Most Popular FAQs

Why can’t I see ads in my game? 🔗

Problems seeing ads in cross-promotion campaigns:

Campaigns may take up to 30 minutes to appear on the Chartboost network. Please wait a bit longer before checking again.
Make sure you’ve properly added your game(s) to your Chartboost platform and started a cross-promotion campaign. Read our Getting Started guide to learn more about setting up your Chartboost experience.
Double-check your SDK integration. Does your code use the correct app ID and app signature? You can also turn on Test Mode to verify that your code properly calls for ads to show.
Double-check the time setting on your device. An incorrect time and date can affect your secure network communications.
Make sure that the game being cross-promoted in your campaign has never been previously installed on your test device. If it has, try resetting your device identifier.
Your cross-promoted ads might be experiencing orientation problems. If your game Buster’s Boost runs in both landscape and portrait orientation, and you are cross-promoting your other game Buster’s Return, you must upload creative assets for Buster’s Return in both landscape and portrait orientations for these ads to be seen in Buster’s Boost. Please allow 30 minutes after uploading assets before testing again.
If you still can’t see ads, try opening your cross-promotion campaigns and removing any targets that might narrow your campaigns’ reach, such as device filters or country filters. Remove all non-default options, save the campaign, and wait 30 minutes before testing again.

When will I get paid? Why didn’t I get paid? 🔗

We try our best to pay you on the last day of the month for earnings you received the month before. See Payment Terms & Dates for more information.

What types of campaigns can I run on Chartboost? How do I start a campaign? 🔗

Ad Locations: Earn revenue by publishing ads from other developers’ apps in your game. Start making money
Advertising Campaigns: Acquire users by advertising your app on the Chartboost network. Get more users
Cross-Promotion: One impression per user per day will go to our network. Otherwise, you’re free to promote your own games within each other! Start cross-promoting

Can I advertise my app without integrating your SDK? 🔗

Yes, but…

You will only be able to run CPM (cost per 1000 impressions) campaigns.
You will not be able to run CPI (cost per install) campaigns.
You will not be able to track installs on devices after users click through the impression.
We highly recommend integrating our SDK or setting up S2S (server-to-server) tracking with one of our third-party partners. These methods help you understand your target audience and maximize profit using hard data.

How can I test my SDK integration? 🔗

You should be able to run your game from an IDE via a simulator or a device and see Chartboost ads appear where your code calls for them. If you’re having trouble…

Make sure you’ve followed the Getting Started Guide
Enable Test Mode to attempt to see one of our placeholder static/rewarded video ads. If you can see one of these ads, chances are you’ve integrated properly but may be having problems at the campaign level.
Use a web debugging proxy like Charles to check if your game is making the right network calls to Chartboost.
Use a VPN. Because the problem may be that you’re testing the campaign from a country with a low fill rate, you can add your device to a VPN to simulate the experience your players in higher fill rate countries would have.

Where are my app ID and app signature? 🔗

From your Chartboost platform navigation, go to Apps Management
Select your app
Your app ID and app signature are listed in the right column.

Keep your app signature a secret! We use it to verify that you’re the owner of your app.

Chartboost App ID is a unique App identifier in our systems, therefore it is required to use a different Chartboost App ID per each app.

How much does Chartboost cost? 🔗

Some of your cross-promotion impressions will go to our network, otherwise, you’re free to promote your own games within each other!

Learn more about cross-promotion

Network Advertising & Publishing

Advertising: Spending is based on CPI and CPM campaigns.
Publishing: Your earnings are based on dynamic advertiser buys that depend on bid types, ad formats, and other factors. The Chartboost team is constantly optimizing our network with machine algorithms and data science to help publishers earn the highest possible eCPMs and overall revenue.

Learn more about advertising

Learn more about publishing

Why is my eCPM low? How do I boost my eCPM? 🔗

You might need to tweak how players see ads in your game. Use named locations to customize where ads appear. Making ads more seamless within your game might invite players to click through.
Let analytics help you decide what to do. Visit your dashboard to discover performance trends and player behavior. You can also download your campaign analytics as a spreadsheet.
Are the wrong types of ads showing up in your game? Filter them out!

What are some Chartboost do’s and dont’s? 🔗

Our goal at Chartboost is to ensure you have the tools to build the most successful business by monetizing and acquiring users. Keeping the network balanced and healthy means game publishers receive high eCPM and advertisers see a high ROI. Below are a few best practices that will help you maintain your games as a high-quality publisher.

