Shifting trends in app store downloads help to reveal how Russia’s war in Ukraine has upended typical daily routines for civilians in both countries, but especially for Ukrainians experiencing terror at home. Nearly two months after Russian leader Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine, life-saving tools and attempts to access basic information are the new priorities.
Trending Apps in Russia and Ukraine Show Shifting Priorities During War
Ukraine
Russia
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Shifting trends in app store downloads help to reveal how Russia’s war in Ukraine has upended typical daily routines for civilians in both countries, but especially for Ukrainians experiencing terror at home. Nearly two months after Russian leader Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine, life-saving tools and attempts to access basic information are the new priorities.
Certainly, the app download trends cannot fully contextualize the brutal realities of one country invading another. A Ukrainian seeking safety from shelling in besieged Mariupol and a Russian who’s lost access to Instagram are not experiencing the war in comparable ways.
More than 1,500 Ukrainian civilians have been killed by Russian forces since the start of the war, according to the United Nations’ Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights—and the group says they believe the actual total is “considerably higher.” The International Criminal Court has opened an investigation into whether Russian forces have committed war crimes. Cities across Ukraine have been under routine shelling. More than 11 million Ukrainians have been displaced since the start of the war, including over 4 million refugees fleeing to neighboring countries.
But the download data can offer a useful glimpse into how individuals in Ukraine and Russia are finding new apps to help them better navigate their current circumstances.
In Ukraine, a Software Engineer Seeks Safety and Relief From New Apps
Max Voitko, 30, relocated to the city of Rivne in western Ukraine after Russia’s troops invaded. He recently downloaded Air Alert, the alarm app supported by the Ukrainian government, and reinstalled the language learning app Duolingo to practice German.
“Air Alert is very efficient,” he said. “In the first days of war not even all air-raid sirens in Rivne worked.” Voitko recalls sirens were sometimes difficult to hear in parts of the city. “The cell phone is always with you and the application shows clearly that this is the end of the air-raid alert, while the sirens going silent may be broken.”
In Ukraine, demand surged for language-learning apps like Duolingo and Busuu. In neighboring Poland, which has received more than two million Ukrainian refugees, the number of Duolingo users studying Ukrainian has grown more than 25 times since the start of the war, the company said on its blog.
Language learning and translation apps moved up hundreds of places in the Google Play Store rankings
Busuu
600
Ranking increase compared to Mar. 9
Ranked 37
In February, language learning app Busuu was not even in the top 800 popular apps.
On Mar. 31, it ranked 37.
400
Google Translate
Duolingo
Ranking increase compared to Feb. 1
Ranking increase compared to Feb. 1
200
200
200
Ranked 29
100
100
Ranking change
unavailable
for this period
Ranked 27 among games and apps
0
0
0
Feb. 1
Feb. 25
Mar. 8
Mar. 31
Feb. 1
Feb. 25
Mar. 8
Mar. 31
Feb. 1
Mar. 9
Mar. 31
Busuu
600
Ranking increase compared to Mar. 9
Ranked 37
In February, language learning app Busuu was not even in the top 800 popular apps.
On Mar. 31, it ranked 37.
400
Google Translate
Duolingo
Ranking increase compared to Feb. 1
Ranking increase compared to Feb. 1
200
200
200
Ranked 29
100
100
Ranking change
unavailable
for this period
Ranked 27 among games and apps
0
0
0
Feb. 1
Feb. 25
Mar. 8
Mar. 31
Feb. 1
Feb. 25
Mar. 8
Mar. 31
Feb. 1
Mar. 9
Mar. 31
Google Translate
Ranking increase compared to Feb. 1
Ranked 27
among all games
and apps
200
Ranking change
unavailable
for this period
100
0
Feb. 1
Feb. 25
Mar. 8
Mar. 31
Ranked
29
Duolingo
Ranking increase compared to Feb. 1
200
100
0
Feb. 1
Feb. 25
Mar. 8
Mar. 31
Busuu
Ranked
37
600
Ranking increase compared to Mar. 9
In February, language learning app Busuu was not even in the top 800 popular apps.
On Mar. 31, it ranked 37.
