Global Mobile Apps in October丨DramaBox Leads Micro Drama Revenue Rankings as Snapchat Unveils Free AI Features

SocialPeta identified the top 20 global mobile apps by advertising, revenue, and downloads in October 2025, aiming to provide valuable insights to mobile app industry professionals seeking to understand the evolving trends of the global mobile market.

The overall performance of global mobile apps in October included several notable developments:

• DramaWave returned to No. 1 on the advertising chart, with NetShort close behind.
• New shows increased by around 50% during the month, helping Playlet return to the Top 20 advertising chart.
• Buzz around Threads' new ghost-post feature helped drive a surge in downloads.
• DramaBox signed new Korean micro dramas and rose to the top of the micro-drama revenue chart.

With Black Friday and Double Eleven approaching, e-commerce platforms were gearing up for one of the biggest marketing battles of the year. Temu, SHEIN, and Alibaba.com increased advertising in an effort to attract global customers.

DramaWave and NetShort further increased their advertising spend, appearing to secure their positions as the two leading advertisers of the year. SKYWORK launched a new micro-drama app, while FreeReels climbed to 16th place on Android.

Playlet and WebNovel also made a strong year-end comeback and returned to the advertising rankings.

Since Temu launched globally, the platform has continued to invest heavily in advertising. As of the publication of the original article, its cumulative number of deduplicated creatives had exceeded 13 million, while global cumulative downloads had exceeded 1.2 billion.

According to SocialPeta's October data:

• The number of deduplicated creatives reached approximately 610,000, with new creatives accounting for 86.9%.
• Ads were delivered across 81 countries and regions. Most markets contributed less than 10% of total advertising volume, while the United States accounted for 30.19%.
• Android remained the primary focus, representing more than 90% of total ad placements.
• The top-performing advertisement by estimated impressions featured a starry-sky projection night light.

The creative opens by mocking traditional LED lamps as outdated, then shifts to the main product and showcases its projection effects in sync with the music. At the time of the original article, the creative had accumulated more than 120 million TikTok views and over 3 million likes.

FreeReels began running ads in December 2024. With a steadily increasing volume of advertising creatives and a differentiated "watch dramas for free" model, the platform experienced rapid growth during the second half of 2025.

Its October advertising performance included:

• On Android, FreeReels ran approximately 73,000 deduplicated creatives, with new ads accounting for about 90.4%.
• Ads were delivered in 79 countries and regions, with Brazil, India, and Mexico ranking as the top three markets by creative volume.
• More than 1,400 micro dramas were actively promoted during October, while newly added titles accounted for approximately 13.2%.

Among the newly added micro dramas, Little Beast OUR LUCKY CHARM recorded the highest advertising volume. The story follows Zhao Zhao, a young Taotie beast who gets into trouble after dining and dashing, encounters the strict warlord Qian Gandang, and is taken in as his adopted daughter.

Zhao Zhao later competes with the transmigrated heroine Qiu Tang for the title of "lucky charm," ultimately exposing Qiu Tang's schemes and securing her bond with the Qian family.

Judging from FreeReels' overall micro-drama rollout, second-run titles and translated dramas made up a large share of its catalog. This globalization strategy allowed the platform to enter Southeast Asian and South American markets with relatively limited additional content-production costs, resulting in strong cost efficiency.

WebNovel also returned to the October advertising rankings. Its advertising performance during the month included:

• Roughly 74,000 deduplicated creatives were recorded across Android and iOS, with new ads making up about 70.3%.
• Ads were delivered across 77 countries and regions, with the United States, Canada, and Australia ranking as the top three markets.
• Video creatives dominated the advertising mix, accounting for more than 81.8%.

A typical high-performing WebNovel formula combined fixed imagery such as cute babies, muscular men, wolves, or elegant heroines with dramatic novel excerpts and trending pop music. The combination of visual, audio, and narrative cues was designed to create stronger emotional resonance while leaving room for the audience's imagination.

Threads Gains Momentum with Ghost Posts

On the App Store, Threads rolled out a series of feature updates in October. It first introduced group functionality together with exclusive emoji packs for communities including basketball and K-pop.

Threads later introduced 24-hour disappearing "ghost posts," encouraging users to share more unfiltered and in-the-moment thoughts. The updates quickly boosted the app's download growth.

Uber Green Becomes Uber Electric

On October 22, Uber announced that "Uber Green" would be rebranded as "Uber Electric." Alongside the name change, the company introduced a subsidy program offering drivers in selected US regions a $4,000 incentive toward the purchase of a new or used electric vehicle.

The update drew significant attention and helped drive an increase in Uber downloads.

Snapchat Opens Imagine Lens to US Users

On Google Play, Snapchat announced that its "Imagine Lens" feature would become free for all US users with no subscription required.

As Snapchat's first open-ended, prompt-based AI image generation tool, the move was positioned to respond to growing competition from products such as Meta AI and Sora. The feature attracted attention from younger users and contributed to a sharp increase in downloads during the month.

Tinder Expands Facial Verification

Tinder announced the nationwide rollout of its facial verification feature in the United States. New users are required to record an in-app video selfie to verify their identity and confirm that it matches their profile photos.

Users who complete verification receive a "Photo Verified" badge, with the feature intended to reduce fake accounts and create a safer, more reliable environment for both new and existing users.

HBO Max Expands Across Asia-Pacific

In October, HBO Max expanded into 14 new Asia-Pacific markets, broadening its user base.

The platform also raised prices across its subscription plans, with new users immediately charged at the updated rates. Combined with a Halloween content lineup, the expansion and pricing changes helped drive subscription revenue.

Google Photos Introduces Me Meme

In its October update, Google Photos quietly introduced a new feature called "Me Meme," allowing users to turn their photos into memes. The feature was intended to encourage paid conversions and support revenue growth.

DramaBox signed a 50 million yuan partnership with South Korean micro-drama company BambooNetwork. Under the agreement described in the original article, DramaBox planned to add more than 50 Korean micro dramas to its content library during the following year.

The partnership coincided with DramaBox rising to the top of the micro-drama revenue chart.

These developments summarize the major global mobile app advertising, download, and revenue trends observed by SocialPeta in October 2025 across both the App Store and Google Play.