Do use advertisements judiciously in your game: Think about when and where your players see ads, engaged players are what help your earnings and the health of the Chartboost platform overall. Try the latest ad formats like rewarded videos and animated GIFs to give your players the best experience possible.
Do protect your accounts: Keep your passwords secure and limit how many other users have access to your account.
Do make sure any ads submitted are appropriate and your IP: Always make sure when submitting your ad creatives that they are not obscene (keep it clean!) and legally your own brand, trademark, or IP.
Do make sure any third-party services are also legitimate for your app: You are responsible for any third party you give access to your Chartboost account. Always make sure you are working with legitimate partners who comply with our terms and conditions and will help you keep your games healthy.
Do use test mode before you go live: This allows you to see any ads that may appear in your game without tracking any irregular behavior in use. Read more here.
Do monitor your key advertising and post-install metrics: Suspiciously high click-through rates and install rates can be signs of non-human traffic. Also, negligent D7 retention and purchase events are usually signs of fraud.
Do check in on your publishing campaigns in your Chartboost platform: Chartboost makes it really easy to get things up and running. While publishing campaigns might feel like something you don’t need to monitor, it’s best to check in on your performance and the quality of inventory your game is bringing to the ecosystem.
Do follow all app store and ad network guidelines: Make sure you check the guidelines for your game, ads, or users to ensure you won’t be flagged for inappropriate activity. These guidelines can be found in any network’s terms of service. Click here to read Chartboost’s terms and conditions.
Do reach out to the Chartboost support team: We’re here if you have questions! From how Chartboost works to the best way to set up a video campaign, the team will walk you through it.
Don’t incentivize your users to click or install: We want players to genuinely download the apps and content that is promoted through Chartboost. In the short term, incentivizing the users might pump up your earnings but it actually brings in low-quality users which aren’t fair to advertisers on the other side of the interaction.
Don’t use bots: Software-generated traffic is not allowed on Chartboost. Always know where your traffic is coming from and make sure that you trust the channels you’re using to grow your audiences.

Chartboost is serious about fraud prevention, read more about how we think about fraud in the ad network ecosystem. When you join the Chartboost network, you agree to our Terms and Conditions.

Your earnings are based on dynamic advertiser buys that depend on bid types, ad formats, and other factors. The Chartboost team is constantly optimizing our network with machine algorithms and data science to help publishers earn the highest possible eCPMs and overall revenue.

I’m an agency. Can I buy traffic from Chartboost? 🔗

Thank you for your interest in Chartboost! A few things you should know first…

Agencies can run CPM and CPI campaigns. For CPI campaigns, every app must integrate the Chartboost SDK to obtain install data. To use third-party install attribution instead of integrating the Chartboost SDK, please contact us for eligibility.
If you want to run campaigns on behalf of a company and app that’s already using Chartboost, we need written consent from the developer.
We’re not an exchange, so we can’t act as a middleman or directly sell traffic.

If you have any questions not addressed by the above, please contact us.

What creative types does Chartboost support? 🔗

Static ads are so last year! Rich, engaging animated GIFs are more lightweight than video ads and can seriously increase your eCPM. Try it out
High-quality video ads captivate players with end cards that feel like personalized recommendations. Reward your players with in-game goodies or virtual currency after they watch a video.
Full-screen static ads are still the simplest and least intrusive way to grab your players’ attention.
Don’t just look at it play with it! Playable ads are the best way to engage with your gamers and raise your eCPM.

How big is the Chartboost SDK? 🔗

Android: The Chartboost SDK will add approximately 700KB to your final download size.
iOS 9.x+: The Chartboost SDK will add less than 700 KB to your final download size.

The actual SDK package download file may be significantly larger because it includes sample code and the full Chartboost framework. Many of these files can be removed after compiling.

Does Chartboost support HTML5 ads? 🔗

Sorry, Chartboost currently doesn’t support HTML5 ads.

We’re always eager to hear your feedback. If you use HTML5 ads and would like us to support them, please let us know!

See supported ad types

How do I delete an app from the platform? 🔗

From your Chartboost platformnavigation, go to App Management.
Select the app.
Click Edit App Settings from the right column.
Click Remove App at the bottom of the page
Click Remove to confirm the deletion.

Deleting an app is permanent! Deleted apps will be removed from any campaigns or Scheduled Reports. If the deleted app is the only app in a campaign, the campaign will be automatically archived.

Analytics for deleted apps will still be available in your dashboard.

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