AdMob ad load triggers unwanted redirect to Google Play Store

[devflo...@gmail.com]

Hello,

On my Android device, when I load an AdMob ad in a Unity-based app, the app automatically opens the Google Play Store — usually showing the game Dark War Survival — even though the ad is never shown.

This happens right after calling Load(), not Show().
The log shows that the AdMob AdActivity triggers an intent to open the Play Store:
com.android.vending/com.google.android.finsky.activities.MarketDeepLinkHandlerActivity

followed by
ComponentInfo{com.readygo.dark.gp}


Additional details:
My app never calls startActivity() for Play Store or any URL.
Test ads work fine and do not cause this.
Blocking or reporting Dark War Survival in both AdMob and Unity Ads dashboards did not stop it.
I also confirmed that an older app I built years ago, which has not been updated recently, shows the same behavior. This suggests it’s not related to recent code changes.

Could this issue be related to my device environment (e.g., malicious overlay or adware)?
Is there any additional check I can perform, or any way to prevent such redirects on the app side until it’s resolved?

Please advise on how to completely block or report such ads, and whether there are recommended safeguards for developers.

Thank you.

[Mobile Ads SDK Forum Advisor]

Hi YongGil,

Thank you for contacting the Mobile Ads SDK support team.

It's always recommended to use the recent version which is shown in the release notes to avoid conflicts. As you mentioned, the issue is also occurring in the older version of your app. To investigate this further, we would need the following details:

• App ID and ad unit ID
• Mobile Ads SDK version
• Screen recording
• Charles session
• Device information

Kindly share above details via reply to the author option to do further investigation.

If the file(s) you are looking to share are less than 25mb in total you can attach them to this case on your next reply. If you are having trouble attaching your file to this case or if your file(s) are larger than 25mb, you can share your files with me by performing the following steps:

1. Navigate to https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfkAiXMeYP-fw1W3Z-tT9uwmATEKO5X6S-th0gR2ezdKaaqfg/viewform?usp=pp_url&entry.400550049=Mobile+Ads+SDK&entry.460850823=500Ht00001vQq8LIAS&entry.80707362=00335534

2. Fill out all fields, and attach your file(s).

3. Please reply back on this thread when you have uploaded your file(s). Please do not share this link.

Thanks,
 

Mobile Ads SDK Team

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[2025-10-15 04:41:57Z GMT] This message is in relation to case "ref:!00D1U01174p.!500Ht01vQq8L:ref" (ADR-00335534)

[devflo...@gmail.com]

Hi Mobile Ads SDK team,

Thanks for your response.
Here are the details you requested:

App ID: ca-app-pub-3695547080075494~5656867037
Ad unit IDs: ca-app-pub-3695547080075494/8222761486 / ca-app-pub-3695547080075494/7534761771
Mobile Ads SDK (Unity) version:  24.2.0,  Unity 2022.3.62f2
Device: Google Pixel 6 / Mi Pad 6
Android version: Android 16 (app targetSdk 35)

I’ve uploaded a screen recording via the form link you provided. 

   
What we’re seeing
The issue occurs not only in our app, but also in other apps on the Play Store that use AdMob, on this same Pixel 6 device.
Symptoms appear when an AdMob ad request loads: an unexpected full-screen ad (not requested by the foreground app) appears.
The same issue occurs on two of my devices (Pixel 6 and Mi Pad 6). On another test device, the issue does not reproduce.
This makes me suspect a device-level or OS-level interference (e.g., overlay / WebView injection / ad hijacking) rather than an integration bug in a specific app or SDK version.

Questions
Have there been any known cases of malware or launcher/overlay apps hijacking or injecting ads when AdMob ad requests occur?
If so, is there any recommended way for app developers to prevent or mitigate such attacks?

2025년 10월 15일 수요일 오후 1시 42분 57초 UTC+9에 Mobile Ads SDK Forum Advisor님이 작성:

[devflo...@gmail.com]

Hi again,

I wanted to provide an update.
After factory-resetting my device and reinstalling apps directly from the Play Store, the same behavior still occurs — not only in our app, but also in many other apps that use AdMob.
This suggests the issue is unlikely to be caused by third-party apps or device settings, and may instead be related to AdMob itself or specific ad creatives being served.

Please let me know if you’d like me to capture additional logs or information from this clean environment.

2025년 10월 15일 수요일 오후 11시 39분 36초 UTC+9에 devflo...@gmail.com님이 작성: