Set up an app-ads.txt file for your website
The file is simple; getting it served correctly is where most setups fail. Follow these steps once and your networks will find it.
Steps
- Check the developer website in your Google Play and App Store listings — the file must live on that exact domain.
- Create the file with the generator or by hand — one line per authorized seller.
- Upload it to the web root so it opens at https://yourdomain.com/app-ads.txt (not in a subfolder).
- Make sure the server answers 200 with Content-Type text/plain, UTF-8, without a login or cookie banner page.
- If you redirect (domain → www, http → https), keep it to a short chain that ends on the file.
- Run the checker and wait for your networks to re-crawl — usually within a day.
Server snippets
Apache: place the file in the DocumentRoot. Nginx: location = /app-ads.txt { root /var/www/site; default_type text/plain; }. Single-page apps: exclude /app-ads.txt from the fallback to index.html — otherwise crawlers get your HTML.
No server access?
Host it for free and connect your domain with a redirect, or use the hosted subdomain as the developer website.
FAQ
Can app-ads.txt be on a subdomain?
The crawler looks at the domain of the developer website from your store listing. If that website is a subdomain, the file goes there.
How long until networks see it?
Most networks crawl daily; some take longer. The checker reads it immediately.