Mediation Debugger

Mediation Debugger is a suite of testing tools. These tools help you integrate and launch faster with MAX. You can use them to confirm the validity of network integrations. This ensures that you can successfully load and show ads, among other things.

Note

Mediation Debugger does not support Custom SDK Networks

There are four sections in the Mediation Debugger:

Integration Status

Use this to confirm that you successfully completed the network integration.

Testing with Test Ads

Use this to load and show ads from networks by using each network’s test mode.

Testing with Live Ads

Use this to load and show ads from networks by means of your waterfall configuration.

Sharing the Mediation Debugger

Use this to generate a copy of your integration checklist. You can send this to reviewers before you launch.

Displaying the Mediation Debugger

To display the Mediation Debugger, make the following call:

Objective-C

[[ALSdk shared] showMediationDebugger];

Swift

ALSdk.shared().showMediationDebugger()

Integration Status

The Mediation Debugger displays the integration status of the MAX-mediated network adapters and/or SDKs in your app. It flags integration issues associated with each network (such as a mismatch between the network SDK and the adapter version, or missing SKAdNetwork IDs). It displays the integration status of mediated networks in three sections:

Completed Integrations

You successfully integrated these ad networks into your app.

Incomplete Integrations

These ad networks have one or more issues you need to fix. After you fix the issues you can integrate the networks into your app. Tap on the cell for more information. You can find network integration instructions in the Preparing Mediated Networks section of this documentation.

Missing Integrations

You have not integrated these ad networks into your app.

Testing with Test Ads

After you successfully integrate your mediated networks, AppLovin recommends that you validate your integration. You can do this by loading and showing those networks’ test ads.

Note

Some mediated networks may have requirements that you must meet before you can load ads. For example, the SDK may require enough time to fully initialize (this is true, for instance, for Liftoff Monetize). If you do not allow sufficient time, this might cause no-fill errors. AppLovin recommends that you load ads during this time window: between two and five seconds after you initialize the SDK.

To use the Test Ads feature,

1. Scroll to the Completed Integrations section of the Mediation Debugger. Select a mediated network that you successfully integrated.
2. Tap Enable under Test Ad.
3. Restart the application. The mediated SDK initializes with test ad credentials.
4. Select the mediated network again. The Test Ads view appears:

Testing with Live Ads

The Mediation Debugger allows you to view and test ads by using your Ad Units’ waterfall configurations.

Caution

If you test with live traffic, some networks might consider this to be fraudulent activity. You might also experience difficulty getting fill, due to your waterfall configuration or to the network’s targeting parameters. AppLovin strongly suggests that you test with live ads when you validate the integration.

To begin, select the View Ad Units cell. This displays the list of Ad Units associated with your app. Then select an Ad Unit from that list. You will see the waterfall configuration from the MAX Ad Unit section.

Note

When you view and test live Ad Units, country-targeting and LAT-targeting rules apply to your device.

Full Waterfall

Select an ad unit from the Ad Units list. Then click the Load button. This requests an ad for the Ad Unit.

Single Ad Source

You can select a single mediated network to be the only ad source for ad requests for an ad unit. To do so, first click one of the networks in the Bidding Networks list for that ad unit. This isolates that network in the list. Next, click the Load button. This requests an ad from that network for the Ad Unit.

Within the App

You can force live ads from selected networks within your app’s natural environment. To do so, select the Select Live Network cell in the Mediation Debugger. Then follow the instructions on the screen.

Caution

This feature is not available when test mode is enabled. Several networks consider live ads on test devices to be fraudulent traffic. AppLovin recommends that you use test ads to validate your integration. You can use this feature to monitor live traffic.

Sharing the Mediation Debugger

Quality reviewers may ask you to share a copy of your Mediation Debugger output before you push your apps live. This ensures that your integration is healthy and is ready to go live.

To share your Mediation Debugger output, first click the button at the top right of the Mediation Debugger home screen. Then complete the action by using your preferred method.

app-ads.txt

The Interactive Advertising Bureau created app-ads.txt. It enables app publishers to prove to advertisers that they own the app that originates an ad request. This prevents malicious actors from making fraudulent ad requests.

See also

“Fight fraud and improve eCPMs: How to implement app-ads.txt for your app” from the AppLovin Mobile Apps Blog

As of MAX SDK version 11.6.0, you can use the Mediation Debugger to check whether your app-ads.txt file contains properly formatted entries for AppLovin. To learn how to set up an app-ads.txt file, on your domain, with entries for AppLovin, see app-ads.txt Info.

The Mediation Debugger looks for an app-ads.txt file that contains the entries for AppLovin. It looks for this file at the root of your developer website that you list on the Google Play Store or Apple App Store: https://«your-domain»/app-ads.txt. If the Mediation Debugger finds this file, the Mediation Debugger displays a row labeled app-ads.txt under the MAX section, and it marks this row with a ✅.