Shadow IT Index: February 2026
Shadow IT reveals a strong focus on productivity, from daily organization to creative AI development.
Updated October 7, 2026 · ChangelogSource: Torii Research, anonymized and aggregated usage data. Published February 1, 2026. Summary figures computed from the 50 apps in this report.
What kinds of apps
Every edition, by theme →Share of the 50 apps in this edition, by theme. Each app has one theme, assigned by Torii Research from what the product does; AI marks the AI themes. Select a theme to filter the list below. How themes work.
Top of the index
Ranked by adoption.
All 50 apps
Project Management
Async
Teams Collaboration · Knowledge Management · Content Creation
About Async
Enhances team collaboration by providing an AI-driven product management tool that integrates with Slack for improved clarity and streamlined workflows.
Theme: Work suites and collaboration
Vendor claims: none listed
Productivity
Kimi
Artificial Intelligence · Knowledge Management · AI Platform
About Kimi
Delivers intelligent assistance with profound reasoning capabilities, enabling users to engage in extensive reading and internet exploration efficiently.
Theme: AI assistants · AI-native
Vendor claims: none listed
Productivity
ChatOn
AI Writer · AI Agent · AI Generated Images and Videos
About ChatOn
Enhances creativity through an all-in-one AI chatbot, offering image generation, document management, and web search while providing customizable response tones for broader use in various contexts.
Theme: AI assistants · AI-native
Vendor claims: none listed
Productivity
Manus
AI Agent · AI Platform · Artificial Intelligence
About Manus
An AI agent that assists with various personal and professional tasks.
Theme: AI agents · AI-native
Vendor claims: GDPR
Productivity
Wispr Flow
Writing Assistance · Text to Speech · Voice Generator
About Wispr Flow
Offers seamless voice dictation across all applications to enhance writing speed and accuracy while adapting communication style based on context and audience.
Theme: AI notes and voice · AI-native
Vendor claims: GDPR
Developer Tools
Base44
Rapid Application Development · AI Platform · AI Development
About Base44
An AI-powered platform that allows users to build fully functioning apps quickly without coding, simplifying the development process and reducing costs.
Theme: AI coding and building · AI-native
Vendor claims: none listed
Productivity
Genspark
AI Platform · AI Agent · Productivity Tools
About Genspark
An AI-powered productivity and creativity suite designed to enable users to perform complex tasks across content creation, data analysis, research, design, and communications through a conversational interface.
Theme: AI agents · AI-native
Vendor claims: none listed
Analytics & BI
Upstash
Serverless Frameworks · REST API · Database Management
About Upstash
Upstash develops serverless data platform for developers of data-intensive applications using a consumption-based pricing model.
Theme: Developer and data tools
Vendor claims: SOC 2, GDPR
Productivity
PDF House
Document Management · Document Editor · PDF Readers and Editors
About PDF House
Online PDF editor for editing, converting, merging, compressing, signing, and securing documents.
Theme: Personal productivity
Vendor claims: none listed
Design
Photoroom
Mobile photo edit · API Integration · Artificial Intelligence
About Photoroom
Offers robust editing capabilities to enhance images by removing backgrounds, resizing, and adding text, enabling users to create appealing visuals for various marketing purposes.
Theme: AI content and media · AI-native
Vendor claims: SOC 2, GDPR
IT & Security
NordVPN
Virtual Private Network (VPN) · Data Privacy · Network Security
Human Resource
Kahoot!
E-Learning · Games Tech · Learning Collaboration
About Kahoot!
Kahoot! is a free game-based learning platform, as educational technology. Kahoot! makes it easy to create, play and share fun learning games in minutes, for any subject, in any language, on any device, for all ages. With Kahoot! you can introduce new topics, test knowledge, revise, connect with others all over the world, survey opinions, gather insights, facilitate discussion, spark up professional development or just have a little fun.
Theme: Personal and consumer apps
Vendor claims: SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR
Productivity
reMarkable
Document Management · Note Taking · Smart noteboook
About reMarkable
Offers a digital notebook experience that mimics the feel of paper, allowing for seamless handwriting-to-text conversion and organization of notes within a distraction-free environment.
