Ramadan app marketing: installs, timing and ad creative for Muslim apps

Most of the work for a Ramadan app campaign happens in January. Ramadan 2027 is expected to begin around Monday 8 February, with Eid al-Fitr expected around 9 or 10 March depending on where your users live. Your store listing, in-app event and first ads should be approved and live before the first fast, because that is when people choose the apps they will use for the month.

The ads themselves should show the product doing one job: prayer times at sahur, a Quran reading plan, a fasting tracker, a charity calculator. Platforms do not let you target people by religion, so the creative has to find the audience for you.

When should a Muslim app start Ramadan marketing?

Start four to six weeks before Ramadan, with store assets first and paid ads last. Apple lets an in-app event "be promoted up to 14 days before its start date" and last up to 31 days (Apple), which covers a full Ramadan. Google Play asks you to enter an event date "more than 24 hours in the future" so it has time to review (Google Play Console Help), but you should not leave it that late.

All Ramadan and Eid dates depend on moon sighting or each community's method, so update your scheduled events if the dates move. For the wider seasonal plan, see the Ramadan 2027 ad calendar.

Does app usage really change in Ramadan?

Yes, though the published data is regional and mostly comes from measurement vendors. AppsFlyer reported that across the Middle East, app sessions during Ramadan 2025 rose by approximately 15% and non-organic installs by an estimated 10% compared with Ramadan 2024, based on over 800 apps (AppsFlyer).

Timing of day shifts too. In Indonesia, Google found YouTube watch time rose 230% during sahur in Ramadan 2023 compared with before Ramadan, and 33% during commute and lunch (Google). YouTube searches for Islamic and Muslim lifestyle terms in Indonesia rose 2.3 times from Ramadan 2022 to Ramadan 2023 (same source).

The category is also crowded. Muslim Pro alone said it had passed 150 million downloads worldwide in 2023 (Bitsmedia via PR Newswire). A new app needs a specific reason to be downloaded, not a general promise.

None of these sources publishes Ramadan ad prices. If you want to know whether your installs cost more in Ramadan, compare cost per install in your own account for last Ramadan against the four weeks before it.

How should you use App Store and Google Play features in Ramadan?

Use both, because they put your Ramadan feature in front of people already browsing the stores, before you pay for a single ad.

Sources: Apple and Google Play Console Help.

Apple allows up to 10 events published at a time. A sensible Ramadan set is one month-long event ("Ramadan reading plan") plus a short one for the last ten nights and one for Eid. Make each event a real change in the app, such as a new feature, a challenge or new content. Google Play says not to submit evergreen content or routine events, so a rebadged home screen will not qualify there.

Can you target Muslims with app install ads?

No. You cannot select religion as a targeting option on the main platforms. Meta removed detailed targeting options relating to "Religious practices and groups" from January 2022 (Meta). Google treats religious beliefs as a sensitive interest category: for religious products or topics, Customer Match, your data segments, lookalikes and audience expansion are not supported, though Google's predefined audiences, location and custom segments remain available with conditions (Google Ads policy). TikTok's policy bars advertisers from wrongfully targeting or excluding users based on religion (TikTok).

What works instead:

• Language. Meta's multi-language ads let you supply text per language and show each person the right version, and app installs is a supported objective (Meta for Developers). An Arabic, Urdu, Malay or Turkish version of your ad will find its audience faster than an English one.
• Location. Target the cities and countries where your users are, and use the dates that match each place.
• Creative. Show Ramadan features clearly. The people who need a sahur alarm will stop for one.

What should Ramadan app ads show?

Show the real app, one job per ad, at the moment of the day it is used. A screen recording or a clean screenshot inside a phone frame does more than a lantern illustration with a slogan.

Good single-job angles for a Muslim app:

• Sahur and iftar times for the viewer's city, with the alarm screen visible.
• A reading plan that splits the Quran across the month, showing today's page and progress.
• A fasting tracker for missed fasts or Shawwal fasts, with the calendar view.
• Zakat or sadaqah tools, showing the calculator, not a donation guilt trip.
• Qibla and prayer times for people travelling during Ramadan.

