trends: Month-Over-Month Growth
This chart shows month-over-month trends for app-ads.txt adoption on Apple App Store
Today, 279,824 apps on Apple App Store have implemented the standard, up from 257,847 in January 2023
The adoption increased by 0% within the last 3 months.
How many of the top 1,000 Apple App Store Apps have adopted App-Ads.txt?
Of the top 1,000 Apple App Store Apps, 495 (49.5%) have implemented app-ads.txt. This means adoption is significantly higher among the top apps.
Looking for more App-Ads.txt insights?
Ever since the IAB announced App-Ads.txt, we at 42matters have been keeping a close eye on its trajectory. We’ve even aggregated app-ads.txt data for apps across all major app stores. This enables us to provide a list of authorized resellers for any app that leverages the IAB’s ad fraud prevention standard in a matter of seconds!
We offer App-Ads.txt insight for apps available on the following stores:
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Talk to SalesApp-Ads.txt Adoption Trends: Apps vs Games
AppsGamesThese charts compare the rate of App-Ads.txt adoption among apps and games on Apple App Store.
Overall 38.69% of apps have implemented the standard, while 6.83% of games have done so.
App-Ads.txt Adoption Trends: By Apple App Store Category
Adoption Rate Per App CategoryThis chart shows the rate of adoption by Apple App Store category. Currently, Games lead the way with 38.69% of apps in the category leveraging app-ads.txt.
The Top Ad Partners on Apple App Store Apps, Ranked by App-ads.txt Mentions
Ad partners are companies that have been granted permission by app developers to sell their ad space. This permission is typically given directly by the developer, but may be given indirectly via resellers.
Top Ad Networks listed as a partner among all apps with app-ads.txtGoogle.com is listed as an ad partner on 89.28% of app-ads.txt files on Apple App Store apps. This makes it the most common ad partner on the platform.
Coming in at second is facebook.com, which is listed on 49.31% of Apple App Store apps, followed by rubiconproject.com, which is listed on 46.44%.
The Top 'Direct' Ad Partners on Apple App Store Apps, Ranked by App-ads.txt Mentions
Direct ad partners are those which have been granted direct permission by app developers to sell app ad space. That is, they are explicitly listed on the app's app-ads.txt file.
Top Ad Networks listed as a direct partner among all apps with app-ads.txtGoogle.com is listed as a direct ad partner on 87.51% of app-ads.txt files on Apple App Store apps. This makes it the most common direct ad partner on the platform.
Coming in at second is facebook.com, which is listed by 31.09% of Apple App Store apps. unity.com comes in at third with 30.04%.
The Top 'Reseller' Ad Partners on Apple App Store Apps, Ranked by App-ads.txt Mentions
Reseller ad partners are those which have been granted permission by app developers to resell their ad space.
Top Ad Networks listed as a reseller partner among all apps with app-ads.txtRubiconproject.com is listed as a reseller ad partner on 45.62% of all app-ads.txt files for Apple App Storeapps. This makes it the most commonly listed reseller ad partner on the platform.
pubmatic.com is the next most common at 44.85%, followed by openx.com at 44.35%.
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