Theme: Personal productivity
Vendor claims: GDPR
Developer Tools
Netlify
DNS Services · Content Delivery Network (CDN) · Build and Deployment Automation
About Netlify
Deploy modern static websites with Netlify. Get CDN, Continuous deployment, 1-click HTTPS, and all the services you need.
Theme: Developer and data tools
Vendor claims: SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR
IT & Security
WebEx
Audio Conferencing · Webinar · Web and Video Conferencing
About WebEx
Cisco WebEx is an enterprise solution for video and web conferencing. This is a secure software-based platform for video and audio conferencing, business messaging, and webinars.
Theme: Work suites and collaboration
Vendor claims: SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR
Operations
SoundCloud
Podcasting
About SoundCloud
SoundCloud is a music and podcast streaming platform that lets you listen to millions of songs from around the world, or upload your own.
Theme: Personal and consumer apps
Vendor claims: GDPR
IT & Security
Grafana Cloud
Share Logo · Metric Assimilation · Visualization Tool
About Grafana Cloud
Grafana Cloud is a fully managed cloud observability platform based on open-source projects. It provides capabilities for metrics, logs, and traces, and offers a flexible architecture for data integration.
Theme: Developer and data tools
Vendor claims: SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR
Design
Artlist
Royalty Free Music
About Artlist
Music licensing. Library of high-quality royalty free music for video, YouTube, advertising and film. From inspiring indie artists around the world
Theme: Design and video
Vendor claims: none listed
Productivity
Cal.com
Scheduling · Meeting Management · Interview Scheduling
About Cal.com
Open Source Scheduling: Send a link and meet or build an entire marketplace for humans to connect.
Theme: Personal productivity
Vendor claims: SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR
IT & Security
ExpressVPN
Virtual Private Network (VPN) · Data Privacy · Network Security
About ExpressVPN
ExpressVPN is a lightning fast, log-free virtual private network provider. ExpressVPN creates a secure tunnel between your computer and the internet, allowing you to surf the web anonymously from wherever you want.
Theme: Security and IT
Vendor claims: GDPR
Operations
Termius
File Collaborations · Identity and Access Management · Document Collaboration
About Termius
Termius lets the user to organize hosts into groups. Groups allow to share settings, though each host can have its own separate preferences. This data, along with connection and command history, is securely synced across all your devices. Termius uses end-to-end encryption to ensure the data remains safe and secure.
Theme: Developer and data tools
Vendor claims: SOC 2, GDPR
Human Resource
Indeed
Job Board · Recruiting · Job Search
About Indeed
Search jobs from job boards, newspapers, classifieds and company websites.
Theme: Personal and consumer apps
Vendor claims: none listed
Operations
VoIP and SIP · Instant Messaging · Group Messaging
About WhatsApp
WhatsApp is free and offers simple, secure, reliable messaging and calling, available on phones all over the world
Theme: Personal and consumer apps
Vendor claims: SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR
Human Resource
MasterClass
E-Learning · Online Courses · Learning Platform
About MasterClass
MasterClass is a streaming platform that provides training from industry experts in various fields and offers professional development in fields such as art, business, design, sports and writing with downloadable workbooks and flexible learning options
Theme: Personal and consumer apps
Vendor claims: none listed
Developer Tools
Exa
API Management · Web Data · API Development
About Exa
The Exa API specializes in retrieving real-time web data to enhance AI applications.
Theme: AI coding and building · AI-native
Vendor claims: none listed
Design
Wondershare
Graphic Design Software
About Wondershare
Technology for creativity, document, and utility solution.
Theme: Design and video
Vendor claims: none listed
Productivity
PopAi
AI Generated Images and Videos · AI Generated Content · AI Platform
About PopAi
PopAi is an AI tool designed to enhance productivity by providing instant answers, using the latest AI models, and offering various productivity features.
Theme: AI assistants · AI-native
Vendor claims: GDPR
IT & Security
Sada
Cloud Computing · Consulting · Cloud Infrastructure
About Sada
Empowers organizations to leverage AI and data solutions while ensuring cloud security, productivity enhancement, and infrastructure modernization for innovative business strategies.
