According to the Web Quality Index of Advertising in Appharbr, there is one malicious advertisement for every 58 advertisements displayed in mobile games, compared to one for every 165 advertisements in other mobile applications. Data show that mobile games are nearly three times more likely to display malicious advertising than non-playing applications.
According to Appharbr, this discovery reveals a broader problem in the environment of mobile games — • Weak quality control of advertising and incentives for video advertising may make players more vulnerable to fraud. In addition, Appharbr found that malicious advertising could expose players to malicious software, cyber fishing attempts and forced jumps, creating unsafe user experience while increasing developer support costs and reducing player trust. The study also pointed to the broader problems posed by intrusive advertising. A study by Appharbr found that 84 per cent of players were unloaded after experiencing negative advertising experiences. In addition, according to the report, one fifth of the ads and one tenth of the incentivized video ads are impossible to skip, some of them lasting as long as 80 seconds. The industry standard for video advertising in the game is usually between 15 and 30 seconds.
Several advertising networks, including Moloco, AdMob, Meta, InMob and Vungle, have been cited as enforcing stricter restrictions on the length of advertising and possible skipping formats. Appharbr states that the improvement in the quality of advertising can improve the retention rate of players, reduce support costs and protect the long-term liquidity of developers. “The quality of advertising is income protection. When developers proactively manage intrusive and malicious advertising, they can reduce risk, increase retention, reduce operating costs and protect long-term liquidity.”