400
200
Ranking change
unavailable
for this period
0
Feb. 1
Mar. 9
Mar. 31
Google Translate
Ranked
27 among
all games
and apps
Ranking increase compared to Feb. 1
200
Ranking change
unavailable
for this period
100
0
Feb. 1
Feb. 25
Mar. 8
Mar. 31
Ranked
29
Duolingo
Ranking increase compared to Feb. 1
200
100
0
Feb. 1
Feb. 25
Mar. 8
Mar. 31
Busuu
Ranked
37
600
Ranking increase compared to Mar. 9
In February, language learning app Busuu was not even in the top 800 popular apps.
On Mar. 31, it ranked 37.
400
200
Ranking change
unavailable
for this period
0
Feb. 1
Mar. 9
Mar. 31
Google Translate
Ranked
27 among
all games
and apps
Ranking increase compared to Feb. 1
200
Ranking change
unavailable
for this period
100
0
Feb. 1
Feb. 25
Mar. 8
Mar. 31
Ranked
29
Duolingo
Ranking increase compared to Feb. 1
200
100
0
Feb. 1
Feb. 25
Mar. 8
Mar. 31
Busuu
Ranked
37
600
Ranking increase compared to Mar. 9
In February, language learning app Busuu was not even in the top 800 popular apps.
On Mar. 31, it ranked 37.
400
200
Ranking change
unavailable
for this period
0
Feb. 1
Mar. 9
Mar. 31
Source: Sensor Tower
For Voitko, Duolingo helps in a different way. “I’m using it rather as an instrument for self-therapy, to get distracted and spend my spare time in a useful activity,” he said.
Game apps remained popular after the invasion, including Fun Offline Games and Talking Ben the Dog.
Diia, the flagship public service app from the Ukrainian government, continues to be in high demand and is now being used by more than a third of the population. It evolved into a critical tool for Ukrainians during the war, with new functions including a chatbot for submitting images and videos of Russian troop movements, remote job listings for Ukrainians out of work and even video classes for children unable to attend school.
Apps offering free services, including Wizz Air’s offering of more than 100,000 free airline tickets to Ukrainians, also climbed the rankings. Yakaboo—a studying and listening app—became the third most downloaded on March 2. PayPal entered the top 20 on March 17, when it announced it would waive fees for Ukrainian accounts.
Yakaboo and Audible’s free audio and digital books help Voitko’s child cope with the situation. “Useful applications help reduce anxiety,” Voitko said. “But I’m trying to limit the usage even of them, not to mention social networks, to spend more time with my family and friends.”
In Russia, VPN Networks Offer Some Access After Shutdowns
With major social media platforms and news outlets blocked by the Kremlin to silence dissent and limit information about its invasion, locals turned to VPN services to cloak their location and bypass the restrictions.
Yan Trakhtenberg, CEO of Vertex LLC, an IT and cybersecurity company that tracks VPN usage, estimates 80% of Russians with accounts on blocked social media now use virtual networks in order to continue to access them. “It’s almost all Facebook and Instagram users,” he says. “What can you do? There’s no other option.”
Russia’s tightening internet censorship began in 2007 with a list of “extremist” websites, to which political dissident blogs and content were added, and by the end of 2019 had evolved to become a list of over 170,000 domains added for a variety of reasons, according to a report by Censored Planet.
VPNs aren’t illegal in Russia, but they must be state-approved and must comply with government requests to restrict access to certain websites, leading to many high profile providers having been blocked in recent years.
Ksenia Boletskaya, 44 and currently a manager at Yandex, started using a VPN in Russia when she worked as a journalist. Since the invasion she has used it to access social networks. “There are contacts of people, friends, colleagues who are important to me. I need to keep in touch with them, and besides, they are also sources of information for me if they publish interesting links that you also can’t get to without a VPN.”
Roskomsvoboda, a Moscow-based group that campaigns against online restrictions, has lobbied VPN providers to offer their services for free so Russians can get access to blocked websites, according to a Telegram post last week. “We contacted the most popular VPNs. They are now witnessing huge demand from users in Russia and are directing serious resources to install more servers,” said Artem Kozlyuk, the group’s founder. “Some VPNs that aren’t ready to expand servers have moved away from working with Russian users.”
More than 700 websites related to the conflict have been officially blocked in Russia as of March 31, according to analysis from Top10VPN, and the list continues to grow almost every day. The crackdown focused mostly on news media, including both regional and international outlets.