Theme: Security and IT
Vendor claims: SOC 2
Project Management
Smartsheet
Collaborative Spreadsheet · Collaborative Calendars · Project Planning
About Smartsheet
Smartsheet is a software as a service (SaaS) application for collaboration and work management. It is used to assign tasks, track project progress, manage calendars, share documents and manage other work. It has a spreadsheet-like user interface.
Theme: Work suites and collaboration
Vendor claims: SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR
Productivity
Doodle
Scheduling · Collaborative Calendars · Calendar Productivity
About Doodle
Doodle simplifies the process of scheduling events, meetings, appointments.
Theme: Personal productivity
Vendor claims: SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR
Productivity
OpenRouter
API Integration · AI Platform · Artificial Intelligence
About OpenRouter
Aggregates and presents a unified interface for accessing large language models, aiding users in comparing the best models and prices for their specific prompts.
Theme: AI coding and building · AI-native
Vendor claims: GDPR
Sales & Marketing
Eventbrite
Event Ticketing · Event Check In · Event Management
About Eventbrite
Eventbrite powers ticketing and registration for more than two million live experiences each year, hosting the world’s largest online selection of events. We build technology that allows anyone to create, share, find and attend events of all kinds. Music festivals, marathons, conferences, hackathons, political rallies, fundraisers, gaming competitions, you name it, we power it.
Theme: Sales, marketing, and CX
Vendor claims: SOC 2, ISO 27001
Productivity
Obsidian
Note Taking · Mind Maps · Notes
About Obsidian
Obsidian is the private and flexible note‑taking app that adapts to the way you think.
Theme: Personal productivity
Vendor claims: none listed
Developer Tools
Firebase
Database Hosting · Realtime Backend · Mobile Development
About Firebase
Firebase is google's mobile platform helps you build better mobile apps and grow your business
Theme: Developer and data tools
Vendor claims: SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR
Operations
Skype for Business
Live Chat · Voice conference · Web and Video Conferencing
About Skype for Business
Skype is an application that provides video chat and voice call services. Users may exchange such digital documents as images, text, video and any others, and may transmit both text and video messages. Skype allows the creation of video conference calls.
Theme: Work suites and collaboration
Vendor claims: SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR
Operations
iTunes
Podcasting · Video and Streaming · Audio Marketing
About iTunes
iTunes is a digital media player app that can be used to play, download, and organize digital audio and video on personal computers running the OS X and Microsoft Windows operating systems. It can be also used as a media library, online radio broadcaster, and mobile device management application.
Theme: Personal and consumer apps
Vendor claims: ISO 27001, GDPR
Finance
Ramp
Employee Reimbursement · Expense Reporting · Virtual Credit Card
About Ramp
Platform for finance operations and finance teams.
Theme: Ops, HR, and finance
Vendor claims: SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR
Productivity
Microsoft Outlook
Email Client · Email Service Provider · Email Deliverability
About Microsoft Outlook
Outlook’s email and calendar tools help you communicate, stay on top of what matters, and get things done.
Theme: Work suites and collaboration
Vendor claims: SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR
Productivity
TripAdvisor
Hotel booking · Travel
About TripAdvisor
TripAdvisor is a free travel guide and research website. It provides reviews of travel-related content and includes interactive travel forums.
Theme: Personal and consumer apps
Vendor claims: none listed
Finance
Netto
Compliance Automation · Tax and Compliance Software · Compliance
About Netto
Enhances property management for banks by improving data quality, minimizing risk, and maximizing returns from property portfolios.
Theme: Ops, HR, and finance
Vendor claims: GDPR
Sales & Marketing
Opal
Online Marketing
About Opal
Visual, scalable platform for marketing collaboration, purpose-built for the modern marketing teams.
Theme: Sales, marketing, and CX
Vendor claims: SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR
Human Resource
Quizlet
E-Learning · Online Courses · Employee Training
About Quizlet
Quizlet makes simple learning tools that let you study anything. Start learning today with flashcards, games and learning tools
Theme: Personal and consumer apps
Vendor claims: none listed
Developer Tools
MiniMax.io
AI Generated Music · Video and Streaming · AI Agent
About MiniMax.io
Develops various AI-native models that enhance text, audio, and video processing for multiple applications while offering exceptional multilingual capabilities, real-time response, and professional-grade performance.
