# Shadow IT Index: April 2026

Published April 1, 2026 by Torii Research (Torii). Updated October 7, 2026. Canonical URL: https://www.toriihq.com/research/reports/shadow-it-index-april-2026

An ad platform and an AI app builder lead April's shadow IT, as AI tools spread through the rest of the list.

## What the data says

Google Ad Manager (45% adoption) is the most widely adopted unsanctioned app in this edition, followed by the AI app builder Bolt.new (28% adoption). No other app passes 12%.

AI is the common thread: AI Platform is the top tag, on 7 apps, followed by Artificial Intelligence (5) and Conversational AI (4). Productivity (11) is the largest category, ahead of Developer Tools (6).

The median Shadow IT index is 82, and 6 of the 31 apps score 90 or higher. VibeCodeApp, another AI app builder, reaches the maximum of 100.

## At a glance

- Top 3: Google Ad Manager (45% adoption), Bolt.new (28% adoption), VitalSource (12% adoption).
- Highest Shadow IT scores: VibeCodeApp (100), BlueSky (93), VitalSource (91).
- Biggest moves since last edition: Genspark, up 17 to #6; ChatBox AI, down 11 to #13.

## What kinds of apps

AI-native apps: 45% (14 of the 31 apps). Share of this edition's apps by theme (one theme per app; definitions at https://www.toriihq.com/research/themes):

- AI coding and building: 16% (5 apps: Bolt.new, LM Studio, Tavily, VibeCodeApp, Groq)
- Developer and data tools: 16% (5 apps: Hostinger, Power Platform, Bruno, Explorium, Resend)
- Sales, marketing, and CX: 13% (4 apps: Google Ad Manager, Adweek, QR.io, Zoho)
- AI agents: 10% (3 apps: OpenClaw, Genspark, Tasklet)
- Personal productivity: 10% (3 apps: Tiimo, Clockify, Rectangle)
- Ops, HR, and finance: 10% (3 apps: Thankbox, Datasite, Juicebox AI)
- AI assistants: 6% (2 apps: Okara AI, ChatBox AI)
- AI notes and voice: 6% (2 apps: Spokenly, Transcribe)
- Personal and consumer apps: 6% (2 apps: VitalSource, BlueSky)
- AI content and media: 3% (1 app: Gamma.com.ai)
- Security and IT: 3% (1 app: Contrast Security)

## Rankings

Ranked by adoption.

| Rank | App | Category | Theme | AI-native | Adoption (%) | Shadow IT index | SOC 2 claimed | ISO 27001 claimed | GDPR claimed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Google Ad Manager | Sales & Marketing | Sales, marketing, and CX | No | 45 | 85 | No | No | No |
| 2 | Bolt.new | Developer Tools | AI coding and building | Yes | 28 | 82 | No | No | No |
| 3 | VitalSource | Productivity | Personal and consumer apps | No | 12 | 91 | No | No | No |
| 4 | OpenClaw | Productivity | AI agents | Yes | 9 | 86 | No | No | No |
| 5 | BlueSky | Productivity | Personal and consumer apps | No | 8 | 93 | No | No | No |
| 6 | Genspark | Productivity | AI agents | Yes | 6 | 82 | No | No | No |
| 7 | Thankbox | Customer Success | Ops, HR, and finance | No | 5 | 90 | No | No | No |
| 8 | Spokenly | Productivity | AI notes and voice | Yes | 5 | 86 | No | No | No |
| 9 | Okara AI | Productivity | AI assistants | Yes | 5 | 90 | No | No | No |
| 10 | Transcribe | Operations | AI notes and voice | Yes | 5 | 82 | No | No | No |
| 11 | LM Studio | Developer Tools | AI coding and building | Yes | 5 | 85 | No | No | No |
| 12 | Hostinger | IT & Security | Developer and data tools | No | 5 | 81 | No | Yes | Yes |
| 13 | ChatBox AI | Productivity | AI assistants | Yes | 4 | 83 | No | No | No |
| 14 | Power Platform | Analytics & BI | Developer and data tools | No | 4 | 76 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 15 | Tavily | Developer Tools | AI coding and building | Yes | 4 | 81 | No | No | Yes |
| 16 | Datasite | Operations | Ops, HR, and finance | No | 4 | 65 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 17 | Tiimo | Productivity | Personal productivity | No | 4 | 82 | No | No | No |
| 18 | Adweek | Sales & Marketing | Sales, marketing, and CX | No | 4 | 87 | No | No | No |
| 19 | Contrast Security | IT & Security | Security and IT | No | 4 | 80 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 20 | Bruno | Developer Tools | Developer and data tools | No | 3 | 76 | No | No | No |
| 21 | Clockify | Operations | Personal productivity | No | 3 | 73 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 22 | Explorium | Analytics & BI | Developer and data tools | No | 3 | 76 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 23 | Gamma.com.ai | Design | AI content and media | Yes | 3 | 80 | No | No | No |
| 24 | Juicebox AI | Human Resource | Ops, HR, and finance | Yes | 3 | 82 | Yes | No | Yes |
| 25 | QR.io | Operations | Sales, marketing, and CX | No | 3 | 72 | No | No | Yes |
| 26 | VibeCodeApp | Productivity | AI coding and building | Yes | 3 | 100 | No | No | No |
| 27 | Tasklet | Productivity | AI agents | Yes | 3 | 91 | No | No | No |
| 28 | Groq | Developer Tools | AI coding and building | Yes | 3 | 79 | Yes | No | Yes |
| 29 | Rectangle | Productivity | Personal productivity | No | 3 | 74 | No | No | No |
| 30 | Resend | Developer Tools | Developer and data tools | No | 3 | 84 | Yes | No | Yes |
| 31 | Zoho | Sales & Marketing | Sales, marketing, and CX | No | 3 | 71 | Yes | Yes | Yes |

## Method

Anonymized, aggregated usage data from companies across industries and sizes, reported as percentages, ranks, and scores. No single organization is identifiable. Methodology: https://www.toriihq.com/research/methodology

## Changelog

- 2026-10-07, Correction: Corrected the publication date to April 1, 2026. It was recorded as May 1, 2026, the same day as the May edition. The report was created in April, and every edition is dated the 1st of its month.
- 2026-10-07, Correction: Rewrote the takeaways from this edition's data. The original text repeated the February 2026 edition, so its apps and figures did not match the table on this page.
- 2026-10-07, Update: Moved from toriiresearch.com; title standardized. Torii Research now lives on toriihq.com. It was first published as "Shadow IT Index Report: April 26" at toriiresearch.com/reports/shadow-it-index-report-april-26.

## How to cite

Torii Research. (2026, April 1). Shadow IT Index: April 2026 [Data set]. Torii. https://www.toriihq.com/research/reports/shadow-it-index-april-2026

Data: https://www.toriihq.com/research/data/shadow-it-index-april-2026.csv and https://www.toriihq.com/research/data/shadow-it-index-april-2026.json