app-ads.txt file

In app-ads.txt, app owners indicate the ad networks and their partners that can sell placements in the app. Developers publish app-ads.txt manually.

The ads.txt protocol is one of the online advertising industry standards developed by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB). Ads stands for authorized digital sellers.

Why publish app-ads.txt?

The Yandex Advertising Network displays ads from direct Yandex advertisers and other demand-side platforms (DSP). This means that more advertisers compete for the right to display ads in your app, and ads are matched to users from different countries and regions. As a result, your monetization revenue grows.

Some DSPs use app-ads.txt to check which ad networks are authorized: such ad networks can display in-app ads and don't buy ad impressions if app-ads.txt is missing.

In addition, app-ads.txt is one of the ways to confirm access to the app. The Yandex Advertising Network uses app-ads.txt to check that ad units in the app are configured by users who actually have access to it.

If the app-ads.txt file has already been published

Add the lines from the Yandex Advertising Network to the published file. An individual code snippet can be obtained in the interface. To do this, in the left menu, go to Settings → General and click app-ads.txt.

How to create and publish app-ads.txt

Step 1. Check or specify the URL of the developer's site in the app store

Make sure that the current site address is indicated in the app stores. Ad platforms will use it to search and verify app-ads.txt.

If you don't have your own site, we recommend creating one.

Step 2. Get the required lines for app-ads.txt

In the Yandex Advertising Network, an individual code snippet can be obtained in the interface. To download the file with the necessary lines, in the left menu, go to Settings → General and click app-ads.txt.

Line structure

The line contains the domain of the ad platform, the partner ID, and the type of relationship with the seller.

Example: example.com, 1234, DIRECT.

The following seller relationship types are available:

• DIRECT: Ad networks you work with directly.
• RESELLER: Partners that use third-party intermediaries to sell media kits.

Avoid adding information about companies you don't work with to the code.

Step 3. Create a file

Open any text editor (such as Notepad), list the lines from all ad networks, and save the file as app-ads.txt.

Step 4. Upload the file

Add the app-ads.txt file to the root directory of the developer's site. A root directory is the folder that follows the top-level domain (such as example.com/app-ads.txt).

To check if the file was uploaded correctly, add app-ads.txt to the app domain name in your browser's address bar (such as example.com/app-ads.txt). If the file is published correctly, you'll see its contents.

Step 5. Update the file regularly

Advertising network partners may change. We recommend regularly checking the relevance of the app-ads.txt file. For iOS and Android apps, the relevance of the file can be tracked in the Yandex Advertising Network interface.

Statuses of app-ads.txt

For apps in Google Play and the App Store, the Yandex Advertising Network checks the app-ads.txt file every 24 hours on the developer's site specified on your app's store page. If the file is found and there are no errors in the Yandex Advertising Network lines, the status will appear in the Yandex Advertising Network interface as We checked the file app-ads.txt, information on the Yandex Advertising Network is relevant.

If the file isn't found or contains errors, the status will show this. Solve the issue by following the steps for your status:

Status	Solution
There is no data about the file app-ads.txt, since the developer’s website was not found	Add the developer's site to the app's page on Google Play or the App Store. Yandex Advertising Network will use it to search and verify app-ads.txt. Make sure that the file is added to the site's root directory. If the site is specified but you still see this status in the interface, contact support.
File app-ads.txt outdated	Update the app-ads.txt file on the developer's site. To do this, copy the missing lines from the Yandex Advertising Network interface to your file and upload it to the developer's site. After that, click Send for verification in the Yandex Advertising Network interface.
File app-ads.txt not found on the site	Add the app-ads.txt file to the root directory of the developer's site by following this guide. The file must be placed directly in the root directory, which is the folder directly after the top-level domain. The file's address should look like this: example.com/app-ads.txt. If the file is located at the specified address but this status appears in the interface, contact support.

What it looks like in the interface

Contact support