Shadow IT Index: March 2026
OpenAI Codex leads March's shadow IT by a wide margin, as AI tools take the top two spots.
Updated October 7, 2026 · ChangelogSource: Torii Research, anonymized and aggregated usage data. Published March 1, 2026. Summary figures computed from the 50 apps in this report.
What kinds of apps
Every edition, by theme →Not in this edition, but in February 2026: Security and IT (6%).
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
Developer Tools
OpenAI Codex
Application Development · AI Agent · AI Platform
About OpenAI Codex
An AI coding partner that understands entire codebases, safely executes commands in sandboxed environments, and turns issues into reviewed, production ready pull requests.
Theme: AI coding and building · AI-native
Vendor claims: SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR
Productivity
ChatBox AI
Conversational AI · Writing Assistance · AI Platform
About ChatBox AI
Generates AI-enhanced visuals and assists in content creation, offering tools for document editing, grammar checking, and social media post writing to enhance productivity and creativity.
Theme: AI assistants · AI-native
Vendor claims: none listed
Operations
Avenue
Data Integration · Task Management · Notifications System
About Avenue
Avenue is a task queue for modern operations teams. It connects to various data sources to streamline issue resolution.
Theme: Ops, HR, and finance
Vendor claims: none listed
Sales & Marketing
MNTN
Advertising Optimization · TV Advertising · Advertising Measurement
About MNTN
MNTN offers a comprehensive solution for managing and optimizing TV ad campaigns using data and automation techniques.
Theme: Sales, marketing, and CX
Vendor claims: GDPR
Developer Tools
Travis CI
Application Testing · Workflow Automation · Continuous Integration and Delivery
About Travis CI
Travis CI is a hosted, distributed continuous integration service used to build and test software projects hosted at GitHub.
Theme: Developer and data tools
Vendor claims: GDPR
Developer Tools
DX Insights
Developer Training · Employee Onboarding · Developer Productivity
About DX Insights
DX is a developer insights platform that provides both qualitative and quantitative measures.
Theme: Developer and data tools
Vendor claims: SOC 2
IT & Security
Workplace
Internal Social Networks · Internal Communication · Instant Messaging
About Workplace
Workplace is an entrerprise internal communication tool built by Facebook
Theme: Work suites and collaboration
Vendor claims: SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR
Human Resource
Sterling
Employment Background Checks · HR Management · Candidate Screening and Assessment
About Sterling
Sterling is a leading provider of background cheks and identity services.
Theme: Ops, HR, and finance
Vendor claims: SOC 2
Developer Tools
Airplane.dev
Developer Productivity · Workflow Automation · Rapid Application Development
About Airplane.dev
Airplane is a developer platform for internal tools.
Theme: Developer and data tools
Vendor claims: none listed
Analytics & BI
ARInsights
Email Deliverability · Cloud IDE · Analysis Work
About ARInsights
ARInsights empowers Analyst Relations professionals to optimize knowledge sharing with industry analysts and manage their workflow from a single, integrated platform.
Theme: Developer and data tools
Vendor claims: SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR
Human Resource
Crystal
Human Capital Management
About Crystal
Crystal helps you understand yourself, your coworkers, and your customers.
Theme: Sales, marketing, and CX · AI-native
Vendor claims: SOC 2, GDPR
Operations
SHI
None
About SHI
SHI is a corporate reseller of software, hardware, and related services.
Theme: Ops, HR, and finance
Vendor claims: none listed
Human Resource
Fountain
Applicant Tracking System · Recruitment Automation · Applicant Tracking
About Fountain
Hiring software. Fully customize your hourly hiring process.
Theme: Ops, HR, and finance
Vendor claims: SOC 2, GDPR
Productivity
Tool Management · Mind Maps
About Pocket
Pocket helps people to save interesting articles, videos and more from the web for later enjoyment
Theme: Personal productivity
Vendor claims: none listed
Productivity
Clara
Email Deliverability · Email Scheduling · Virtual Assistant
About Clara
Clara is a virtual assistant that understands you like a person but operates at the scale, speed, and persistence of a machine. Clara is a digital employee that schedules your meetings, getting you to the work that matters, faster.
Theme: AI agents · AI-native
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
Developer Tools
21st.dev
UI Components · Libraries and Widgets · Design Marketplace
About 21st.dev
Offers a comprehensive library of customizable React components, empowering developers and designers to efficiently create, share, and innovate user interfaces.
Theme: Developer and data tools
Vendor claims: none listed
Developer Tools
Continue.dev
Software Development Services · Code Editor · Artificial Intelligence
About Continue.dev
Open-source AI code assistant for autocompletion and chat experiences in IDEs.
Theme: AI coding and building · AI-native
Vendor claims: none listed
Operations
Butter.us
Session Recording and Playback · AI Summarizer · Online Meetings
About Butter.us
Butter is an all in one virtual collaboration platform that empowers you to run highly engaging and effective collaborative sessions.
