What is app-ads.txt?
app-ads.txt is the mobile and connected-TV version of ads.txt. App developers publish a text file on the developer website listed in their app store page, naming every company authorized to sell ads in their apps. Buyers check it before bidding on in-app or CTV inventory, which helps block app spoofing and unauthorized resellers.
Because apps do not have a web domain of their own, the IAB Tech Lab linked app-ads.txt to the developer URL in the Apple App Store, Google Play or a CTV platform store. DSPs crawl those files and match them against the app ID in the bid request.
It is a key defense against app spoofing and CTV fraud, where a cheap app pretends to be a popular streaming channel. As with ads.txt, it proves authorization, not that a specific impression is real.