Theme: AI coding and building · AI-native
Vendor claims: GDPR
Human Resource
Scribd
Audiobooks · E-Learning · In-App Subscriptions
About Scribd
Stay informed, discover new passions, feed your curiosity, and never stop learning with access to everything you want to read
Theme: Personal and consumer apps
Vendor claims: none listed
Productivity
Fellow
Meeting Notes · Meeting Management
About Fellow
From 1-on-1s to team meetings, build collaborative meeting agendas, assign action items & record decisions.
Theme: AI notes and voice · AI-native
Vendor claims: SOC 2, GDPR
Design
Picsart
AI Platform · Templating · AI Generated Images and Videos
About Picsart
Empowers users to create and edit visuals through a versatile suite of design tools and resources, enhancing creativity and engagement in digital content creation.
Theme: Design and video
Vendor claims: none listed
Operations
SignNow
Multi-party signing · Digital Signature · Document Management
Productivity
Vivaldi
Browser · Browser Security · Email Productivity
About Vivaldi
A privacy-focused, highly customizable, all-in-one browser with many native productivity and communication features.
Theme: Browsers and search
Vendor claims: GDPR
Design
Imagine art
Video Creation · AI Platform · AI Generated Images and Videos
About Imagine art
Enables users to create AI-generated art and videos using descriptive text inputs.
Theme: AI content and media · AI-native
Vendor claims: GDPR
Design
Higgsfield
Image Recognition · Photo Edit · Augmented Reality
About Higgsfield
Offers advanced visual effects and intuitive camera controls for creating ultra-realistic images with customizable avatars and inpainting for engaging product placements.
Theme: AI content and media · AI-native
Vendor claims: GDPR
Source: Torii Research, anonymized and aggregated usage data. Published February 1, 2026. Summary figures computed from the 50 apps in this report.
What the data says
In this report, we saw a clear focus on core efficiency, with Productivity (16) dominating the most frequent app categories. This drive extends to creative work, highlighted by top tags like AI Generated Images and Videos (7) and AI Agent (4).
Developer adoption is also key, with Developer Tools (5) among the top categories. Individual apps like Async (18% Adoption) for AI-driven project management and Kimi (13% Adoption) for intelligent assistance are leading the push toward higher productivity.
The data
Show the full data table (50 rows)
| Rank | App | Category | Theme | AI-native | Adoption (%) | Shadow IT index | SOC 2 claimed | ISO 27001 claimed | GDPR claimed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Async | Project Management | Work suites and collaboration | No | 18 | 90 | No | No | No |
| 2 | Kimi | Productivity | AI assistants | Yes | 13 | 88 | No | No | No |
| 3 | ChatOn | Productivity | AI assistants | Yes | 9 | 85 | No | No | No |
| 4 | Manus | Productivity | AI agents | Yes | 7 | 93 | No | No | Yes |
| 5 | Wispr Flow | Productivity | AI notes and voice | Yes | 7 | 83 | No | No | Yes |
| 6 | Base44 | Developer Tools | AI coding and building | Yes | 7 | 88 | No | No | No |
| 7 | Genspark | Productivity | AI agents | Yes | 7 | 85 | No | No | No |
| 8 | Upstash | Analytics & BI | Developer and data tools | No | 7 | 85 | Yes | No | Yes |
| 9 | PDF House | Productivity | Personal productivity | No | 5 | 95 | No | No | No |
| 10 | Photoroom | Design | AI content and media | Yes | 5 | 90 | Yes | No | Yes |
| 11 | NordVPN | IT & Security | Security and IT | No | 5 | 85 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 12 | Kahoot! | Human Resource | Personal and consumer apps | No | 5 | 85 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 13 | reMarkable | Productivity | Personal productivity | No | 5 | 85 | No | No | Yes |
| 14 | Netlify | Developer Tools | Developer and data tools | No | 5 | 81 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 15 | WebEx | IT & Security | Work suites and collaboration | No | 5 | 81 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 16 | SoundCloud | Operations | Personal and consumer apps | No | 5 | 89 | No | No | Yes |
