IAB Tech Lab · ad networks
app-ads.txt, and where it actually needs to live
If your app shows ads, ad networks check for a file called app-ads.txt at the root of a web domain linked from your store listing, before they let a demand partner bid on your inventory. Without it, some networks pay less, or not at all.
What the file actually does
It is a plain-text list of every ad network authorized to sell your app's inventory, one line per network and account ID. It exists to stop unauthorized resellers from claiming to represent inventory they do not, which is the fraud app-ads.txt was built to make harder.
Where stores look for it
App Store and Play listings both let you link a developer website. Ad networks resolve that link and check for /app-ads.txt at its root — not inside the app, and not at a URL buried under a path.
Why this trips people up
A developer website is not automatically the same domain your app's landing page lives at, and app-ads.txt has to be at the root of whichever one the store listing actually links. Point the listing at the domain that serves the file, or the check fails silently.
What goes in the file
One line per network you have a direct or reseller relationship with, in the format the network gives you — typically their domain, your publisher ID, and the relationship type. Your ad networks or mediation platform provide the exact lines; this page does not generate them.
Before you publish it
- The file is reachable at /app-ads.txt on the exact domain your store listing links.
- It is served as plain text, not wrapped in HTML.
- Every ad network and mediation partner you actually use has a line in it.
- The file gets updated when you add or remove an ad network.
Questions
- My app does not show ads. Do I need this file?
- No. It exists specifically for apps monetizing through ad networks that check it before selling inventory.
- Can Lanpage host this file for me?
- Yes — publish an app-ads.txt document and it is served at the root of your app's Lanpage address, which is what you point your store listing's developer website field at.
- Do I need to write the ad network lines myself?
- The lines come from your ad networks or mediation platform, not from us — we host whatever content you publish at the right address, which is the part that usually goes wrong.
Hosted at the right address automatically
Publish app-ads.txt as a document and it lives exactly where ad networks check: the root of your app's site, no separate hosting needed.
Free. No card.
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