Websites blocked in Russia since the Feb. 24 invasion
Kyiv Independent, an English-language Ukrainian media outlet, was blocked by Russian government days after the invasion.
Twitter, Facebook
Deutsche Welle, a German broadcaster
News
Russian and English sites of BBC
450
140
100
53
NEWS SITES BLOCKED
FINANCIAL
ANTI-WAR
OTHERS
Sites that provide foreign currency exchange services and cryptocurrency businesses were blocked.
News sites have been a main target of the crackdown.
It’s one of more than 200 sites hosted in Ukraine that was blocked.
253
166
156
145
23
HOSTED IN UKRAINE
RUSSIA
OTHERS & UNKNOWN
U.S.
U.K.
Kyiv Independent, an English-language Ukrainian media outlet, was blocked by Russian government days after the invasion.
Deutsche Welle, a German broadcaster
Twitter, Facebook
News
Russian and English sites of BBC
450
140
100
53
NEWS SITES BLOCKED
FINANCIAL
ANTI-WAR
OTHERS
News sites have been a main target of the crackdown.
Sites that provide foreign currency exchange services and cryptocurrency businesses were blocked.
It’s one of more than 200 blocked sites hosted in Ukraine
253
166
156
145
23
HOSTED IN UKRAINE
RUSSIA
OTHERS & UNKNOWN
U.S.
U.K.
450
140
NEWS SITES BLOCKED
FINANCIAL SITES
More than 200 sites hosted in Ukraine were blocked., including Kyiv Independent, an English-language Ukrainian media outlet
Sites
hosted in
Ukraine
Russian readers also lost access to NPR and Google News
U.S.
Sites that provide foreign currency exchange services and cryptocurrency businesses were blocked.
RUSSIA
Deutsche Welle was blocked
Others
U.K.
100
53
ANTI-WAR SITES
OTHERS
Social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook
and Instagram were blocked
450
NEWS SITES BLOCKED
More than 200 sites hosted in Ukraine were blocked., including Kyiv Independent, an English-language Ukrainian media outlet
Sites
hosted in
Ukraine
Russian readers also lost access to NPR and Google News
U.S.
RUSSIA
Deutsche Welle was blocked
Others
U.K.
140
FINANCIAL SITES
Sites that provide foreign currency exchange services and cryptocurrency businesses were blocked.
53
100
OTHERS
ANTI-WAR
SITES
Social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook
and Instagram were blocked
Note: Data as of Mar. 31
Source: Top10VPN
Since the invasion, numerous companies have announced plans to pull out or suspend their businesses in Russia and Belarus, causing thousands of apps and games to be removed from Apple’s App Store in both countries.
Collectively the apps removed have been downloaded more than 7 billion times, according to estimates from Sensor Tower. H&M removed their app from Russia, their sixth-biggest market accounting for 4% of sales in the fourth quarter of 2021. Netflix, with about 2.2 million lifetime installs since its launch in Russia in 2016, suspended its streaming service in early March.
Popular apps were moved from Russia and Belarus’ app stores following the Feb. 24 invasion
Russia only
both Russia and Belarus
App removed from app store in
Multiple apps from the same publisher
Circle sizes represent lifetime installs of the app in the regions where it was removed
Turner Broadcasting Europe, which operates CNN in Russia, has removed more than a dozen apps.
Disney removed several dozen apps after suspending its business in Russia.
Bethesda
Rockstar
Games
Strava
Playdot
H&M
Badoo
Software
SEGA
NaturalMotion
Rovio
Gismart
Big Fish
Games
French video game publisher Gameloft removed more than 40 games in the past month, including the popular Minion Rush.
In total these apps have been downloaded more than 45 million times.
Ten
Square
Games
Supercell, the publisher of Clash of Clans and Brawl Stars, removed five popular games.
Infinite
Dreams
Wooga
Indeed
Zynga, a leading video game developer, and Rollic removed more than 100 games in Russia and Belarus.
Warner Bros.
Readdle
Technologies
Glu Games
Netflix
Autodesk Inc. tools such as AutoCAD were removed.
Vimeo
Some Ukrainian-founded companies, such as Readdle, removed their apps in Russia.
Niantic, publisher of the mobile hit Pokémon Go, cut off their Russian users.