| 17 | Grafana Cloud | IT & Security | Developer and data tools | No | 5 | 89 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 18 | Artlist | Design | Design and video | No | 4 | 94 | No | No | No |
| 19 | Cal.com | Productivity | Personal productivity | No | 4 | 94 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 20 | ExpressVPN | IT & Security | Security and IT | No | 4 | 88 | No | No | Yes |
| 21 | Termius | Operations | Developer and data tools | No | 4 | 88 | Yes | No | Yes |
| 22 | Indeed | Human Resource | Personal and consumer apps | No | 4 | 83 | No | No | No |
| 23 | Operations | Personal and consumer apps | No | 4 | 83 | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| 24 | MasterClass | Human Resource | Personal and consumer apps | No | 4 | 100 | No | No | No |
| 25 | Exa | Developer Tools | AI coding and building | Yes | 4 | 93 | No | No | No |
| 26 | Wondershare | Design | Design and video | No | 4 | 93 | No | No | No |
| 27 | PopAi | Productivity | AI assistants | Yes | 4 | 93 | No | No | Yes |
| 28 | Sada | IT & Security | Security and IT | No | 4 | 88 | Yes | No | No |
| 29 | Smartsheet | Project Management | Work suites and collaboration | No | 4 | 88 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 30 | Doodle | Productivity | Personal productivity | No | 4 | 88 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 31 | OpenRouter | Productivity | AI coding and building | Yes | 4 | 88 | No | No | Yes |
| 32 | Eventbrite | Sales & Marketing | Sales, marketing, and CX | No | 4 | 88 | Yes | Yes | No |
| 33 | Obsidian | Productivity | Personal productivity | No | 4 | 88 | No | No | No |
| 34 | Firebase | Developer Tools | Developer and data tools | No | 4 | 88 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 35 | Skype for Business | Operations | Work suites and collaboration | No | 4 | 88 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 36 | iTunes | Operations | Personal and consumer apps | No | 4 | 82 | No | Yes | Yes |
| 37 | Ramp | Finance | Ops, HR, and finance | No | 4 | 82 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 38 | Microsoft Outlook | Productivity | Work suites and collaboration | No | 4 | 82 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 39 | TripAdvisor | Productivity | Personal and consumer apps | No | 4 | 82 | No | No | No |
| 40 | Netto | Finance | Ops, HR, and finance | No | 4 | 100 | No | No | Yes |
| 41 | Opal | Sales & Marketing | Sales, marketing, and CX | No | 4 | 100 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 42 | Quizlet | Human Resource | Personal and consumer apps | No | 4 | 93 | No | No | No |
| 43 | MiniMax.io | Developer Tools | AI coding and building | Yes | 4 | 93 | No | No | Yes |
| 44 | Scribd | Human Resource | Personal and consumer apps | No | 4 | 93 | No | No | No |
| 45 | Fellow | Productivity | AI notes and voice | Yes | 4 | 93 | Yes | No | Yes |
| 46 | Picsart | Design | Design and video | No | 4 | 93 | No | No | No |
| 47 | SignNow | Operations | Ops, HR, and finance | No | 4 | 87 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 48 | Vivaldi | Productivity | Browsers and search | No | 4 | 87 | No | No | Yes |
| 49 | Imagine art | Design | AI content and media | Yes | 4 | 87 | No | No | Yes |
| 50 | Higgsfield | Design | AI content and media | Yes | 4 | 81 | No | No | Yes |
Free to quote with attribution to Torii Research and a link to this page. A plain-text version is at shadow-it-index-february-2026.md.
How to read this index
- Adoption
- The percentage of monitored organizations where the app was adopted during that month: a monthly figure, not a running total. The list is ranked on this number where it is available.
- Shadow IT index
- How often the app is left as "discovered" rather than sanctioned through SSO or procurement, normalized to 0 to 100.
- Why it surfaced
- The app's top functional tags. Open an app for its full profile across every edition.
Definitions in the glossary; formulas and limitations on the Methodology page.
Changelog
- CorrectionCorrected category and tag counts in the takeaways.
- UpdateMoved from toriiresearch.com; title standardized.
