With only a few days left for the new Google Policy to come in effect… I am still struggling to figure out my next step. Some options which I am thinking about…
Completely trust the AD Networks, integrate their latest SDKs and release an update for my apps. (Mainly talking about Notification and Icon Ads)
Remove all advertising networks from my apps except AdMob. (Banner Ads)
Play a wait and watch game and completely unpublish all my apps for a few weeks.
I guess the safest is to go with the 3rd option… What are your thoughts guys??
I removed push ads completely and removed the possibility to get extra credits to my games trough Tapjoy. I added interstitial ads to cover the losses from removing push ads. When there is a clearer view about the policy i will update Tapjoy back.
I was getting a lot of “VIRUS VIRUS” - reviews from Russia, because of the Leadbolt sdk after couple of days from removing it 4 of my apps were in the Trending category.
I’ve removed all notification ads (leadbolt and senddroid) from my apps and took the chance to try out new advertising methods (revmob, appbrain, mopub).
Yeah most of the reviews are because Dr Web antivirus says it is adware. I used notification ads, but i asked in the first launch that does the user want to enable them to support the developer.
Google has laid down its policy rather clearly. I think talking about it too much and getting everyone’s two cents is complicating the issue further.
What Google requires is that the user should know which app is using which ads.
So if you’re adding what ads to expect in the App description, that should be good. If you’re using Opt In feature, thats even better. Whether its notification ads or Icon Drops. Use at least one of the two methods.
As far as Icon Drops go, I would suggest caution for these ad units since the user cannot get rid of them once they uninstall the app itself. So it violates the policy in that way and I’d be wary. I’d actually encourage Airpush or Leadbolt to comment about Icon Drops as well since I want to get their take on it.
Lastly, if you’re complying with the policy in terms of letting the user know what ads to expect and not imitating system notifications by changing the layout of the notification, then you should be in the clear. I’d be comfortable using this ad unit if I’ve got that covered.
It is available as an option for Developers. Its a server side change. Our legal team is currently finalizing the wording. I encourage you to put what ads you’re using in your app description though.
We don’t want to do mandatory Opt Ins because most developers use multiple networks and if the user opens an app and gets 3 different Opt Ins, then thats just ridiculous.
I’d highly just recommend developers to have their own Opt Ins with all ad types included should they choose to use Opt in at all.
If you don’t implement the opt-in, the user gets the following toast notification: “This app may generate notifications, place icons on home screen or feature ads. opt-out: opt.leadbolt.com”
It would be nice if they (Leadbolt) explained the new opt-in feature in more detail, instead of publishing an unfinished document. Even more considering there’s just a couple of days remaining before the new Google Policy goes mandatory.
EDIT (The day after): OK, they have updated the SDK documentation explaining the proper use of the opt-in functionality.
FYI, We provide it as an option and acts as an additional safety measure. I will say this again,
"We have already released back-end updates to our system, our newest SDK adds additional layers of compliance, but again it is up to you the developer to implement them or not.
Hope this is clear if not please email me or PM me.
In SDK 3.0.5 the toast notification was not there, but now in 3.0.6 it is shown and there is now way to turn it off. Could you please comment on this change ? Also, what changes did you make to the back-end that clearly associates the ad icon with the app that created it ? I just see icons with “Best offers”, “Top offers”, and when you click on them the name of the originating application is not shown. This AFAIK is against Google Policy.