AppHarbr’s In-App Network Ad Quality Index is the first independent ranking of ad networks by ad quality and safety. Covering over 25 billion ads across 500 apps between November 2025 and January 2026, the index evaluates 30+ networks on live traffic data, not self-reported compliance. This post covers the user safety dimension: which networks deliver the cleanest demand when it comes to malvertising.
What Is Malvertising and Why Does It Matter?
Malvertising refers to malicious ads that expose users to phishing attempts, scams, forced redirects, and fraudulent user journeys, delivered silently through legitimate ad inventory. Unlike a piece of offensive creative, there’s nothing visible to flag. Users simply get redirected somewhere they didn’t intend to go, or worse, get defrauded.
The scale of the problem is significant. 50% of global ad networks fail to meet baseline user safety standards, defined as keeping malvertising below a 1% threshold. In gaming specifically, 1 in 58 ads served is malicious. In non-gaming apps, that figure is 1 in 165.
When users encounter a malicious ad, they churn, and that churn erodes ARPU and LTV in ways that rarely get traced back to the ad that caused it. 84% of players uninstall games due to negative ad experiences. Beyond retention, negative reviews affect App Store and Google Play rankings, reducing organic discovery and making paid UA progressively more expensive.
Gaming: Overall Player Safety Rankings
Meta, AppLovin, and ironSource lead the overall gaming player safety rankings, followed by AdMob and Amazon Ads. Pangle and Mintegral earned honorable mentions for their improving performance against auto-redirects and clickbait.
Top-performing ad networks for player safety in mobile games, ranked by malvertising rate. November 2025 – January 2026. Source: AppHarbr In-App Network Ad Quality Index.
Gaming: Player Safety by Operating System
iOS and Android environments show meaningfully different malvertising profiles. iOS apps attract significantly more malicious ads, likely because high-value iOS audiences command higher CPMs, making them a more attractive target for fraudulent demand. On iOS, AdMob, AppLovin, ironSource, Pangle, and Amazon Ads lead. On Android, Meta, Unity, AppLovin, AdMob, and Mintegral come out on top.
Ad network player safety rankings by operating system in mobile games. iOS vs. Android malvertising rates. November 2025 – January 2026. Source: AppHarbr In-App Network Ad Quality Index.
Gaming: Player Safety by Region
Malvertising rates and network performance vary considerably across geographies. Meta leads across all four regions. In North America, AppLovin, AdMob, and Amazon Ads follow. In LATAM, Mintegral and AppLovin stand out. In EMEA, Unity, AppLovin, Mintegral, and AdMob rank behind Meta. In APAC, Unity, AdMob, AppLovin, and Mintegral round out the top five.
Best ad networks for player safety by region — North America, LATAM, EMEA, and APAC. November 2025 – January 2026. Source: AppHarbr In-App Network Ad Quality Index.
Non-Gaming Apps: Overall User Safety Rankings
In non-gaming environments, header bidding SDKs consistently outperform traditional network SDKs on user safety. Aside from Meta, every top-five performer delivers demand via header bidding, suggesting that the stricter enforcement standards developed in the web ecosystem carry real weight in in-app environments too. Meta leads overall, followed by The Trade Desk, Equativ, Index Exchange, and TripleLift. LoopMe and Criteo earned honorable mentions.
Top ad networks for user safety in non-gaming apps, ranked by malvertising rate. November 2025 – January 2026. Source: AppHarbr In-App Network Ad Quality Index.
Non-Gaming Apps: User Safety by Operating System
On iOS, Index Exchange, Meta, Pangle, InMobi, and Amazon Ads lead. On Android, Meta, The Trade Desk, Moloco, Equativ, and Amazon Ads come out on top.
Ad network user safety rankings by operating system in non-gaming apps. November 2025 – January 2026. Source: AppHarbr In-App Network Ad Quality Index.
Non-Gaming Apps: User Safety by Region
Meta leads across all four regions in non-gaming as well. In North America, Amazon Ads and Google Ad Manager follow. In LATAM, Moloco, Google Ad Manager, Amazon Ads, and AdMob round out the top five. In EMEA, The Trade Desk, Moloco, Equativ, and Index Exchange follow Meta. In APAC, Index Exchange, Google Ad Manager, Pangle, and Amazon Ads complete the top five.
Best ad networks for user safety by region in non-gaming apps — North America, LATAM, EMEA, and APAC. November 2025 – January 2026. Source: AppHarbr In-App Network Ad Quality Index.
Non-Gaming Apps: Header Bidding Wrapper Leaders
Header bidding wrappers show distinct performance profiles on user safety. Within OpenWrap, Index Exchange and PubMatic lead. Within Prebid, Index Exchange, Equativ, and Criteo rank highest. Nimbus shows the broadest set of strong performers, with The Trade Desk, Index Exchange, Moloco, InMobi, and PubMatic leading the way.
Top header bidding wrappers for user safety in non-gaming apps. November 2025 – January 2026. Source: AppHarbr In-App Network Ad Quality Index.
What This Means for Your Stack
With 50% of networks failing baseline safety standards, the question isn’t whether malvertising is reaching your users. It’s how much. Networks and mediation layers were not built to give publishers granular control over what gets served. Real-time, demand-agnostic enforcement is the only reliable way to hold every demand source to the same standard and protect the LTV you’ve already earned.
AppHarbr is the first ad quality solution built specifically for app developers. The index is based on live traffic data from 25 billion ads across 500 apps, with malicious, intrusive, and offensive ads blocked in real time across formats and geographies. Rankings reflect actual in-market performance, not self-reported compliance.
Download the full report to see complete rankings across user safety, user experience, and ad content.
Want to enforce a less than 1% malvertising threshold across all your demand sources? Learn more at appharbr.com.
