Statement: Apple Ads popularity metric issue and update from the MobileAction team

Release date: 17.10.2025 

Current Situation 

As the MobileAction team, we continue to actively monitor the popularity metric. Upon analyzing high-volume keywords on the App Store on October 16, 2025, we observed that the issue has persisted since October 1, 2025.

Our most recent research shows that keywords such as backgrounds, concerts, coupon, deals, dining, events, exam, flowers, guide, gym app, image, images, live scores, solver, texting, trainer, transportation, tutor, watch tv, and workouts still display abnormally low popularity levels in the US storefront. The chart below illustrates these declines clearly. 

It’s important to note that this issue does not only affect MobileAction, but also all ASO tools in the market that derive their data from Apple Ads.

Update Regarding the MobileAction Platform 

• We are currently not updating keyword popularity scores if Apple shows it is 5. 
• All other keywords that didn’t experience a sudden drop are still receiving daily updates.
• We will continue to share updates with our users. Please make sure to follow MobileAction’s official LinkedIn page for the latest information.
  

Quick Recommendation for ASO teams 

• Because the current popularity data is unreliable, we recommend to stay with the current ASO decisions or strategy until the problem is resolved. 
• After Apple resolves the issue, we’ll email detailed guidance explaining how to refresh your keyword popularity data within MobileAction to restore accurate insights.
• All other MobileAction features, including keyword rankings, tracking, and performance metrics, are functioning normally and can be used without interruption.

We appreciate your understanding and will share further updates as soon as new information becomes available.