Malvertising is an iOS mobile gaming industry problem, according to the results from AppHarbr‘s inaugural In-App Network Quality Index.
Specifically, there are three times more malicious ads in mobile games vs. apps, AppHarbr said. (One of every 58 ads in games is malicious vs. only one of every 165 ads in non-gaming apps.)
Whether it’s because malicious advertisers have an easier time running campaigns in games due to lax ad quality control by game developers, or because users fall victim to malvertising scams more easily, perhaps because of rewarded videos, it’s a problem the gaming industry needs to address.
For developers, the data points to a persistent failure as network controls and review processes fail to consistently stop ad scams and fraud before they reach app users. Malicious ads lead to malware, phishing scams, forced redirects, and unsafe user journeys, eroding player trust while reducing lifetime value and increasing developer support costs.
With research showing that iPhone users earn 43% more on average than Android users, they’re more lucrative and desirable for scams.
Unskippable video creates a bad player experience and reduces developer revenue
Research from an AppHarbr survey of gamers found that 84% of respondents would uninstall a game due to a negative ad experience.
Data from the company’s In-App Network Quality Index shows that every fifth interstitial ad and every tenths rewarded video ad served is unskippable. That’s an industry-wide issue. Furthermore, these unskippable ads run up to 80 seconds, trapping users in a video ad they didn’t ask for. This results in players uninstalling games as unsuspecting game developers lose revenue.
The industry standard for in-game video ads is 15 seconds to 30 seconds, but AppHarbr’s research found that more than 35 networks analyzed failed to comply with this standard. Moloco, AdMob, Meta, InMobi, and Vungle delivered the strongest enforcement of skippability, ad duration limits, and sound-on autoplay control. With AppHarbr publishers increasing revenue when they reduce intrusive advertising, the trend of unskippable videos is hurting publishers while reducing revenue.
Better ad quality increases revenue and reduces costs
One game developer working with AppHarbr removed long-duration interstitials and unskippable video ads, resulting in a 6% lift in app retention, a 25% reduction in support tickets that previously had been caused by a bad advertising experience, and a 30% reduction in manual Quality Assurance workload.
“Ad quality is revenue protection,” said Alex Yerukhimovich, general manager at AppHarbr, in a statement. “When developers proactively manage intrusive and malicious ads, they reduce risk, improve retention, lower operational costs, and protect long-term monetization.”
The AppHarbr In-App Network Ad Quality Index is based on AppHarbr’s real-time ad quality solution integrated across hundreds of apps and games spanning all major verticals and geographies. The ad network performance included in the report was evaluated using live traffic data across mobile games and applications between November 2025 and January 2026.
Each demand source was measured against AppHarbr’s ad quality and security standards, with malicious, intrusive, and offensive ads blocked in real-time. The rankings were based on the delivery of clean demand on real impressions, reflecting actual in-market performance.
AppHarbr has 15 people, along with other GeoEdge employees. AppHarbr was fouded in 2021.
Adept and experienced in the detection of malware and malicious and sexually-oriented ads, AppHarbr continuously monitors ads at the pre-impression level in real-time, detecting and preventing any malicious activity.
The company’s technology guards mobile and video ad campaigns, including mobile banner ads, interstitials, native ads, and rewarded videos, from any kind of malicious activity, such as auto-redirects, phishing and drive-by-downloads, to malware inserted in the pre-click or post-click.