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AdMob & AdSense program policies

Invalid activity: Disabled account

The relationship between Google, advertisers, and publishers is built on trust. Advertisers rely on the relevance of our ad placement, our reporting statistics, and the quality of the clicks their ads receive. Publishers in turn count on advertiser participation, relevant ads which create a good experience for users, and an accurate and reliable source of income which contributes to the success of their apps and business. We take this trust seriously and we know that the Google advertising networks couldn't exist without it.

Google treats invalid activity very seriously, analyzing all clicks and impressions to determine whether they fit a pattern of use that might artificially drive up an advertiser's costs or a publisher's earnings. If we determine that an AdMob account might pose a risk to our advertisers, we may disable that account to protect our advertising ecosystem. The Traffic Quality team reserves the right to disable ad serving to your AdMob account at any time.

We understand that you have questions about your account and the actions we've taken to protect our advertising ecosystem. Below are some of our most frequently asked questions.

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Why was my account disabled?

Because we have a need to protect our proprietary detection system, we're unable to provide our publishers with any information about their account activity, including any apps, users, or third-party services that might have been involved.

Google treats invalid activity very seriously, analyzing all clicks and impressions to determine whether they fit a pattern of use that might artificially drive up an advertiser's costs or a publisher's earnings. If we determine that an AdMob account might pose a risk to our Google Ads advertisers, we may disable that account to protect our advertisers' interests.

To learn more about the most common reasons that accounts are disabled, see our top reasons for account closure.

Lastly, as outlined in our Terms and Conditions, Google will use its sole discretion when determining instances of invalid activity.

Can my account be reinstated after being disabled for invalid activity?

Please review the email that the ad traffic quality team sent you. If you missed this e-mail, try searching the inbox of the e-mail address associated with your AdMob account for emails from adsense-noreply@google.com. Check your email account's spam filter to make sure the email wasn't mistakenly flagged as spam.

We're always willing to work with you to resolve any issues you might have. If you feel that this decision was made in error, and if you can maintain in good faith that the invalid activity was not due to the actions or negligence of you or those for whom you are responsible, you may appeal the disabling of your account. Additionally, if you are able to make significant changes to address invalid activity and comply with policies, please indicate your plans in the appeal form.

Please contact us only through our appeal form.

Once we receive your appeal, we'll do our best to inform you quickly and will proceed with appropriate action as necessary. Please understand, however, that there is no guarantee that your account will be reinstated.

Once we've reached a decision on your appeal, further appeals may not be considered, and you might not receive any further communication from us.

What are some tips for writing a successful invalid activity appeal?
  1. Review the top reasons for account closure. Think about if any of these reasons apply to you and your content. Did your friends click on your ads too many times? Did you purchase traffic that led to a surge of invalid activity? Can you make content and/or behavioral changes to prevent the activity from happening again?
  2. Review ad implementations on your mobile app. Think about what your typical user journey would be, and see if the ad implementations may cause users to accidentally click on your ads.
  3. In the appeal form, provide the e-mail address that is associated with your disabled AdSense account. This will help locate your account and reduce delays in appeal processing time.
  4. Tell us what changes you’ll make for the future. Once again, carefully consider the top reasons for account closure. What systems or behaviors have you put in place to ensure this won't happen again? For example, tell us how you've adjusted your ad implementations, evaluated your traffic sources, hired testers to properly test your content, etc. We will appreciate your honesty in the appeal.

View the original AdMob blog post for more information.

I was testing my ads in a non-test mode setting. How do I safely test my ads?

It is against AdMob policy to click on your own live ads or artificially inflate monetized impressions. During development and testing, please use test ads to avoid inflating your earnings. If you do need to render live ads before launch, avoid clicking on them.

If you click on your own live ads or artificially inflate monetized impressions, your AdMob account may be suspended. If, after your account has been un-suspended, invalid activity persists and continues to contribute low value traffic to our ads ecosystem, then we may need to disable your account.

Here are some resources to review for AdMob test ads.

My account was disabled and my appeal was denied. Is there any way I can rejoin the program? Can I open a new account?

We understand your concern about the actions taken against your account. Our actions are the result of careful investigation by our team of dedicated specialists, taking into account the interests of our advertisers, publishers, and users. Though you might be disappointed with our decision, we are unable to reinstate your account.

Please also note that publishers disabled for invalid activity are not allowed any further participation in AdSense. For this reason, these publishers may not open new accounts.

Lastly, Google does reserve the right to disable an account for any reason, including invalid activity from any source.

My account was disabled for being related to another disabled account. Can you tell me more about this relation?
Just as with invalid activity, we're unable to provide our publishers with any information about relations we find between publishers' accounts. Please understand that we take this precaution with all of our publishers for the sake of protecting our proprietary detection system. Google reserves the right to disable an account for any reason. If we determine that an AdSense account might pose a risk to our Google Ads advertisers, we may disable that account in order to protect our advertising ecosystem. In order to be re-considered for the AdSense program, file an appeal on the original account that was disabled.
Will I still be paid out for my earnings?

Publishers disabled for invalid traffic and/or violations of our publisher policies may be eligible for a final payment of the portion of their revenue that has not been identified as invalid. Upon account disablement, a 30-day payment hold is put in place to enable calculation of this final payment (where applicable). Following this 30-day period, please visit http://www.google.com/adsense to view your remaining eligible balance (if any) and arrange for payment. Deductions from your final balance for invalid traffic and/or publisher policy violations will be refunded to affected advertisers where appropriate and possible.

I've just received my PIN. What should I do with it?

You may disregard the PIN mailing you've recently received, since publishers disabled for invalid activity do not receive any further payment. Where appropriate and possible, we'll refund your earnings to affected advertisers.

If someone related to me creates an AdMob account, will their account be disabled as well?

If we determine that a related publisher's account might pose a risk to our Google Ads advertisers, we may disable it in order to protect our advertising ecosystem.

Will I still receive tax forms for the payments I've received?

If you've received a payment from us in the past, you will still receive a tax form from us if necessary. To find out if you should be expecting a form 1099 or 1042-S, please visit our Help Center article on IRS forms.

My account was reinstated. Why aren't ads showing up on my sites, apps, or videos?

After your AdSense account has been reinstated, it may take up to 48 hours for all of our servers to be informed of the change and ad serving to resume. We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience.

If you're also a YouTube publisher, you might need to re-associate your YouTube account with your AdSense account.

 

If you have any additional questions regarding invalid activity, please visit our help center article on invalid activity.

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