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InMobi Just Bought MobileAction and Its Dataset of 90 Million Ad Creatives. The iOS Intelligence Gap Is Closing.

Apple's privacy changes created an intelligence vacuum in mobile advertising. This acquisition is InMobi's play to fill it.

Filip Ivanković··2 min read
2 min read

InMobi announced its acquisition of MobileAction on May 7, bringing one of the largest app intelligence datasets in the market under its roof. The numbers are substantial: 90 million ad creatives tracked, 6 million keywords monitored, and data spanning 5 million apps across both iOS and Android.

MobileAction's client list includes Google, Meta and DoorDash. Its platform provides competitive intelligence on app store optimisation, paid user acquisition and creative performance across mobile advertising networks. InMobi, which already operates one of the largest independent mobile ad platforms globally, now adds a data layer that strengthens its position in iOS specifically.

The timing is deliberate. Since Apple introduced App Tracking Transparency in 2021, the mobile advertising ecosystem has been progressively losing visibility into iOS user behaviour. Attribution has become harder. Creative testing cycles have lengthened. Competitive intelligence on what ads are running and where has become a genuine strategic advantage rather than a nice-to-have.

90M

Ad creatives tracked across mobile networks, now consolidated under InMobi's platform

MobileAction's dataset addresses this directly. By tracking creative deployment across networks at scale, it provides advertisers with visibility into competitor strategies, creative trends and keyword opportunities that are otherwise invisible in a post-ATT world.

InMobi has indicated the acquisition will be integrated into its existing Appsumer platform (acquired in 2022), creating an end-to-end mobile marketing intelligence stack covering media buying, measurement and competitive analysis.

Why it matters

For Australian app marketers and mobile-first businesses, this consolidation signals where the market is heading. The companies with the best proprietary data on mobile advertising performance will have a structural advantage in campaign optimisation.

Australia's iOS market share sits above 55%, making the iOS intelligence gap particularly acute for local advertisers. Any tool that restores visibility into iOS creative performance and competitor activity has direct value.

The broader trend is clear: adtech is consolidating around data moats. Companies that own unique datasets (creative libraries, keyword indices, app performance benchmarks) are being acquired precisely because that data cannot be replicated through standard API access.

What to do about it

If you run mobile app campaigns, evaluate whether your current competitive intelligence tools cover iOS adequately. Many do not, post-ATT.
Watch InMobi's integration timeline. When MobileAction's data feeds into InMobi's buying platform, it will change the competitive dynamics for mobile DSPs in the region.
Review your own creative testing cadence. If competitors have access to 90 million creatives worth of pattern data and you are still testing three variations per campaign, the gap will widen.
Consider app store optimisation as a paid media complement, not a separate discipline. The convergence of ASO and paid UA data is where the next efficiency gains will come from.

Mobile advertising intelligence is consolidating fast. The businesses that invest in visibility now will outperform those relying on increasingly blind optimisation.

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Filip Ivanković
Filip IvankovićFounder, New Rebellion

10+ years leading performance marketing across agencies and in-house teams in Australia. Writes about the gap between marketing activity and commercial outcomes, and what it takes to close it.

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