AdSense Program policies

All publishers are required to adhere to the following policies, so please read them carefully. If you fail to comply with these policies without permission from Google, we reserve the right to disable ad serving to your site and/or disable your AdSense account at any time. If your account is disabled, you will not be eligible for further participation in the AdSense program.

Because we may change our policies at any time, please check here often for updates. In accordance with our online Terms and Conditions, it's your responsibility to keep up to date with, and adhere to, the policies posted here. Exceptions to these policies are permitted only with authorization from Google.

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Invalid clicks and impressions

Publishers may not click their own ads or use any means to inflate impressions and/or clicks artificially, including manual methods.

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Clicks on Google ads must result from genuine user interest. Any method that artificially generates clicks or impressions on your Google ads is strictly prohibited. These prohibited methods include, but are not limited to, repeated manual clicks or impressions, automated click and impression generating tools and the use of robots or deceptive software. Please note that clicking your own ads for any reason is prohibited.

Encouraging clicks or views (non-rewarded inventory)

Except for rewarded inventory, publishers may not ask others to click or view their ads or use deceptive implementation methods to obtain clicks or views. This includes, but is not limited to, offering compensation to users for viewing ads or performing searches, promising to raise money for third parties for such behavior or placing images next to individual ads.

Learn more

To ensure a good experience for users and advertisers, publishers participating in the AdSense program may not:

  • Compensate users for viewing ads or performing searches, or promise compensation to a third party for such behavior.
  • Encourage users to click the Google ads using phrases such as "click the ads", "support us", "visit these links" or other similar language.
  • Direct user attention to the ads using arrows or other graphical gimmicks.
  • Place misleading images alongside individual ads.
  • Place ads in a floating box script.
  • Format ads so that they become indistinguishable from other content on that page.
  • Format site content so that it is difficult to distinguish it from ads.
  • Place misleading labels above Google ad units. For instance, ads may be labelled "Sponsored Links" or "Advertisements", but not "Favorite Sites" or "Today's Top Offers".

Content policies

Publishers may not place AdSense code on pages with content that violates any of our content policies. Some examples include content that is adult, shocking, or advocates racial intolerance. Please see our prohibited content article for more information.

View full content policies.

Pages with Google ads may not include:

  • Adult themes in family content
  • Pornography, adult or mature content
  • Shocking content
  • Content that threatens or advocates for harm on oneself or others
  • Content that harasses, intimidates or bullies an individual or group of individuals
  • Content that incites hatred against, promotes discrimination of, or disparages an individual or group on the basis of their race or ethnic origin, religion, disability, age, nationality, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or other characteristic that is associated with systemic discrimination or marginalization
  • Excessive profanity
  • Hacking/cracking content
  • Software or other content that violates the Unwanted Software Policy
  • Malware or adware
  • Illicit drugs and drug paraphernalia content
  • Content that promotes, sells, or advertises products obtained from endangered or threatened species.
  • Online sale of alcoholic beverages
  • Sales of tobacco or tobacco-related products
  • Sales of prescription drugs
  • Sales of weapons or ammunition (e.g., firearms, firearm components, fighting knives, stun guns)
  • Instructions on the enhancement or self-assembly of weapons (e.g., 3D printing of weapons, conversion kits, 80% finished parts)
  • Sales or distribution of coursework or student essays
  • Content regarding programs which compensate users for clicking ads or offers, performing searches, surfing websites or reading emails
  • Any other content that is illegal, promotes illegal activity or infringes on the legal rights of others

Publishers are also not permitted to place AdSense code on pages with content primarily in an unsupported language.

Abusive experiences

Publishers may not place Google ads on sites that contain abusive experiences. See the abusive experiences page for more information.

Authorized inventory (ads.txt)

If AdSense publishers choose to use ads.txt on their domains, those publishers must ensure that they are included as authorized sellers of that inventory. For more information, see Declare who is authorized to sell your inventory with ads.txt.

Copyrighted material

AdSense publishers may not display Google ads on pages with content protected by copyright law unless they have the necessary legal rights to display that content. This includes pages that display copyrighted material, pages hosting copyrighted files, or pages that provide links driving traffic to pages that contain copyrighted material.

It is our policy to respond to notices of alleged infringement that comply with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). For AdSense publishers, if we receive a notice or otherwise have reason to believe that your page is infringing, we may terminate your participation in the program. You can file a counter-notification via this form. More information about our DMCA process is available in this blog post.

If you believe that a page which is participating in the AdSense program is displaying your copyrighted material without the rights to do so, please report it using this form or by clicking on the AdChoices icon AdChoices icon.

Counterfeit goods

AdSense publishers may not display Google ads on webpages that offer for sale or promote the sale of counterfeit goods. Counterfeit goods contain a trademark or logo that is identical to or substantially indistinguishable from the trademark of another. They mimic the brand features of the product in an attempt to pass themselves off as a genuine product of the brand owner.

