highAppsFlyer BlogΒ·April 23, 2026

The State of Fraud for Marketers β€” 2026 Edition

πŸ“ŠAffects these metrics

Fraud rates held largely flat in 2025. But as marketing investment grew, so did the absolute volume of fraudulent installs, and where fraud sits shifted significantly across verticals, channels, and techniques. The installs were there. The users, in many cases, were not.

The State of Fraud for Marketers analyzed over 100 billion installs across more than 246,000 apps to examine how fraud moved throughout 2025 and into 2026. It shows where fraud is concentrated, which channels absorbed the overflow when others tightened, and what the gap between reported performance and real user acquisition actually looks like.

What’s inside

Where fraud is concentrated by vertical, channel, and market

Which fraud techniques dominated on Android and iOS and how the mix shifted

What Real Users Lift reveals about how much of what you bought actually existed

With insights from fraud experts at adjoe, Exness, and InMobi

The post The State of Fraud for Marketers β€” 2026 Edition appeared first on AppsFlyer.

Key Insights

1

Fraud rates held stable but absolute volume of fraudulent installs increased due to higher marketing spend

2

Fraud distribution shifted significantly across verticals, channels, and techniques throughout 2025

3

Real Users Lift metric can help identify the gap between reported performance and actual user acquisition

4

Android and iOS have different dominant fraud techniques requiring channel-specific strategies

The State of Fraud for Marketers β€” 2026 Edition | ASO News