Global Mobile Apps in May: NetShort Dominates the Charts, Tinder Revenue Exceeds Disney+

• NetShort continued its push to become a leading short-drama platform and began to dominate the advertising rankings.
• Instagram continued to see download momentum amid a busy month of celebrity news and social-media attention.
• Indian short-drama platform Kuku TV entered the top five in Google Play downloads.
• Dating-app revenue increased, with Tinder, Hinge, and Bumble all appearing in the revenue rankings.

The May global mobile app advertising rankings showed a significant reshuffle and a clearer strategic focus among leading products. Competitive differentiation at the top of the market became more pronounced.

NetShort retained the top position, while ShortMax from ShortTV Limited fell out of the top three. Singapore New Reading Technology PTE adjusted its advertising strategy, and GoodNovel surpassed GoodShort to move into fifth place. In the short-drama category, advertising resources were increasingly concentrated on leading products.

Outside the Top 20, a number of smaller and medium-sized publishers were also gaining momentum. The short-drama platform StarShort, which had launched on iOS earlier in 2025, ranked 38th in the iOS overall advertising ranking at the time of the report. DreamNovel, a reading platform launched in Thailand in February, was also showing visible growth in advertising activity.

NetShort, operated by NetStory PTE LTD, promoted more than 14,500 short dramas in May, with new dramas accounting for approximately 54.8%. According to SocialPeta's data, its May advertising performance included the following:

• Across iOS and Android, NetShort delivered about 470,000 deduplicated creatives, with new creatives accounting for more than 87.2%.
• The product was advertised in 76 countries and regions. The United States represented the largest share at more than 47%, followed by France, the United Kingdom, and Brazil.
• Among the new dramas promoted in May, locally produced dramas accounted for approximately 15.5%. The remainder consisted mainly of translated and dubbed dramas, including local productions subsequently translated for other markets.

SocialPeta also observed an increase in NetShort's promotion of short dramas carrying the "cute baby" theme. Among dramas promoted during May, 107 used this theme.

The translated drama Spoiled By My Diamond Husband Full Drama recorded the highest overall popularity among these titles and remained popular globally despite already being an established hit. The next notable title was the locally produced Mafia Daddy's Surprise Sextuplets.

Mafia Daddy's Surprise Sextuplets follows Bianca, who unexpectedly becomes involved with a gangster, gives birth to sextuplets, and reunites with him seven years later.

After deduplication, the drama generated nearly 10,000 advertising creatives during May. One of its latest creatives ran for approximately 14 minutes and 40 seconds and used a short-video-style montage, combining footage of an amateur mother of triplets, three disguised sisters, a yacht scene with formal clothing, and slices of the drama plot.

Because the selected scenes remained closely connected to the narrative, the creative could establish audience expectations for the plot from the opening moments.

Another new product entering the rankings was iDrama from HK Good Drama Technology Limited. Launched in February 2025, the app focused its advertising primarily on the United States, India, Taiwan, Brazil, and other markets.

Its May advertising performance included:

• About 43,000 deduplicated creatives were delivered across iOS and Android.
• Campaigns ran in 74 countries and regions, with the United States representing the largest share at approximately 51.3%.
• Approximately 190 dramas were being promoted in May, with new dramas making up 90.5%. Most of these were translated dramas.
• Several of the most heavily promoted short dramas were already popular domestic Chinese productions with popularity values above "3KW" on Hongguo, according to the terminology used in the original article. Titles included The Flowers Bloom in Spring Again, I Want to Spend the Sunset with You, and Misplaced Warmth.

May's global download rankings reflected continued strength from major social, AI, utility, and short-drama apps. ChatGPT led both platforms in the ranking shown in the original SocialPeta report, while several social-media and entertainment products recorded upward momentum.

May brought several widely discussed celebrity stories. Fan Bingbing, after a long absence from major film screens, posted nine photos featuring herself and her mother on Instagram. According to the original article, the post received more than 10,000 likes within three hours.

Singer Eason Chan also attracted attention after posting a photo of barbecued pork with a humorous message intended to dismiss false rumors about his death. SocialPeta observed a slight increase in Instagram downloads across both iOS and Android during the period.

Snap, meanwhile, announced the opening of a new office in Paris and encouraged more augmented-reality creators to develop original works. The initiative was intended to reinforce Snap's presence in France, and the original report associated this activity with Snapchat's monthly download growth.

Indian short-drama platform Kuku TV made a significant jump in the Google Play download ranking during May. After only just meeting the Top 20 threshold in the previous month, it rose to fifth place.

In addition to its strength in its home region, the rise coincided with increased advertising investment. In May, Kuku TV deployed approximately 27,000 deduplicated creatives, representing an increase of about 28.6% from the previous month.

RapidTV also recorded a download surge in May and reached the Top 20. Its main download markets included Mexico, Brazil, the United States, and Indonesia.

Revenue rankings in May showed broad growth across major subscription, entertainment, dating, AI, and short-drama apps. Dating products were especially notable on the App Store, while nearly every app in Google Play's Top 20 recorded revenue growth according to the original report.

• Ahead of Pride Month, Tinder increased promotional activity. The app recorded a significant revenue increase and ranked No. 4 on the App Store revenue chart for May, ahead of Disney+ in the ranking.
• Dating apps Hinge and Bumble also recorded revenue growth, ranking 15th and 16th, respectively.
• Canva had introduced multiple product and brand updates in the preceding month. The original report associated its subsequent revenue growth with upgrades to AI-related functionality.

• In May, all products in Google Play's Top 20 revenue ranking except Disney+ showed revenue growth in the original SocialPeta chart.
• Established short-drama competitors DramaBox and ReelShort both appeared in the ranking, reflecting continued expansion of the global short-drama market.
• ByteDance's global video-editing app CapCut recorded revenue growth on both major mobile platforms. The original analysis identified the United States, Brazil, Spain, and other markets with younger audiences and stronger payment behavior as important markets for the product.

Overall, May 2025's rankings illustrate how short-drama advertising, social-media momentum, regional entertainment apps, dating subscriptions, and creator tools were shaping the global non-game mobile app market across advertising, downloads, and revenue.