As mobile ad targeting becomes less effective, companies in the West are pushing the “super app” idea to capture ever more of users' time, attention, and money
The pressure traces back to platform policy. [[a:963397|Apple's App Tracking Transparency already pushed publishers like Zynga to acquire or build first-party ad tech]] — walled gardens Apple can't see into — and analysts flagged that [[a:965889|Apple itself could collect more IAP commissions if developers shift from free-with-ads to charging inside apps]]. The WSJ piece extends that logic from defensive ad tech to full super-app strategy, with critics like Ian Betteridge reading it as a rollback to the AOL era of closed portals.
First-order effects
Publishers and consumer apps facing weaker ad targeting must choose between building first-party data infrastructure — the path Zynga took after ATT — or joining someone else's super app as a service inside a bundle.
Apple sits on both sides of the shift: its privacy changes created the incentive, and any move toward paid, bundled apps routes more transactions through its IAP commission system.
Second-order effects
Ad-tech vendors lose leverage as demand shifts from third-party targeting tools toward owned audiences and in-app payments, echoing the first-party pivot ATT already forced on publishers.
Asian template companies like Paytm and Ola become reference architectures for Western entrants, pressuring single-purpose apps to add adjacent services (payments, commerce, content) before a rival bundles them instead.
Third-order effects
If the pattern holds, the open web of independent single-purpose apps gives way to a few mega-bundles competing on distribution and payments — the AOL-style walled garden critics describe, but rebuilt on smartphones with platform owners like Apple taking a cut of every transaction inside.
Regulatory scrutiny of gatekeeping platforms would likely intensify as super apps concentrate user time, data, and payment flows under fewer roofs.
The trend: Weakening mobile ad targeting is pushing Western consumer tech from ad-funded single-purpose apps toward Asian-style super apps that monetize bundled time, attention, and payments directly.
These “super apps” are, of course, the ultimate walled garden, rolling back to the era of AOL and away from the open web. They're are basically what Facebook has been trying to be for years (and largely failing) https://www.wsj.com/...
solid piece on the rise of super apps by @mims in @wsj. first super app IMHO was America Online, similar in features and partnerships to WeChat (but absolutely not the same). https://www.wsj.com/...
Not sure many would be thrilled to have one app control so much... Would you use a super app? -> As mobile ad targeting becomes less effective, the “super app” idea could become more appealing in the West w/companies scrambling to keep people inside apps https://www.wsj.com/... h…
WeChat is the prime example: “WeChat became so dominant by slowly adding features, starting with payments. Eventually, WeChat launched a platform for “mini apps” within WeChat itself, but no one knew if it would be a success at first...” https://www.wsj.com/... https://twitter.co…
« As companies look to keep users inside their walled gardens and introduce them to services they might not already be using, it's likely to mean we'll be spending more time inside individual super apps—whether or not we think they're all that super » https://twitter.com/...
“WeChat, launched in 2011 by Chinese internet giant Tencent, is the archetypal super app...WeChat didn't set out to become a super app, and in fact there's no word in Chinese for ‘super app.’” @mims https://www.wsj.com/...
Look! Up in the sky! Is it a bird? A plane? No, it's super...apps. Columnist @mims explains why tech giants want to stuff more features into their platforms. https://www.wsj.com/...
Uber wants to start selling train tickets and offering car rentals. Spotify now offers audiobooks and video streaming. Why are apps sprouting so many features? https://www.wsj.com/...
Super Apps didn't work quite well in India Now Tata Neu is experimenting with everything from Grocery, Travel, Shopping and even FinTech, Offering Digital Gold and Personal Loans, Do you think they can make it big?
Living in China for the past 6 years, I have experienced first-hand the power of Super Apps. Using the apps WeChat or AliPay, you literally transact life on them. Super Apps are the future. POWERED BY POLYGON! #POLYGON #PolygonMatic #SUPERAPPS #MATIC #Web3 https://twitter.com/...
@Ravisutanjani Yes I guess. Super Apps haven't been tested in India with it's full potential. Hike came before time. PayTM, PhonePe they tried to be but their service particularly in e-comm domain was not able to compete with Amazon/Flipkart. I guess Tata Neu, Jio & Adani Labs wi…