The following analysis of non-gaming app marketing trends for February 2026 is based on advertising data from AppGrowing across 50 countries and regions, and 28 global media platforms.In February 2026, tool apps remains the app category with the highest share of active advertisers and also the largest share of newly launched advertisers, reaching 21.08%.

In terms of ad volume, total ad placements this month decreased 11.62% MoM; Entertainment and Shopping continue to drive UA, ranking TOP 1 and TOP 2 respectively, while Books & Reference ranks TOP 3.

However, after deduplication, the number of distinct creative assets for tools is slightly higher than for Books & Reference.

Looking at creative types and video lengths: video creatives account for 61.58% this period, while image creatives account for 36.34%. For video length distribution, driven by mini‑drama apps, creatives longer than 60s remain the largest segment at 40.94%.

01.Top Non-gaming App Developers & Apps

According to AppGrowing, TEMU remains the leader on this period’s developer ranking. In addition, NewLeaf Publishing’s ad volume further increased, propelling it to second place this period.

On the product ranking, due to the shorter calendar month, most apps saw MoM declines in ad volume. Notably, eBay Inc.’s eBay and QVON’s NovelBar fell sharply, down 73.03% and 44.83% MoM, respectively.It is worth noting that although NovelBar’s ad volume declined, its developer QVON rose to 15th in the developer advertiser ranking during the same period. This is mainly because another QVON Books & Reference app, Novellair, began large‑scale UA in February, reaching a peak daily ad delivery of 61,657 units—over 50% MoM growth—ranking 18th this period and quickly becoming their flagship promoted product.

Separately, Luyao Hong’s Books & Reference app LeReader ran about 271,000 ad placements in February, a MoM increase of 136.30%, helping Luyao Hong enter the developer advertiser ranking at No. 23.

02.Top Apps in Selected Catagories

For category deep-dives, AppGrowing highlighted four: Books & Reference, Food & Drink, Mini Drama, and AI Assistants & Agents.

The top three books & reference apps this period are JoyRead, Tapon, and Novel Master. The Food & Drink Top 1 is Blinkit from Indian developer BLINK COMMERCE PRIVATE LIMITED; Senor Tower shows the app has exceeded 180 million cumulative downloads, making it India’s largest and fastest‑growing instant‑commerce app by downloads.The top three mini drama apps are ReelShort, JoyReels, and DramaBox. ReelShort generated nearly 4.3 billion in revenue last year and emphasizes localization in content strategy—building local writing teams, signing exclusive actors, etc.—which attracted large user numbers; it also launched an actor‑interview variety show, Reeltalk, further boosting user retention.

Top AI Assistants & Agents app is Praktika by UK company Praktika AI, an AI education app focused on language learning. Its ad placements began rising in mid‑February, peaking at 6,279 daily ad units.

3. Ad Creative Case: FreeReels

SKYWORK AI PTE.LTD. announced that its free mini drama platform FreeReels surpassed 10 million monthly active users at the end of last year, with average user session length exceeding one hour, validating the “free + ads” monetization model for the offshore mini drama market.

AppGrowing show that from early February, FreeReels consistently ramped up UA spending, maintaining daily ad volumes generally above 40,000 units and peaking on February 16; toward month‑end, its daily ad volume fell below 30,000 units.

In terms of creative strategy, FreeReels focuses on high‑intensity, fast‑paced “emotional shock + suspense‑driven” formats, using dramatic conflicts and precisely targeted emotional triggers to rapidly capture user attention and drive conversions.For example, one creative’s core selling point combines high‑intensity ethical conflict, tightly designed narrative reversals, and mass emotional triggers. The video opens with a violent image of "a blood‑stained woman being tightly held by a man" and the ethical question "abusing her biological mother?", quickly sparking user curiosity; it then uses multiple twists to keep viewers watching, and the open‑ended finale creates suspense that prompts users to download the app to see the rest of the story.

February 2026 Non-gaming App Advertising Review

01.Top Non-gaming App Developers & Apps

02.Top Apps in Selected Catagories

3. Ad Creative Case: FreeReels

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