Introduction

NOTE: To obtain the latest app-ads.txt/ads.txt file with full RESELLER listings please contact your display.io account representative.

The purpose of this document is to provide publishers with a resource guide for successfully implementing app-ads.txt/ads.txt, which is a mandatory requirement for publishers in the display.io network.

Authorised Sellers for Apps (app-ads.txt)/ Authorised Digital Sellers (ads.txt) is a standard designed to increase transparency in the programmatic advertising ecosystem, to prevent unauthorised inventory sales, to fight fraud and positively impact your monetization.

Declaring authorised sellers via the app-ads.txt/ads.txt file will result in more advertiser spend as buyers seek to only spend on publishers with a valid app-ads.txt/ads.txt file. The app-ads.txt/ads.txt file also helps you protect the integrity of your inventory from fraudsters who counterfeit or spoof domains.

To learn more about Ads.txt project, visit https://iabtechlab.com/ads-txt/

app-ads.txt/ads.txt implementation

Note for app publishers: If you do not yet have a mobile application set up on the Google Play Store or Apple App Store, then see the instructions at the end of this guide on how to set one up.

Step 1 (for app publishers): Validate that you have a website URL on your app store listing

Ensure all the apps you have listed on both Google Play and Apple App stores contain a valid Website address. See Google Play Store:

Apple App Store:

Step 2: Compose your app-ads.txt /ads.txt file

NOTE: To obtain the latest app-ads.txt/ads.txt file with full RESELLER listings please contact your display.io account representative.

To compose your app-ads.txt/ads.txt file open a new text file in your text editor (e.g. Notepad, TextEdit). Include a separate line in the file for each authorised seller. Each line in a publisher’s app-ads.txt list requires three comma-separated pieces of data (plus a fourth optional field):

Here is an example of the correct format:

Definition:

Field #1: Domain name of the advertising vendor (e.g. display.io);
Field #2: Publisher’s account ID on display.io platform (e.g. 1702);
Field #3: Type of Account/ Relationship (e.g. DIRECT/ RESELLER);
Field #4 (Optional): Сertification Authority ID, if available (e.g. TAG ID).

Here is how your app-ads.txt/ads.txt file will look for display.io:

display.io, [YOUR_DISPLAYIO_ACCOUNT_ID], DIRECT

Please contact your account representative at display.io for the complete app-ads.txt/ads.txt file or download the file directly from your account on display.io Publisher Portal selecting "app-ads.txt" menu section:

Step 3: Host the app-ads.txt/ads.txt file on your website

Transform the website URL into a path to crawl for locating an app-ads.txt/ads.txt file and host the text file at the root level of your website domain:

Extract the hostname portion of the URL.
Remove all but the first (and, if present, second) name from the hostname which precedes the standard public suffix.
Remove any “www.” or “m.” prefix remaining in the host name.
For app publishers: append /app-ads.txt to that path.
For web mobile publishers: append /ads.txt to that path.
Crawlers should attempt to fetch the HTTPS version of the URL first, falling back to the HTTP version if SSL is unavailable. The HTTP request header must contain "Content-Type: text/plain".

Example of the correct layout for app publishers
Developer website URL: https://www.buzzapps.io
App-ads.txt URL: https://buzzapps.io/app-ads.txt

Example of the correct layout for web mobile publishers
Web Mobile Site URL: https://www.buzzapps.io
Ads.txt URL: https://buzzapps.io/ads.txt

For apps publishers: please ensure that there is an app-ads.txt file added to all your registered website domains listed on the app stores.

Feel free to contact us if you need assistance or have any further questions regarding the correct implementation of app-ads.txt /ads.txt.

What to do in case you have not yet set up a website URL on the app store?

If your website address is set up on your Google Play Store or Apple App Store listing then log into your developer console and follow the steps in the screenshots below.

For Google Play:

Navigate to Settings.

Insert your full website URL inside the Website field. Click Save.

2. For Apple App Store:

Navigate to iTunes > iOS App > Support URL

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app-ads.txt / ads.txt