Super users dominate news app engagement, Pugpig report finds
Users who engage with features like games, audio, video, search, save and sharing spend considerably longer in the app than those who don't
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A small group of "super users" account for the majority of engagement on publisher apps, according to a new media report from mobile publishing platform Pugpig. Meanwhile, nearly half of all app users remain anonymous and unconverted into known subscribers or registered users.
This dual challenge matters for publishers: while a handful of highly engaged users drive most sessions, time spent, and feature use, they are leaving a lot of potential for deeper relationships and greater revenue on the table.
The findings are based on analytics from over 440 apps across 140 publishers on the Pugpig platform, combined with a publisher survey. The report benchmarks engagement by app type, publishing frequency, and user behaviour. Other key insights include:
- Average session duration is rising, especially among users who interact with richer features like games, audio, and video.
- Daily news apps lead in engagement, but “mobile plus edition” formats also perform well.
- In-app advertising remains underutilised, and most app sessions are direct rather than driven by external links.
- Product team capacity is the biggest barrier to progress, not strategic uncertainty.
Read the full Pugpig Media App Report 2026 now.
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Written by
Jacob Granger is the community editor of JournalismUK