IAB Tech Lab’s OpenRTB working group released the final version of the app-ads.txt specification back in 2019. AppMonet has adopted the practice and encourages all of our partners we work with to sign on to ensure a more transparent exchange environment for all stakeholders.

What exactly is App-ads.txt?

It is essentially an IAB Tech Lab initiative that helps ensure that the digital ad inventory is only sold through sellers (such as AdSense, AppMonet, InMobi, etc) who you have labeled as authorized in your app-ads.txt page. Having your own ads.txt file gives you more control over who is allowed to sell ads on your site and helps prevent fraudulent inventory from being presented to advertisers.

How does it work?

Publishers can generate a text file on their web servers that lists all of the companies that are authorized to sell the publishers’ inventory. Similarly, programmatic platforms also integrate ads.txt files to confirm which publishers’ inventory they are authorized to sell. This allows buyers to check the validity of the inventory they purchase.

How can buyers use ads.txt to check who is authorized to sell?

Bidders can check their tags for the presence of an ads.txt file to verify that the exchange and publisher have a legitimate connection to each other.

Why does this matter?

Unauthorized reselling is a major drawback in programmatic advertising, and unless buyers contacted publishers directly, they would have had no way to know which SSPs are authorized to sell a particular publisher’s inventory. Creating a depository of authorized sellers should help buyers determine which programmatic firms have legitimate access to the inventory they seek.

If you are interested in working with AppMonet, we highly recommend you create an app-ads.txt file if you haven’t already. Sharing with us the link to your file – example.com/app-ads.txt would rapidly streamline the onboarding process. As a verified vendor with IAB, we are all in this initiative to build trust, create the network effect and hence make the adtech industry more transparent and efficient!