Track mobile app growth signals for any app or category. Download trend data reveals which apps are gaining users, which categories are booming, and where mobile consumer attention is shifting.
Updated 2026-08-19
Trends MCP returns Android app install trends as a weekly 0-100 series, with about 5 years of history for apps that have been on Google Play that long. The keyword is the Android bundle ID, such as com.duolingo, never the consumer display name. Estimates follow Google Play via AppBrain-style methodology. Live charts without a bundle ID use the Google Play get_top_trends feed. The same MCP connection covers 25+ sources. The free plan includes 100 requests per month. Starter is $19/month.
Install trends show whether new Android users are still arriving. A steep climb can be a hit, a TV campaign, or a pre-install deal. A long plateau with a high index can be a utility everyone already has. A cliff can be a policy takedown, a rebrand to a new package name, or a finished fad.
The series is not iOS units, not subscription revenue, and not daily active users. Play Console remains the source of truth for a title the team publishes. Trends MCP is the external research series an assistant can query for peers and category checks.
get_trends stores the history. get_growth scores 3M and 6M change. get_top_trends with type Google Play lists what is charting now and takes no bundle ID.
Display names collide (Messenger, VPN, Bank). The package name does not. Copy it from the Play URL id= parameter. com.duolingo is valid. Duolingo is not. iOS bundle IDs (com.duolingo.DuolingoMobile) are a different namespace and will miss on this Android source.
Rebrands often ship a new package. The old ID's series freezes. Query both IDs around a cutover. White-label and OEM variants (com.vendor.app.samsung) are separate apps.
Category research is not a category string in this source. There is no keyword photography. Category discovery uses the live Google Play feed, then history calls on the bundle IDs that appear there. App store trends covers store-chart workflows next to this install series.
Google Play Developer API reports crashes, reviews, and statistics for apps the caller owns. It does not hand an assistant a five-year install curve for a competitor. App Store Connect is the same story on iOS: owned titles only.
Trends MCP does not replace store listing experiments, ASO rank tracking, or MMP attribution (AppsFlyer, Adjust). Those tools answer "did this campaign cause these installs" for an owned app. This source answers "is Android install interest for this package still rising" for any public Play listing the pipeline covers.
Sensor Tower, data.ai, and similar mobile-intel vendors sell deeper store ranks, revenue estimates, and iOS coverage. Teams should check current vendor pricing for those suites. Trends MCP is the MCP-native Android install series plus live Play charts, sitting beside web traffic and Google Trends.
Consumer-fund analysts watch fintech, health, and media apps as leading indicators of brand pull that may not show on the website yet. Product teams watch a peer's package around a feature launch. ASO specialists confirm that a rank jump had a download follow-through. Journalists watch a viral app's bundle ID for a few weeks after the first headline to see if the spike stuck.
Web-only businesses will look weak here. Mobile-only businesses will look weak on webtraffic. Using both sources is the usual complete picture.
Paid user acquisition creates a distinct signature: install index jumps while web traffic and Google Search stay flat, then the install series falls when the budget stops. Organic hits often move YouTube search, Google Search, and Android installs together, with web traffic lagging if the product is app-first. Assistants that only look at the Play live chart will confuse a featured-placement weekend with a durable category shift. The weekly 5-year series is what separates those cases.
Utility and VPN apps are noisy because new package names appear constantly and older IDs die. Finance and education brands are usually stabler IDs and better research objects. Games should be paired with Steam when the same IP exists on PC, because Android installs and monthly concurrent players can diverge after a soft launch.
Android only for the historical series. China Android stores and sideload APKs are outside Google Play estimates. Preloads and carrier deals can inflate new-device cohorts. The 0-100 index is relative to that package's own peak.
Quality is better on widely installed apps. Tiny tools and brand-new listings may miss or look jumpy. A Play takedown ends the series.
Store feature badges (editors' choice, holiday collections) can lift installs for a week without changing the 5-year slope. If 3M growth is strong and 1Y is flat, the story is a recent push, not a new category. If both windows are strong, the package is still compounding. That two-window read is the reason get_growth exists next to the live Google Play feed.
Quota is 100 requests per month free, Starter $19/month. Crawling every package in a category every day is a mobile-intel platform job.
Trends MCP is one MCP connection covering 25+ sources. Android install trends share the 0-100 index and about 5 years of weekly history with other research sources. Google Play live charts are available without a keyword.
Play Console and App Store Connect remain the path for owned-app truth.
Mobile intelligence vendors add iOS, revenue models, and creative libraries. Teams should check current vendor pricing. Trends MCP supplies the assistant-facing Android install series, not a full ASO workstation.
Tools for this workflow
get_trendsChart the Android install trend for any app using its bundle ID. See whether download growth is accelerating, plateauing, or declining over about 5 years.
get_trends(keyword='com.duolingo', source='app downloads', data_mode='weekly')get_growthCalculate app download growth over 3 and 6 months. Compare the result with the company's web traffic; divergence can show paid-install bursts versus durable demand.
get_growth(keyword='com.duolingo', source='app downloads', percent_growth=['3M', '6M'])get_ranked_trendsFind which Android apps are seeing the fastest download growth - useful for identifying emerging mobile products before they appear in mainstream app store charts.
get_ranked_trends(source='app downloads', sort='yoy_pct_change', limit=30)get_top_trendsSee which apps are topping Google Play right now - no bundle ID needed. Use this to spot new breakout apps and category shifts in the mobile market in real time.
get_top_trends(type='Google Play', limit=25)FAQ