Terms and Privacy Policy Flow

This page explains how you can use the MAX Terms Flow to prompt acceptance of your Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

It is optional to use the CMP flow included with the MAX SDK. If you integrate your own CMP flow, make sure the flow completes before you initialize the MAX SDK

SDK 12.0.0 Release

AppLovin MAX SDK v12.0.0, when used with Google UMP, complies with TCF v2 in that the MAX SDK can ingest the consent string and AC string and forward the TCF v2 Consent strings / states to the mediated networks as described in TCF v2 Consent.

If you do not use Google UMP as your CMP, either through AppLovin’s automated flow or otherwise, you must ensure that the CMP you choose supports all of the mediated networks you integrate.

All MAX-mediated ad networks except AdColony are supported by MAX’s Google UMP integration.

If you do not use a CMP, you must continue to set AppLovin’s SDK’s binary consent flags as described in Consent and Age Related Flags in GDPR and Other Regions.

If you access Google demand through MAX, it’s critical that you review the Google CMP requirements before you start the integration process.

Google UMP Automation

Initialize MAX SDK. Age-restricted User? In GDPR region? Google UMP Flow. MAX Terms / Privacy Policy Flow. MAX ATT Prompt (iOS only). SDK Initialization Completion callback
  1. MAX SDK initializes.
  2. Regional Compliance Check: AppLovin determines whether the user is located in a GDPR region. If the user is in a GDPR region, the MAX SDK presents Google UMP. If the user is not in a GDPR region, MAX SDK a subsequent check is made to ascertain whether the user is age-restricted.
  3. Age Verification: If the user is age-restricted under COPPA as determined via the setIsAgeRestrictedUser API, the user is taken to MAX’s ATT (App Tracking Transparency) prompt. Otherwise MAX SDK presents the user with a Terms of Service and Privacy Policy prompt. Steps 2 and 3 ensure that users are informed about data collection and usage and have the option to consent or decline.
  4. (iOS only) If Google UMP is not configured to display the ATT prompt, or if the user did not see the Google UMP flow, MAX SDK shows the MAX ATT prompt.
  5. MAX SDK calls your initialization completion callback to signal that you can start loading ads.

The TCF consent state may be false in either of the following two circumstances:

  1. The user indicated that they do not consent to the terms of data collection that you specified in your message.
  2. Some of the ad networks you have integrated into your application are not configured into UMP, and so UMP will always reject consent. See Verifying Missing Networks to learn how to fix this.

Enabling Google UMP

When you submit your app to App Store Connect for review, you must notify the reviewer, in the Review Notes section, that you have enabled the App Tracking Transparency framework permission request for iOS 14.5+ only. If you do not do this, Apple may reject your build.

Enabling Google CMP on AdMob Dashboard

For the MAX consent flow to display the Google GDPR form, you first must create and publish the Google GDPR message on the AdMob dashboard. To do so:

  1. Sign in to your AdMob account at apps.admob.com.
    • Add your apps to the AdMob dashboard, if you have not done so already.
  2. Click Privacy & messaging.
  3. Click GDPR.
  4. Click Create message. The GDPR message page opens.
  5. Select the apps that you want to display your message:
    1. Click Select apps.
    2. Select the desired apps.
    3. Click Save.
  6. Select the languages in which you want to display your message.
  7. In the User consent options section, select Consent or Manage options.
    • Do not check the Close (do not consent) option.
  8. In the Targeting section, select Countries subject to GDPR (EEA and UK).
  9. Click Continue. The Edit message page opens.
  10. In the Message name field, enter a descriptive message name to help you identify the message later. This name appears only on the Privacy & messaging page and is not visible to users.
  11. Select the Styling tab.
    1. Under the Global section, set the Secondary color to white (#ffffff).
    2. Under the Buttons section, set the Secondary color to gray (#6e6e6e).
  12. Click Publish.
Customize Ad Partners List

By default, Google might not show all of your ad partners in your GDPR message. If you fail to include these networks, this could adversely affect your ad revenue. Follow the steps in this section to ensure all of your ad partners appear in the GDPR message.

To customize which ad partners show in the GDPR message:

  1. Open the GDPR settings page.
  2. Click the edit icon (✎) under the Review your ad partners section.
  3. Select the Custom ad partners toggle and then select all of the networks you integrated in your app.

    For Mintegral, select Mobvista/Mintegral from the list of ad partners, rather than Mintegral.

