Temperatures are rising and things are changing! Let’s dive into the latest news of the mobile world!

Google will launch an ad transparency center

Just like TikTok and Meta before them, Google is launching an ads library called Google’s Ads Transparency Center. This new tool will let users see which ads an advertiser is running, in which regions and the dates of the campaign. It’s limited to a 30-day window. 

There won’t be any information about the intent of the campaign or the target audience, but the creative assets will be visible.

This tool will be accessible through the three dots menu on any ad as well as via My Ad Center. The launch is ongoing, it should be available globally in the coming weeks.

Meta users will be able to opt out of personalized ads in Europe

Because of the deadline looming to comply with both the DMA and the DSA in Europe, Meta has started to set up some solutions. So far, Meta is planning on letting European users opt out of highly personalized ads on both Facebook and Instagram.

This will only be available for users residing inside the European Union, and there is no date yet on the availability of this feature but it shouldn’t be too long now. In addition to this, Meta is also discussing a company-wide ban on political advertising in Europe. The scope of what can be defined as political advertising is still a work in progress.  

Google Play opens up alternative billing in the UK

The new alternative billing should be available no later than October 2023. This comes as an answer to the UK’s investigation into Google’s practices. Google will reduce its 30% service fee to:

• 26% for those using Google Play’s systems alongside alternative billing
• 27% for those who do not offer the option to pay via Google Play

This is not such a big difference with the decried 30% commission but the UK’s CMA has stated that they would accept this solution. 

Advertisers will need to subscribe to Twitter Blue to advertise on the platform

One of the latest announcements made by the social media platform, coming after a long list of changes around the Twitter Blue verification, is that only Twitter Blue accounts will be able to run ads in the app.

Previously, Twitter had already introduced Twitter Blue for companies, starting at 1000$ a month, according to the company, professional accounts that already spend over 1000$/month may be granted Twitter Blue without further fee. 

However, the social media platform is not having such a great time. In protest of all the latest changes (especially the decision to put forward tweets by Twitter Blue accounts and give them more visibility than regular accounts) many users have started blocking Twitter blue accounts (and even sharing browsers extensions to help others do it), which means they’re also blocking ads. 

Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision is blocked by the UK

The UK’s CMA has finally reached a decision on Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision. And just when it felt like the UK might approve, they finally decided to block the deal over cloud gaming concerns. 

They fear that the Xbox Game Pass is already giving a very strong position to Microsoft, when Google Stadia was still ongoing, Microsoft owned 60-70% of the cloud gaming market.  Microsoft intends to appeal the decision.

Europe announced the companies affected by DSA

The European Union finally shared the list of companies that will be affected by the DSA. Here are the 19 companies that will need to comply with the new rules by the end of August:

• Alibaba AliExpress
• Amazon Store
• Apple AppStore
• Booking.com
• Facebook
• Google Play
• Google Maps
• Google Shopping
• Instagram
• LinkedIn
• Pinterest
• Snapchat
• TikTok
• Twitter
• Wikipedia
• YouTube
• Zalando

Numbers of the month

• Mobile Game Spend Up Almost 30% Compared to Pre-Pandemic Levels
• Advertising on TikTok in the US grew by 11% in March
• The UK video games market was valued at £7.05B in 2022
• Gaming app installs are up 10% over 2022
• Consumers spent an average of $1.6 billion on mobile gaming per week in 2022
• Mobile game and apps are exposed to $5.4B in fraud
• TikTok hit with $15.7M UK fine for misusing children’s data
• Sales of TikTok owner ByteDance up over 30 per cent in 2022 to reach US$80 billion, matching Tencent’s revenue
• Sega acquires Rovio for 775 million dollars
• Gaming apps saw a 22% increase in installs in Q1 2023 compared to Q4 2022!
• User spending goes up by more than 4000% on AI-powered apps
• Consumers spent an average of $1.6 billion on mobile gaming per week in 2022
• China’s game market bounces back with over 1,100 game licenses expected in 2023
• First US state votes to ban TikTok with $10,000 fine per violation 
• Gaming app installs are up 10% over 2022
• South Korea fines Google $32M for blocking games on rival app store 
• The global app market is set to generate $33.9 billion in consumer spend for Q1 2023
• Mobile Games Company Scopely to Be Acquired by Saudi-Backed Savvy Games Group for $4.9 Billion
• Spotify’s monthly active users top 500 million, beat estimate 
• Consumers spent 5.5 hours a day on mobile in Q1 2023

What we talked about this week

• 6 reasons why you should hire an app marketing agency
• Upgrade your creatives with gamer motivations: customization and self-expression
• Using dramatic tropes and storytelling to drive conversions ⎮ A Family Island Case Study

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Marine Nozerand

Hi there, I'm Marine (she/her), I'm a Content Manager at Apptamin. Apptamin is a creative agency specialized in app videos (video ads, app store videos, etc.).

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