Sample headlines (examples for a made-up prayer app)

Before and after: an install ad rewrite

Before (example): "Are you fasting this Ramadan? Download now and multiply your rewards. Offer ends tonight."

After (example): "Sahur and iftar times for your city, with an alarm 30 minutes before Fajr. Free to download."

The first version asks about the viewer's religious practice, which runs into Meta's rule that ads "must not contain content that asserts or implies personal attributes", including religion (Meta). It also promises a spiritual reward the app cannot deliver and invents a deadline. The second describes what the app does. Our guide to Meta's personal attributes rule covers more phrasing.

Should a Quran app show verses in its ads?

Be careful. The Federal Territories Mufti in Malaysia issued a fatwa, gazetted in 2021, stating that "the use of verses of the Quran for the purpose of promoting a product is not allowed" (Skrine). A Quran app showing its own reading screen is different from using a verse as a sales slogan, but scholars may draw the line in different places. Ask a scholar you trust about your specific ad, and read our guide on Quran verses in advertising.

How should a small app split a Ramadan budget?

Weight spend towards the week before and the first week of Ramadan, when people are choosing their apps, and keep some back for re-engagement. Here is a worked example for a made-up app with US$1,200 to spend over six weeks.

This is an illustration of the shape, not a benchmark. Your own cost per install and retention will decide whether to move money between rows.

Ramadan app marketing checklist

1. Update screenshots and store text in every language you support by mid-January.
2. Submit an App Store in-app event to start showing around 25 January, without prices in the text.
3. Submit Google Play promotional content for a real, time-limited Ramadan feature.
4. Build ads that show one real screen and one job, in 4:5 for feeds and 9:16 for Stories.
5. Target by language and location. Remove any line that asks about the viewer's faith or practice.
6. Cut spiritual-reward promises, invented deadlines and verses used as slogans.
7. Note your cost per install and day-7 retention for each week, so next Ramadan's plan is based on your data.

Adrizq can draft image ads for your app in seven languages, including Arabic, Urdu, Malay and Turkish, and flags religious-benefit claims and invented urgency before you publish.

Frequently asked questions

When should I start marketing my Muslim app for Ramadan 2027?

Start four to six weeks before Ramadan, which is expected to begin around 8 February 2027. Update store screenshots and text by mid-January, schedule an App Store in-app event to start showing about 14 days before Ramadan, and have install ads approved and live in the first week of February. Leaving it until the first fast means competing for attention after most people have chosen their apps.

Can I target Muslims on Facebook or Google for app installs?

No. Meta removed religious practices and groups from detailed targeting in January 2022, and Google treats religious beliefs as a sensitive category, so Customer Match, lookalikes and audience expansion are not supported for religious products. Target by language and location instead, and use creative that shows your Ramadan feature clearly so the right people stop for it.

How far ahead can an App Store in-app event be shown?

Apple says an in-app event can be promoted up to 14 days before its start date and can last up to 31 days, which is long enough to cover the whole of Ramadan. You can have up to 10 events published at once. Apple also warns that including specific pricing in the event text will lead to rejection by App Review.

Is it allowed to say 'Are you fasting?' in an app ad?

It is likely to be rejected on Meta. Meta's Advertising Standards say ads must not assert or imply personal attributes, and religion is on the list. Asking whether the viewer is fasting implies their religious practice. Describe the feature instead, for example 'Sahur and iftar times for your city', which speaks to the need without addressing the viewer's faith.

Do app install costs go up during Ramadan?

No platform publishes Ramadan ad cost data, so there is no reliable general figure. Measurement firms such as AppsFlyer report higher sessions and installs in Ramadan in the Middle East, which suggests more competition. The best answer is in your own account: compare cost per install during last Ramadan with the four weeks before it.