  4. Click Confirm.
  5. Click Save at the bottom of the GDPR settings page.

Enabling MAX Consent Flow

To enable the MAX Terms and Privacy Policy Flow programmatically, set several properties of the SDK’s settings object before you initialize the SDK, as in the code sample below:

AppLovinMAX.setTermsAndPrivacyPolicyFlowEnabled(true);
AppLovinMAX.setPrivacyPolicyUrl('https://your_company_name.com/privacy/');
// Terms of Service URL is optional
AppLovinMAX.setTermsOfServiceUrl('https://your_company_name.com/terms/');

Map? configuration = await AppLovinMAX.initialize(_sdkKey);
Integration

The SDK presents the consent flow when you initialize the SDK. When the user completes the flow, the SDK calls your initialization-completion callback.

You must wait until the user finishes the consent flow before you initialize third-party SDKs (such as MMPs or analytics SDKs). For this reason, initialize such SDKs from within your initialization-completion callback. If you were to initialize these third-party SDKs before the user completes the consent flow, these third-party SDKs would not be able to access relevant identifiers, and you would suffer a material impact on measurement, reporting, and ad revenue.

Do not initialize MAX mediated network SDKs in your initialization callback. MAX performs this initialization automatically.

If you set the user ID in your MMP integration, set it where you set the AppLovin user ID.

Show GDPR Flow to Existing Users

AppLovin recommends that you allow existing users in GDPR regions to reenter the GDPR flow. Typically, users can do this in your app’s Settings section via an option to Manage Existing Privacy Settings. In order to determine if a user is within a GDPR region so that you can conditionally show that settings option, you can use the SDK API AppLovinMAX.getConsentFlowUserGeography() (the user is in GDPR region when getConsentFlowUserGeography() returns ConsentFlowUserGeography.gdpr/code).

When the user clicks Manage Existing Privacy Settings (or its equivalent), call AppLovinCmpService.showCmpForExistingUser(). Note that this resets the user’s existing consent information.

Testing

If you want to test the Google CMP outside the GDPR region, call AppLovinMAXsetConsentFlowDebugUserGeography() with option ConsentFlowUserGeography.gdpr:

AppLovinMAX.setConsentFlowDebugUserGeography(ConsentFlowUserGeography.gdpr);

Testing Google UMP Integration with the Mediation Debugger

Verifying Installation

Under the Privacy section of the MAX Mediation Debugger, the CMP (Consent Management Platform) row displays the name of the Google-certified CMP SDK that you integrated. If you have successfully integrated the Google UMP SDK, it displays “Google consent management solutions” as the name.

MAX Mediation Debugger > Privacy: CMP (Consent Management Platform) = Google consent management solutions

Verifying IAB TCF Parameters

If you select the CMP (Consent Management Platform) row, you can inspect the IAB TCF parameters IABTCF_gdprApplies, IABTCF_TCString, and IABTCF_AddtlConsent. For the latter two, you can click on the row to copy or share its value.

IAB TCF Parameters: IABTCF_gdprApplies, IABTCF_TCString, IABTCF_AddtlConsent

Verifying Missing Networks

In the CMP CONFIGURATION section, you can verify which networks are integrated with or are missing from your Google UMP configuration. This is an exhaustive list of all networks that are available to MAX, you can ignore any networks that you did not integrate in your application.

On your CMP flow you must list all of the networks that you integrate in your application. To check if any of those networks are missing, first complete the CMP flow, granting consent to all networks, then open the Mediation Debugger. The Mediation Debugger then parses the TC and AC strings and displays two lists: one of integrated networks you listed on your CMP flow, and the other of networks that are missing which you might need to add (under Configured CMP Networks in the CMP CONFIGURATION section).

If you see any networks in the MISSING ATP NETWORKS or MISSING TCF VENDORS list that you have integrated into your application, return to your CMP’s dashboard and add the missing networks to those covered by the GDPR message (see Customize Ad Partners List for how to do this in Google’s Unified Consent Flow), then restart your app. Repeat the steps to show the Configured CMP Networks list until you verify that all of your networks are correctly included in the CMP flow.

CMP Configuration: IABTCF_CmpSdkID = 300, IABTCF_CmpSdkVersion = 2. To check which of your integrated networks are missing from your CMP, first make sure that you have granted consent to all networks through your CMP flow. Then add the following networks to your CMP network list. Configured CMP Networks: Missing 3 network(s).Configured CMP Networks: Missing TCF Vendors (TC String), Missing ATP Networks (AC String), Listed TCF Vendors (TC String)

Verifying Mediated Network Consent Statuses

To view the consent statuses of all networks, expand Network Consent Statuses in the Mediation Debugger. The Mediation Debugger parses the TC string and displays the consent statuses of all networks. It also displays the AppLovin consent status parsed from the AC string generated by Google UMP.

Network Consent Statuses: TCF Vendors (TC String), ATP Networks (AC String)