Traffic sources

Google ads may not be placed on pages receiving traffic from certain sources. For example, publishers may not participate in paid-to-click programs, send unwanted emails or display ads as the result of the action of any software application. Also, publishers using online advertising must ensure that their pages comply with Google's Landing Page Quality Guidelines.

Learn more

To ensure a positive experience for Internet users and Google advertisers, sites displaying Google ads may not:

  • Use third-party services that generate clicks or impressions such as paid-to-click, paid-to-surf, autosurf and click-exchange programs.
  • Be promoted through unsolicited mass emails or unwanted advertisements on third-party websites.
  • Display Google ads, search boxes or search results as a result of the actions of software applications such as toolbars.
  • Be loaded by any software that can trigger pop-ups, redirect users to unwanted websites, modify browser settings or otherwise interfere with site navigation. It is your responsibility to ensure that no ad network or affiliate uses such methods to direct traffic to pages that contain your AdSense code.
  • Receive traffic from online advertising unless the site complies with the spirit of Google's Landing Page Quality Guidelines. For instance, users should easily be able to find what your ad promises.

Ad behavior

Publishers are permitted to make modifications to the AdSense ad code so long as those modifications do not artificially inflate ad performance or harm advertisers. Please see Modification of the AdSense ad code for more information.

Ad placement

Publishers are encouraged to experiment with a variety of placements and ad formats. However, AdSense code may not be placed in inappropriate places such as pop-ups, emails or software. Publishers must also adhere to the policies for each product used. Please see our ad placement policies article for more information.

View full ad placement policies.

Google ads, search boxes or search results may not be:

  • Integrated into a software application (does not apply to AdMob) of any kind, including toolbars.
  • Displayed in pop-ups or pop-unders, including where a page containing Google ads, search boxes, or search results is loaded in a pop-up or pop-under.
  • Placed inside emails, or on pages where email messages are the primary focus.
  • Placed on pages where dynamically-generated content (such as live chat, instant messaging, or auto-refreshing comments) is the primary focus of the page.
  • Obscured by elements on a page.
  • Underneath or adjacent to buttons or any other object such that the placement of the ad interferes with a user’s typical interaction with the app or ad.
  • Placed on any non-content-based page. (Does not apply to AdSense for search or mobile AdSense for search.)
  • Placed on pages published specifically for the purpose of showing ads.
  • Placed on pages whose content or URL could confuse users into thinking it is associated with Google due to the misuse of logos, trademarks or other brand features.
  • Placed on, within or alongside other Google products or services in a manner that violates the policies of that product or service.

Site behavior

Sites showing Google ads should be easy for users to navigate. Sites may not change user preferences, redirect users to unwanted websites, initiate downloads, include malware or contain pop-ups or pop-unders that interfere with site navigation.

Technical requirements

To help you provide a quality user experience, Google has developed technical specifications for sites displaying Google ads. We only allow sites that comply with these technical specifications. Please review below for detailed technical requirements:

  • Use supported languages
    • Google publisher products do not support all languages. Applications for participation in these programs can be for sites with content primarily in the following languages.
  • Format requirements
    • WebView
      • AdSense for content (AFC) and Ad Exchange (AdX) display ads are not supported through all WebView technologies. App developers wishing to monetize by publishing AFC and AdX display ads through a WebView must use one of the following supported viewing frames:
      • Google AdMob and AdX in-app ads may be shown in an app next to a WebView so long as the Google Mobile Ads SDK is in use and the publisher is compliant with all other AdSense program policies.

Google advertising cookies

AdSense publishers must have and abide by a privacy policy that discloses that third parties may be placing and reading cookies on your users' browsers, or using web beacons to collect information as a result of ad serving on your website. Learn more about preparing your privacy policy.

Identifying users and user consent

You must not pass any information to Google:

  • that Google could use or recognize as personally identifiable information; or
  • that permanently identifies a particular device (such as a mobile phone's unique device identifier if such an identifier cannot be reset).

You must not use Google AdSense to facilitate the merging of personally identifiable information with information previously collected as non-personally identifiable information without robust notice of, and the user's prior affirmative (i.e., opt-in) consent to, that merger.

For more information, please refer to Guidance for complying with the Identifying Users Policy.

You must also comply with the EU user consent policy.

Privacy

You must disclose clearly any data collection, sharing and usage that takes place on any site, app or other property as a consequence of your use of any Google advertising service. To comply with this disclosure obligation with respect to Google’s use of data, you have the option to display a prominent link to How Google uses data when you use our partners’ sites or apps.

Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA)

If you implement any Google advertising service on a site or section of a site that is covered by the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), (a) you must notify Google of those sites or sections of sites covered by COPPA using the tools found here: https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/coppa, or the method for apps described here: https://firebase.google.com/docs/admob/android/targeting, and (b) you must not use interest-based advertising (including remarketing) to target: (i) past or current activity by users known by you to be under the age of 13 years or (ii) past or current activity on sites directed at users under the age of 13 years.

Product-specific policies

Last updated: August 28, 2018

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