Global Mobile App Rankings in February 2023: Advertising, Revenue, and Downloads

With the aid of its App Intelligence and other modules, SocialPeta sorted out the top 20 global mobile apps — excluding games — by advertising, revenue, and downloads in February 2023. The analysis was intended to help mobile app industry professionals understand changes and emerging trends across the global mobile market.

Several developments stood out during the month:

• The live video dating app PeachLive entered the advertising chart with suggestive creatives that differentiated it from competing live video chat apps.
• Picsart promoted an AI-powered concept for removing an ex-boyfriend from photos, contributing to increased downloads.
• Tool apps focused on network optimization occupied half of the positions on the Android advertising chart.

Several apps entering or rising on the advertising chart were particularly noteworthy in February.

PeachLive

PeachLive, a live video chat app released by Shenzhen Lerji Technology, recorded a 41% increase in iOS ad creatives in February. The app had launched in June 2021 and, within less than two years, had developed an advertising style that was noticeably different from competing apps.

• Its ads frequently used sexually suggestive and revealing creative concepts, including visuals focused on body movement, to attract attention while following the broader marketing patterns seen among live video and dating apps.
• Its advertising was concentrated in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and other Middle Eastern markets, which together accounted for more than 26% of creatives. The US followed with a 4.4% share.
• Its media buying covered casual and action media, each accounting for approximately 50%.
• PeachLive released creatives across four major placements or channels: Facebook News Feed, Audience Network, Instagram, and Messenger, each accounting for roughly 25%.

AXS Tickets

AXS Tickets provides ticket purchasing services and stood out for two characteristics. It allowed users to resell tickets, while its paid accounts also enabled users to purchase tickets at market prices rather than relying on significantly marked-up resale tickets.

AXS Tickets recorded a 21% increase in creatives during February. According to SocialPeta's Advertiser Analysis, its advertising activity showed the following characteristics:

• The app released creatives only in the US, UK, Canada, and Australia. The US contributed 85% of its creatives, and that share had been increasing over the previous year.
• Media buying mainly involved health & fitness, arcade, and productivity media. Their respective shares were relatively close.
• Facebook News Feed accounted for the largest share of its advertising creatives at 41%, followed by Instagram at 33%.

Its more effective recent creatives included clips from live shows, with ad copy providing detailed event information. One notable creative was an official trailer for a Huntsville show in May, featuring an energetic performance designed to appeal directly to fans.

File Cleanup Expert

The file-cleaning tool File Cleanup Expert recorded a 71% increase in creatives in February, making it No. 1 among tool apps highlighted in the article. According to SocialPeta's Advertiser Analysis:

• It released creatives across many countries in Southeast Asia, North America, and the Middle East, with individual countries contributing around 1.4%–1.9% of creatives. The broad distribution suggested that the app was still testing its most effective target markets.
• Productivity media accounted for 68% of its media buying. That share had increased during the previous year, suggesting stronger performance for productivity-oriented placements.
• Facebook News Feed accounted for 37% of its creatives, followed by Messenger and Instagram at roughly 20% each.
• Its more effective new creatives varied significantly in format, but frequently emphasized "free download." Examples included image-matting concepts, charging effects, and even playable game-style ads, while some creatives did not clearly reveal that the final product was a file-cleaning tool.

Other Apps Worth Watching

Rotita, a shopping app focused on fashionable women's clothing in the US, recorded a 21% month-over-month increase in creatives in February. Its "New Season, New Wardrobe" campaign targeted seasonal demand for new clothing. Launched in November 2021, the app mainly advertised in the US, Australia, Canada, and the UK.

Puzzle media accounted for as much as 70% of Rotita's creatives, followed by card media at 21%.

Emmiol, another shopping app highlighted during the month, recorded an 18% month-over-month increase in creatives. Unlike Rotita, Emmiol's advertising primarily targeted consumers interested in Y2K trends and Gen-Z fast fashion. In addition to women's clothing, the app offered men's and vintage clothing.

Emmiol focused its advertising on the US, Germany, and other European markets. Its media buying mainly involved education, board, and social media categories.

Lokal was an Indian news app that released advertising creatives exclusively in India. Its Android creatives increased by 27% month over month in February. The original analysis suggested that the increase may have been part of marketing preparations for the upcoming Ramadan period.

App Store Revenue Growth

• MyFitnessPal recorded steady revenue growth of 13.2% month over month in February. The original analysis attributed part of the growth to the influence of a 39-year-old male celebrity who publicly shared his experience of using MyFitnessPal while losing weight.
• ABEMA, a Japanese live TV streaming app, recorded 23.5% month-over-month revenue growth in February and ranked No. 43 on the global App Store revenue chart. The original article attributed the increase to Bundesliga broadcasting rights obtained during the month.

Google Play Revenue Growth

• Globoplay, the Brazilian video streaming app owned by Grupo Globo, recorded 4.4% month-over-month revenue growth in February. The month coincided with Carnival in Brazil, and Globoplay introduced new TV series, films, and novelas, which the original analysis linked to subscriber growth.
• Badoo, a global online dating app, reported 8.7% month-over-month revenue growth and ranked No. 36 on the Google Play global revenue chart. India, the UK, and Indonesia were identified as the main markets contributing to its revenue growth.

App Store Download Growth

• Google Meet recorded an 18.6% month-over-month increase in downloads in February and ranked No. 23 on the global App Store download chart. The US contributed 69% of its downloads.
• The location-sharing app whoo had launched in December 2022. Its downloads grew 56% month over month in February, placing it at No. 40 on the global App Store download chart. Japan contributed 46% of its downloads.

Google Play Download Growth

Picsart, an online photo-editing app, recorded 4.3% month-over-month download growth in February. The original analysis linked this increase to a popular marketing concept built around using AI to remove an ex-boyfriend from a photo. India contributed 33% of the app's downloads.

PLAYit, an audio and video player with file-transfer functionality, recorded a 49.4% month-over-month increase in downloads during February. It ranked No. 16 on the global Google Play download chart.

India contributed 78% of PLAYit's global downloads, followed by Pakistan with 12%.