Interstitial Ad Close Button Hidden by System Status Bar (Android 15 & 16)
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Monix Patel
Jan 6, 2026, 8:13:35 AM (yesterday) Jan 6
to Google Mobile Ads SDK Developers
writing to report a persistent UI layout issue regarding the placement of the "Close" (X) button on interstitial ads within our Android game.
Issue Description
The interstitial ad close button is being rendered partially or fully underneath the Android system status bar. This makes the button difficult to see and, in many cases, impossible to tap, leading to a poor user experience and potential "accidental click" policy concerns.
Technical Environment
AdMob SDK Version: 24.9.0 (Issue also persists on earlier versions)
Affected OS: Android 15 and Android 16 (Preview/Stable)
Activity Type: com.google.android.gms.ads.AdActivity
Device Scope: Consistent across multiple physical devices and emulators running the aforementioned OS versions.
Steps Taken to Resolve
We have attempted several programmatic workarounds to ensure the AdActivity respects the "Safe Area," but the issue persists because the UI is managed internally by the SDK:
System Inset Handling: Attempted to apply WindowInsets to the root view, but this does not affect the SDK’s internal AdActivity layer.
Theme/Flag Adjustments: Modified fullscreen and immersive mode flags (SYSTEM_UI_FLAG_FULLSCREEN, LAYOUT_IN_DISPLAY_CUTOUT_MODE_SHORT_EDGES) with no success.
SDK Downgrading: We tested older versions of the Google Mobile Ads SDK, but the layout overlap remains on Android 15+.
Observations
As the AdActivity is controlled entirely by the SDK, we do not have the ability to override the layout or manually shift the close button position. It appears the SDK is not correctly calculating the status bar height or "Safe Area" insets on newer Android versions that enforce edge-to-edge displays.
Attachments
Please find the attached screenshot which clearly demonstrates the close button being overlapped by the system UI elements.
We would appreciate your guidance on whether this is a known compatibility issue with Android 15/16 or if there is a specific configuration required in the AndroidManifest.xml to ensure the SDK respects the system status bar
Issue Description
The interstitial ad close button is being rendered partially or fully underneath the Android system status bar. This makes the button difficult to see and, in many cases, impossible to tap, leading to a poor user experience and potential "accidental click" policy concerns.
Technical Environment
AdMob SDK Version: 24.9.0 (Issue also persists on earlier versions)
Affected OS: Android 15 and Android 16 (Preview/Stable)
Activity Type: com.google.android.gms.ads.AdActivity
Device Scope: Consistent across multiple physical devices and emulators running the aforementioned OS versions.
Steps Taken to Resolve
We have attempted several programmatic workarounds to ensure the AdActivity respects the "Safe Area," but the issue persists because the UI is managed internally by the SDK:
System Inset Handling: Attempted to apply WindowInsets to the root view, but this does not affect the SDK’s internal AdActivity layer.
Theme/Flag Adjustments: Modified fullscreen and immersive mode flags (SYSTEM_UI_FLAG_FULLSCREEN, LAYOUT_IN_DISPLAY_CUTOUT_MODE_SHORT_EDGES) with no success.
SDK Downgrading: We tested older versions of the Google Mobile Ads SDK, but the layout overlap remains on Android 15+.
Observations
As the AdActivity is controlled entirely by the SDK, we do not have the ability to override the layout or manually shift the close button position. It appears the SDK is not correctly calculating the status bar height or "Safe Area" insets on newer Android versions that enforce edge-to-edge displays.
Attachments
Please find the attached screenshot which clearly demonstrates the close button being overlapped by the system UI elements.
We would appreciate your guidance on whether this is a known compatibility issue with Android 15/16 or if there is a specific configuration required in the AndroidManifest.xml to ensure the SDK respects the system status bar
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