Russia only
both Russia and Belarus
App removed from app store in
Multiple apps from the same publisher
Circle sizes represent lifetime installs of the app in the regions where it was removed
Disney removed several dozen apps after suspending its business in Russia.
Turner Broadcasting Europe, which operates CNN in Russia, has removed more than a dozen apps.
Bethesda
Rockstar
Games
Strava
Playdot
H&M
Badoo
Software
SEGA
NaturalMotion
Rovio
Gismart
Big Fish
Games
French video game publisher Gameloft removed more than 40 games in the past month, including the popular Minion Rush.
In total these apps have been downloaded more than 45 million times.
Supercell, the publisher of Clash of Clans and Brawl Stars, removed five popular games.
Ten
Square
Games
Infinite
Dreams
Wooga
Indeed
Zynga, a leading video game developer, and Rollic removed more than 100 games in Russia and Belarus.
Warner Bros.
Readdle
Technologies
Glu Games
Netflix
Vimeo
Autodesk Inc. tools such as AutoCAD were removed.
Some Ukrainian-founded companies, such as Readdle, removed their apps in Russia.
Niantic, publisher of the mobile hit Pokémon Go, cut off their Russian users.
Russia only
both Russia and Belarus
App removed from app store in
Multiple apps from the same publisher
Circle sizes represent lifetime installs of the app in the regions where it was removed
Turner Broadcasting Europe, which operates CNN in Russia, has removed more than a dozen apps.
Disney removed several dozen apps after suspending its business in Russia.
Bethesda
Rockstar
Games
Strava
Playdot
H&M
Badoo
Software
SEGA
NaturalMotion
Rovio
Gismart
Big Fish
Games
French video game publisher Gameloft removed more than 40 games in the past month, including the popular Minion Rush.
In total these apps have been downloaded more than 45 million times.
Supercell, the publisher of Clash of Clans and Brawl Stars, removed five popular games.
Ten
Square
Games
Wooga
Zynga, a leading video game developer, and Rollic removed more than 100 games in Russia and Belarus.
Warner Bros.
Readdle
Technologies
Glu Games
Netflix
Vimeo
Some Ukrainian-founded companies, such as Readdle, removed their apps in Russia.
Niantic, publisher of the mobile hit Pokémon Go, cut off their Russian users.
App removed from app store in Russia only
App removed from app store in
both Russia and Belarus
Multiple apps from the same publisher
Circle sizes represent lifetime installs of the app in the regions where it was removed
French video game publisher Gameloft removed more than 40 games in the past month, including the popular Minion Rush.
In total these apps have been downloaded more than 45 million times.
Zynga, a leading video game developer, and Rollic removed more than 100 games in Russia and Belarus.
H&M
SEGA
Glue Games
Some Ukrainian-founded companies, such as Readdle, removed their apps in Russia.
Supercell, the publisher of Clash of Clans and Brawl Stars, removed five popular games.
Russia only
both Russia and Belarus
App removed from app store in
Multiple apps from the same publisher
Circle sizes represent lifetime installs of the app in the regions where it was removed
French video game publisher Gameloft removed more than 40 games in the past month, including the popular Minion Rush.
In total these apps have been downloaded more than 45 million times.
Zynga, a leading video game developer, and Rollic removed more than 100 games in Russia and Belarus.
H&M
SEGA
Glue Games
Some Ukrainian-founded companies, such as Readdle, removed their apps in Russia.
Supercell, the publisher of Clash of Clans and Brawl Stars, removed five popular games.
Note: The graphic only shows apps that have been removed from app stores in Belarus and Russia, but not anywhere else. Zynga data includes apps developed by Rollic Games, which was acquired by Zynga in 2020. Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News, has removed its apps in Russia and Belarus and suspended its business in Russia.
Source: Sensor Tower
Payment restrictions make it even more difficult for users in Russia to access mobile apps. In early March, Google suspended its payment system for users in the country, which means Russian users cannot buy apps and games, make subscription payments or conduct any in-app purchases.
App popularity is routinely driven by major events, such as downloads for health-care apps during the pandemic, and often reverse course as needs change. It’s unclear how lasting the war’s impact will be on the places where Russians shop, how they pay and whether they continue using privacy-preserving apps.
“The Russian authorities won’t be able to somehow restrict VPNs. The Russian servers simply don’t have access,” Trakhtenberg said. “So active users of banned social networks will continue to use them.”