Theme: Work suites and collaboration
Vendor claims: SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR
Productivity
Harvest
Task Management · Time Tracking · Attendance Management
About Harvest
Simple time tracking, fast online invoicing, and powerful reporting software. Simplify employee timesheets and billing. Get started for free
Theme: Personal productivity
Vendor claims: none listed
Sales & Marketing
Pencil
Creative Design Services · Artificial Intelligence · Marketing Automation Platforms
About Pencil
Generates, tests, and scales effective advertisements through intelligent automation that enhances workflow efficiency while ensuring brand consistency and maximizing creative potential.
Theme: AI content and media · AI-native
Vendor claims: GDPR
Sales & Marketing
Buffer
Scheduling · Customer Engagement · Social Media Management
About Buffer
Buffer is a software application designed to manage accounts in social networks, by providing the means for a user to schedule posts to Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin. Buffer is the best way to drive traffic, increase fan engagement, and save time scheduling to social media.
Theme: Sales, marketing, and CX
Vendor claims: GDPR
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
Productivity
Lucid
Graphic Design Software · Collaborative Design and Prototyping · Flow Charts and Diagrams
About Lucid
Lucid’s lineup includes Lucidchart, the diagramming application used to create compelling and attractive visual communications, and Lucidpress, a publishing tool used to create print and digital content
Theme: Work suites and collaboration
Vendor claims: SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR
Developer Tools
Fern
REST API · API Documentation · API Development
About Fern
Fern is a toolkit designed for building and managing REST APIs, offering capabilities to generate SDKs, API documentation, and boilerplate code for backend servers.
Theme: Developer and data tools
Vendor claims: none listed
Sales & Marketing
Arena
CRM · CRM Automation · Sales Productivity
About Arena
HubSpot pipeline, powered by Slack.
Theme: Sales, marketing, and CX
Vendor claims: none listed
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
Analytics & BI
Powerdrill
Data Analysis · Data Processing · Data Integration
About Powerdrill
Empowers teams to leverage AI-driven agents for swift data analysis and informed decision-making through an intuitive interface for enhanced collaboration and productivity.
Theme: Developer and data tools · AI-native
Vendor claims: ISO 27001
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
Human Resource
Cornerstone OnDemand
Human Capital Management · Employee Performance Management · Talent Management
About Cornerstone OnDemand
Cornerstone OnDemand is a cloud-based learning and talent management solutions provider. Cornerstone is designed to enable a lifetime of learning and development that is fundamental to the growth of employees and organizations. From recruitment, onboarding, training and collaboration, to performance management, compensation, succession planning, people administration and analytics, Cornerstone is there at every phase of the employee lifecycle.
Theme: Ops, HR, and finance
Vendor claims: SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR
Productivity
Clipchamp
Video Editors · Recording and Converting Tool · Video Compressor
About Clipchamp
Clipchamp lets users convert, compress and record videos in the browser. It's a free service that doesn't require installing software or uploading files to an online video converter or compressor.
Theme: Design and video
Vendor claims: none listed
Analytics & BI
SEOGets
Web Analytics · SEO Management · Search Engine Optimization
About SEOGets
Enhances SEO analytics by offering a comprehensive dashboard that efficiently consolidates data, streamlines filtering, and simplifies reporting and strategy development for professionals.
Theme: Sales, marketing, and CX
Vendor claims: none listed
Sales & Marketing
Brand Marketing · Social Marketing · Social Media Advertising
About Pinterest
Pinterest helps you to discover recipes, home ideas, style inspiration and other ideas to try.
Theme: Personal and consumer apps
Vendor claims: GDPR
Sales & Marketing
Rocketreach
Brand Management · Email Marketing Automation · CRM
About Rocketreach
RocketReach helps you unlimit your professional network. You can now find emails, phone numbers for anyone in the professional world, and reach out to them directly. Users can lookup email & phone info for 250+ million professionals.
Theme: Sales, marketing, and CX
Vendor claims: SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR
Developer Tools
Microsoft Graph
Data Integration · Workflow Management
About Microsoft Graph
Use the Microsoft Graph API to connect to the data that drives productivity, mail, calendar, contacts, documents, directory, devices, and more.
Theme: Developer and data tools
Vendor claims: SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR
Productivity
Notion Mail
AI Platform · Email Management · Email Scheduling
About Notion Mail
An AI-powered email client that integrates the familiar Notion-style interface with advanced automation, filtering, and personalization features.
Theme: Personal productivity · AI-native
Vendor claims: SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR
Design
tweakcn
Front End Framework · Design to Code · UI Components
About tweakcn
Offers an interactive editor for customizing themes in shadcn/ui, enabling users to modify properties, preview changes seamlessly, and retrieve code instantly for enhanced design flexibility.
Theme: Developer and data tools
Vendor claims: none listed
Operations
GoTo
VoIP and SIP · Online Meetings · Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS)
About GoTo
GoTo’s portfolio, which includes GoTo Resolve, Rescue, GoTo Connect, and more, helps securely support and connect businesses to their teams and customers.
Theme: Work suites and collaboration
Vendor claims: ISO 27001, GDPR
Sales & Marketing
Feedly
Web Content Management · Content Discovery Platform
About Feedly
The feedly platform lets you discover sources of quality content, follow and read everything those sources publish with ease and organize everything in one place.
