Google is launching “high-engagement” ads.

One of the last bastions of decent ad experience is going down. Google is launching “high-engagement” ads. ⚡

By default, new settings will automatically be enabled for all apps. Opt-out process is still unclear, with some information hinting that for those not using AdMob mediation, the only way to opt-out will be via dedicated account manager while those using AdMob mediation will be able to opt-out via AdMob dashboard controls. 🎮

What these new settings mean for publishers 👇 ⏩ ⌛

1. Rewarded video ads will be skippable after up to 60 seconds (compared to up to 30 seconds so far). Only after the ad becomes skippable, the reward will be granted.
2. Interstitial ads will be skippable after up to 15 seconds (compared to up to 5 seconds so far).
3. Rewarded video ads will be skippable after up to 3 steps (1 step so far).
4. Interstitial ads will be skippable after up to 3 steps (up to 2 steps so far).

In all fairness and transparency, networks such as AppLovin, ironSource, Unity Grow, Liftoff Mobile, Mintegral, Digital Turbine and virtually all others have become much more aggressive with their ad templates a long time ago. Google and Meta were the last ones resisting this pressure, up until now.

It will be interesting to see the impact of these changes and also how this impacts the share of revenue from networks that had (an unfair) advantage up until now. 💸

Also, kudos to Google for finally catching up with Apple in framing so mething that is deteriorating user experience into something that actually sounds positive (“high engagement”). 🌈 👏