Android – Using real AdMob ads in alpha/beta testing

admobadsandroidandroid-studiomobile-ad-mediation

My android application has some admob ads. I am testing my admob in Google Play store Alpha & Beta channel.

My question is:

Can I use REAL admob ad unit ids when I deploy my app into Google play
store Alpha & Beta channels? Does it violate google play policy? What
if i click or don't click them?

I read this in Google admob:

Do I need to use test ads? Yes. It is against AdMob policy to use live
ads during development, and doing so could cause the suspension of
your AdMob account.

BUT it seems not very clear to me.

Thank you!

Best Answer

Technically you can, but there is one very important point to consider - Pre-launch report. You need to either have Pre-launch reports disabled, or make sure you don't show ads to Firebase test devices, or else you will get a bunch of "clicks by bots", with all the consequences.

I just got my account suspended for a month by accidently doing this - don't repeat my mistake.

You can disable Pre-launch reports in Play Console settings (see screenshot), or use this function to somehow hide your ads from testing devices:

boolean isTestDevice() {
    return Boolean.valueOf(Settings.System.getString(getContentResolver(), "firebase.test.lab"));
}

More info in this article on ubuverse.com

Firebase official documentation

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Android – Test AdMob ads in Android

You can specify your device id as a test device:

AdRequest adRequest = new AdRequest.Builder()
        .addTestDevice("0FA20932AFE1095798444FD9AAB7D425")
        .build();

Then whenever you run the application on this device, you get test ads, and on all the other devices you get the real deal.

To get the device id, run your app with ads turned on and watch the log.

Best Answer

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