🇮🇳 Sensor Tower: India’s in-app purchase revenue crosses $1B, heading to $1.25B in 2026

India’s mobile app market is shifting from pure growth to monetization, as in-app purchase revenue surpassed $1 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach $1.25 billion in 2026

Subscriptions are becoming the primary revenue drivers, while non-gaming apps are gaining a larger share of consumer spend

The country still generates around 25B downloads annually, but growth has stabilized, reflecting a maturing ecosystem rather than a slowdown

⏰ 📱Apple sets April 28 deadline for new App Store SDK requirements

Apple announced that starting April 28, 2026, all apps submitted to App Store Connect must be built using SDKs aligned with its latest OS generation, including iOS 26 and corresponding platform SDKs

Developers will also need to use Xcode 26 or newer when submitting updates. The change affects build requirements only - apps can still support older OS versions if developers choose. The goal is to ensure compatibility with new APIs, security standards, and platform capabilities across Apple ecosystems

👀 A post for those looking for inspiration for their mobile ad creatives

✏️ On LinkedIn, someone shared a collection of 24 trending video creative ideas for performance marketing:

Fake podcast ads
Street interviews
Skits
Text overlays
HD UGC
Testimonials
Reaction videos
Over-the-shoulder shots
News-style ads (real or fake)
Outdoor ads
Phone-in-hand format
Motion graphics
Back-and-forth content
iMessage back-and-forth
Challenge content
GRWM (Get Ready With Me)
Car ads
Stitch ads
Fake livestreams
AI voiceovers
B-roll only
Tweet with B-roll
DITL (Day in the Life)
Fails

📉 Liftoff postpones IPO due to AI-driven tech market volatility

Mobile marketing platform Liftoff has delayed its planned U.S. IPO due to unstable market conditions and a broader sell-off in software and ad-tech stocks

Investors are reassessing valuations as generative AI raises concerns about future business models across the tech sector

The company had targeted a valuation of about $5.17B and up to $762M in proceeds before pausing the listing. Despite the delay, Liftoff says it still intends to go public once market conditions improve

📸 Android introduces Embedded Photo Picker for in-app media selection

Google has rolled out a new Embedded Photo Picker API that allows Android apps to let users select photos and videos directly inside the app UI, without switching to a separate system picker screen

This solution maintains privacy by only granting access to the specific media items the user chooses, and extends support to cloud libraries like Google Photos

Developers can integrate this feature via the Jetpack Photo Picker libraries with support for both Jetpack Compose and traditional Views. Early examples, like the implementation in Google Messages, showcase a more seamless and fluid media selection experience within apps.

🔍 Google is now attributing conversions to the install day (not the ad interaction day)

This update should significantly reduce discrepancies with MMPs

🛡️ 🔍Google blocked 1.75M policy-violating apps from Play Store in 2025

Google prevented 1.75 million policy-violating apps from being published and banned more than 80,000 developer accounts in 2025 as part of its Android safety efforts. The company now runs over 10,000 automated checks per app and increasingly relies on AI models to detect malicious behavior before release

Also company blocked 160M fake reviews and identified 27M malware apps distributed outside Google Play

📢 Latest job opportunities offering remote/relocation work

🔍 Hyperskill is hiring Growth Marketing Generalist

🔍 AppFollow is looking for Growth Marketing Manager

🔍 Kayzen is searching for Customer Success Manager- Media Buying

🔍 5x10 is looking for User Acquisition Manager

🔍 Adapty is searching for Growth Marketing Manager

🔍 Pure is hiring Senior User Acquisition Manager

🔍 Vizor Games is looking for User Acquisition Manager

🔍 Ruby Labs is searching for Senior User Acquisition Manager

🆕 AppLovin plans its own social platform after TikTok bid setback

AppLovin is preparing to launch an in-house social network following its failed attempt to acquire TikTok’s international operations. Instead of the traditional “build users first, monetize later” model, AppLovin would leverage its existing advertising infrastructure to create a new social ecosystem

♾ Meta launches Graph API v25 & Marketing API v25

Meta is shifting its advertising measurement model by deprecating legacy reach and impression metrics across Facebook and Instagram APIs in favor of a unified “views” standard. New Media Views and Media Viewers metrics will become the primary performance indicators, aligning paid and organic reporting systems

The update also pushes advertisers toward Advantage+ automation and requires migration before older campaign formats are paused in 2026

For UA teams and analytics tools, this means rebuilding reporting pipelines and adapting optimization strategies around view-based performance data

➡️ Sensor Tower drops a new Digital Market Index

Sensor Tower’s latest report shows generative AI becoming the backbone of the app economy - the category passed 1.1B downloads in one quarter (+89% YoY) and generated $1.7B in IAP revenue (+212% YoY). Non-gaming apps drove most market growth, while game downloads fell over 10% year-over-year

The takeaway: installs matter less — monetization, subscriptions and AI-driven engagement now define mobile growth

➡️ Table of Contents:
• Mobile Market Overview
• Top Markets
• Top Categories
• Top Apps
• Top Mobile Games
• Digital Advertising Overview
• Retail Media Advertising Snapshot
• Web Usage Overview

➡️ Adjust releases Mobile App Trends report 2026

Adjust reports that global app installs rose 10% in 2025 and sessions increased 7%, showing the mobile market is still expanding even after ATT and privacy restrictions

This report explores:
• Contributions from Google Ads, Snap for Business, TikTok for Business, Sensor Tower, Roku, and Alison.ai
• The development of AI from a strategic tool to core infrastructure, and how it’s being operationalized in 2026
• The transformation of mobile-first approaches into multi-platform strategies
• Key performance insights and data benchmarks across the most important mobile metrics for the global markets, along with APAC, Europe, LATAM, MENA, and North America

📱 Etsy sells secondhand clothing marketplace app Depop to eBay for $1.2B

Resale apps keep consolidating. Depop generated about $1B in gross merchandise sales in 2025 and has ~7M active buyers, most under 34 - a valuable mobile-first audience

🍏 Apple introduces global age-verification feature to protect kids online

Apple is rolling out stricter age-verification controls in the App Store as new child-safety laws take effect in Australia, Brazil, Singapore and several U.S. states. Users will be blocked from downloading 18+ apps unless the platform confirms they are adults through Apple’s built-in verification process

Developers can now access age categories (child/teen/adult) via the updated Declared Age Range API without collecting personal data

🚀 Anthropic’s Claude hits №1 on Apple’s top free apps list after Pentagon rejection

Anthropic’s chatbot Claude jumped from outside the Top-100 in late January to №1 in the U.S. App Store, overtaking ChatGPT within days

The spike followed public attention around the company’s dispute with the Pentagon, which drove record daily signups, +60% free users and more than doubled paid subscribers

➡️ The case shows how media exposure and brand narrative can impact to app acquisition