Adjust Report: App Installs Up 10% in 2025 as Casual Gaming and ATT Opt-Ins Climb

Global app installs increased 10% year over year in 2025, while sessions rose 7%, signaling sustained expansion in mobile usage despite ongoing platform and privacy shifts, according to the latest Mobile App Trends 2026 report from Adjust.

The report shows that growth was not evenly distributed across categories. Casual gaming led performance, with installs up 19% and sessions surging 37%. Hypercasual titles recorded more moderate install growth of 4% but still delivered a 31% jump in sessions. Average session length for casual games increased 15% year over year, reaching 26 minutes, reflecting deeper engagement rather than purely acquisition-driven expansion.

Beyond gaming, business, commerce and entertainment apps also contributed to overall gains, underscoring broader resilience in mobile consumption patterns. The data suggests that engagement is becoming more concentrated within high-performing verticals, particularly where content loops and repeat interactions drive sustained session growth.

Privacy trends also continued to evolve. Global App Tracking Transparency (ATT) opt-in rates among iOS users reached 38% in Q1 2026, up from 35% a year earlier. Gaming posted the highest opt-in rate at 39%, while the publications category recorded one of the largest increases, rising from 18% to 26%. The upward trend indicates a gradual stabilization of user consent rates following the initial volatility triggered by ATT’s introduction.

The report outlines structural changes shaping the year ahead. Consumers are increasingly interacting across multiple devices and environments, placing pressure on marketers to unify measurement across web, app and connected platforms. As a result, cross-channel attribution and integrated analytics frameworks are expected to become more central to growth strategies.

Artificial intelligence is also shifting from a supplementary capability to embedded infrastructure within marketing stacks. According to the report, AI is now being integrated directly into data analysis pipelines, audience segmentation systems and creative generation workflows, altering how campaigns are optimized and scaled.

Taken together, the findings point to a mobile ecosystem that is still expanding, but with growth increasingly tied to engagement depth, consented data, and cross-platform measurement sophistication rather than raw install volume alone.