Google Maps Android SDK + AdMob restrictions?

[netl...@gmail.com]

Hi, do you guys know if there are any such restrictions in using Google Maps Android SDK (which as far as I know we can use for free without any limits) with Google AdMob banners or interstitials on the same screen/app? I haven't found any clear information about this, I don't think Google Maps Android SDK falls under third party content since it belongs to Google and we already have their consent to use it for free in our Android apps, right? https://cloud.google.com/maps-platform/pricing

I've been trying to find an answer about this for a long time and I already tried to ask this in the AdMob support forum, but nobody really knows and nobody who works at Google replies there. All I know is that there are countless of apps in the Play Store using this setup just fine for many years but I can't make any certain assumptions based on this.

Thanks!

[Mobile Ads SDK Forum Advisor Prod]

Hi Netlinkd,

Thank you for bringing this question to our attention. The simplest answer is that yes, using the Google Maps API in an app with AdMob is allowed. But you need to know that their are still policies that are associated with creating any app. Which we would suggest that you review to make sure that your app is still within the Guidelines .

Regards,

William Pescherine Mobile Ads SDK Team

ref:_00D1U1174p._5004Q275wZQ:ref

[netl...@gmail.com]

Hi William,

Thanks a lot for your help! A simple and specific example would be an AdMob banner at the top and Google Maps SDK below it (with some spacing between them). There's more content to the app and Google Maps is only used so the user can easily select a location on the map. As far as I read through all the Guidelines, it would be all good. A user on the AdMob support forum said that it is not allowed because it is not my content, but these people do not work for Google and with this logic even using an Android button component or recyclerview for example would also not be allowed based on his assumption, so I assume it is safer to go with with your answer that using this setup is allowed. https://support.google.com/admob/thread/78591796?hl=en

So, using Google Maps Android SDK is allowed to use for free in Android apps with no loads limit and it would not fall under framed sites or content AdMob/AdSense violation, correct? https://support.google.com/adsense/answer/1346295

I really hate that these policies are open for interpretation, making things very difficult for us developers, and Google has no official policy support at all.

Thanks a lot! Hope everything is going well over there with all the craziness in the world at the moment!

[Mobile Ads SDK Forum Advisor Prod]

Hi Netlinkd,

Thank you for the response, and allow me to answer it as best I can, and know that while I suggest it as being ok. Their can always be reasons why Google might reject it later. In general, yes you can use Google Maps API in Android, as their are specific documents associated with it. Second, yes you can use AdMob with it, but you do need to be careful. As the second link showed when you scroll down to the valuable inventory section, one of the first things that tags an app with google maps as false is the 

• Mirroring, framing, scraping or rewriting of content from other sources without adding value;

This would be a violation of policy, especially paying attention to the last part of not adding value. Now when talking about 3rd party or framing would be if you took someone else's website placed it in your app and tried to monetize off someone else's property. This most likely would flag you.

[netl...@gmail.com]

Thank you very much for the detailed response William! Yep, about "Mirroring, framing, scraping or rewriting of content from other sources without adding value;" as you can see that one can be tricky to understand and is open for interpretation. What does "without adding value" mean exactly, what does it mean to the Policy team when they review the app later? Would you say my app has enough added value from that screenshot alone? There are more features than what you are seeing there, but at first glance it may seem like a simple app with Google Maps and not much else.

Added another screenshot here and this is the web page explaining some more features if you would like to check it out: https://www.netlinkd.com/locationchanger/

Thanks!

On Friday, October 30, 2020 at 9:08:46 PM UTC+2 netl...@gmail.com wrote:

Thank you very much for the detailed response William! Yep, about "Mirroring, framing, scraping or rewriting of content from other sources without adding value;" as you can see that one can be tricky to understand and is open for interpretation. What does "without adding value" mean exactly, what does it mean to the Policy team when they review the app later? Would you say my app has enough added value from that screenshot alone? There are more features than what you are seeing there, but at first glance it may seem like a simple app with Google Maps and not much else.

Thanks!

[Mobile Ads SDK Forum Advisor Prod]

Hi Netlinkd,

Thank you for the detailed response. And again, I will try to answer the best i can. Some of this is not exact as we do not deal with policy issues and things like that. This is based on just what we have seen and are still open to the policy team that might review any suspected apps. For the "add value" the example they give is dealing with the Google maps, and posting ads with, but thats all, nothing else. Which yours would seem to not be doing, you are using the maps as part of a larger overall app.

As for review in the future? It is always possible that our policy team will review apps that they suspect of fraud. This we have no control over or knowledge of what may cause this. It is beyond our scope. Which also makes me unable to say whether your app does or does not meet that criteria. Best advise is to just plan ahead if something should happen as they will give you the chance to also correct anything.

[netl...@gmail.com]

Thanks a lot for your time and help William, really appreciate it! You probably remember me when I posted about my account being disabled for "Framed Sites" long time ago: https://groups.google.com/g/google-admob-ads-sdk/c/soXtLw4IXPc

I still haven't solved my account issue or get a clear explanation but the last person I've talked to from AdMob (who recently contacted me saying he's interested in a partnership with me because my app is doing well) told me (after he found out that I had an account before) that they disabled my account because I used Google Maps and my app has no additional value at all. Not sure if the Policy team told him this or this is what he believes but it didn't make any sense to me, so I just wanted to find out if I actually unknowingly did anything wrong or he made that up. As for the "they will give you a chance to also correct anything" never happened for me, I never received any warnings (Policy center notification or email) or chance to fix anything. Seems like the Policy team just didn't like me and kicked me out, I wish I knew why.

Anyway, this was important for me to know if I did anything wrong so I don't make the same mistakes in the future. Thank you!

[Mobile Ads SDK Forum Advisor Prod]

Hi Netlinkd,

Thank you for the response back, and yes I do actually remember you. I know especially when dealing with Google Maps it can be hard to answer some of the questions, as it is related to polic and we do not handle policy. And as you stated , it is not that clear even online as to what is and is not allowed. I wish you the best of luck and hope that you do well.

[netl...@gmail.com]

Thank you for all your help and kind words William, wish you all the best as well!