Could Interstitial on the Back button be a reason for ban?

Hello. As some of you might now, Google is going ballistic on us developers lately. I was talking to a lot of people recently and some warned me about the fact that there could potentially be an issue with a certain in-app ad. Have any of you guys had any apps suspended because of running an interstitial ad on the Back button (showing it when the user is trying to exit the app)? It would seem counterintuitive that this would be the case, but we should be mega-careful, considering Google’s latest actions.

PS: I already know that the an Interstial shown when the user hits the Home button (trying to exit the app) is an issue and I’m about 80% sure that it’s illegal in Google’s eyes, so we’ve already stopped using that.

Took a read through their Admob guidelines and I can’t find anything that mentions it.
If they didn’t want developers to control what the back button does then I would image they would state that somewhere.
It would really take the piss if they started banning over that.
I think the main issue with exit ads is that sometimes they can be perceived as being out of app, so make sure your app closes after the ad has been viewed.

Really? can an exit ad shown on home button press be a reason for violation ? I think startapp allows it and call themselves google-play-compliant…
I have startapp ads shown on home button press in 2 of my games…
can someone explain the situation regarding home button.
-amalvj123

All networks claim they are complaint. That doesn’t mean they are.

I hear someone was banned because of that exact home button ad on Startapp. The Google policy states that users must have an easy way to dismiss the ad.

Try showing the “home button ad” in your app: you wont be able to dismiss it then you press home again (or back button?). If this is still correct, I would not use these ads.

You shouldn’t override the use of the home button.
I don’t think there’s any statement by Google about it, but I think its just common sense that you leave that button alone.
I have never seen any app override its use, which alone is a good reason to avoid doing it yourself.

We don’t use the home button as a way to display any exit ad. I would suggest you don’t. But coming back to the topic of this conversation: anu of you guys have any info regarding the back button being an issue?

i have used exit ad in every app without any problem, just that there should be a clear X button which user can close, also the next back press should lead them to the home screen.

Using the home button seems to be a clear violation of system interference(imo) , only launchers justify the use of homebutton. Anything else is questionable and vulnerable to be banned.

Here is a video from Admob itself and it clearly states to avoid showing interstitial after back button.

Watch 15 sec: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrZiwrkQWBw&feature=youtu.be&t=59

You can dislike however you want. Content is clear and I tried to share information. If you have anything to contribute, please do not hold back your self! Share your wisdome with us!

Why reply to a 2 year old topic?

Hi emp_073,

Google Policy guidelines & practices state that it is forbidden to force an action on the user. This rule can be a bit vague, but just to be on the safe side I wouldn’t run any ads on buttons that have an important function, such as the back button (often used to close the app).

Google watchdogs might be interpreting that you are forcing the user to view an ad upon exit, which is undoubtedly poor user experience.

Good luck! :wink:

Clara

Because last week Admob rep. called me and warned me to remove interstitial ads with back button trigger. I wanted to share the information and there was already a thread about the topic, that is why!