Theme: Sales, marketing, and CX
Vendor claims: ISO 27001, GDPR
Productivity
Thunderbird
Email Client
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 March 1, 2026. Summary figures computed from the 50 apps in this report.
What the data says
OpenAI Codex (33% adoption) tops the index by a wide margin, more than double the next app, ChatBox AI (16% adoption). Both are AI tools, and AI Platform is the most common tag in the list, on 8 apps.
Productivity (13) and Developer Tools (10) are the largest categories, followed by Sales & Marketing (8) and Human Resource (6). Developer tools such as Travis CI and DX Insights each reach 9% adoption.
Shadow risk runs high across the list: the median Shadow IT index is 78.5, 9 of the 50 apps score 90 or higher, and SEOGets and Opal reach the maximum of 100.
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 | OpenAI Codex | Developer Tools | AI coding and building | Yes | 33 | 89 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 2 | ChatBox AI | Productivity | AI assistants | Yes | 16 | 83 | No | No | No |
| 3 | Avenue | Operations | Ops, HR, and finance | No | 15 | 91 | No | No | No |
| 4 | MNTN | Sales & Marketing | Sales, marketing, and CX | No | 14 | 78 | No | No | Yes |
| 5 | Travis CI | Developer Tools | Developer and data tools | No | 9 | 69 | No | No | Yes |
| 6 | DX Insights | Developer Tools | Developer and data tools | No | 9 | 69 | Yes | No | No |
| 7 | Workplace | IT & Security | Work suites and collaboration | No | 9 | 71 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 8 | Sterling | Human Resource | Ops, HR, and finance | No | 8 | 75 | Yes | No | No |
| 9 | Airplane.dev | Developer Tools | Developer and data tools | No | 7 | 82 | No | No | No |
| 10 | ARInsights | Analytics & BI | Developer and data tools | No | 7 | 81 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 11 | Crystal | Human Resource | Sales, marketing, and CX | Yes | 6 | 72 | Yes | No | Yes |
| 12 | SHI | Operations | Ops, HR, and finance | No | 6 | 68 | No | No | No |
| 13 | Fountain | Human Resource | Ops, HR, and finance | No | 6 | 77 | Yes | No | Yes |
| 14 | Productivity | Personal productivity | No | 6 | 74 | No | No | No | |
| 15 | Clara | Productivity | AI agents | Yes | 5 | 77 | No | No | No |
| 16 | Kimi | Productivity | AI assistants | Yes | 5 | 86 | No | No | No |
| 17 | 21st.dev | Developer Tools | Developer and data tools | No | 5 | 84 | No | No | No |
| 18 | Continue.dev | Developer Tools | AI coding and building | Yes | 5 | 94 | No | No | No |
| 19 | Butter.us | Operations | Work suites and collaboration | No | 5 | 76 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 20 | Harvest | Productivity | Personal productivity | No | 5 | 65 | No | No | No |
| 21 | Pencil | Sales & Marketing | AI content and media | Yes | 4 | 85 | No | No | Yes |
| 22 | Buffer | Sales & Marketing | Sales, marketing, and CX | No | 4 | 69 | No | No | Yes |
| 23 | Genspark | Productivity | AI agents | Yes | 4 | 82 | No | No | No |
| 24 | Lucid | Productivity | Work suites and collaboration | No | 4 | 62 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 25 | Fern | Developer Tools | Developer and data tools | No | 4 | 78 | No | No | No |
| 26 | Arena | Sales & Marketing | Sales, marketing, and CX | No | 4 | 78 | No | No | No |
| 27 | Doodle | Productivity | Personal productivity | No | 4 | 73 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 28 | Powerdrill | Analytics & BI | Developer and data tools | Yes | 4 | 81 | No | Yes | No |
| 29 | Netlify | Developer Tools | Developer and data tools | No | 4 | 68 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 30 | Cornerstone OnDemand | Human Resource | Ops, HR, and finance | No | 4 | 72 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 31 | Clipchamp | Productivity | Design and video | No | 4 | 76 | No | No | No |
| 32 | SEOGets | Analytics & BI | Sales, marketing, and CX | No | 3 | 100 | No | No | No |
| 33 | Sales & Marketing | Personal and consumer apps | No | 3 | 81 | No | No | Yes | |
| 34 | Rocketreach | Sales & Marketing | Sales, marketing, and CX | No | 3 | 79 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 35 | Microsoft Graph | Developer Tools | Developer and data tools | No | 3 | 73 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 36 | Notion Mail | Productivity | Personal productivity | Yes | 3 | 74 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 37 | tweakcn | Design | Developer and data tools | No | 3 | 85 | No | No | No |
| 38 | GoTo | Operations | Work suites and collaboration | No | 3 | 70 | No | Yes | Yes |
| 39 | Feedly | Sales & Marketing | Sales, marketing, and CX | No | 3 | 64 | No | Yes | Yes |
| 40 | Thunderbird | Productivity | Personal productivity | No | 3 | 78 | 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-march-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
- CorrectionRewrote the takeaways from this edition's data.
- UpdateMoved from toriiresearch.com; title standardized.
