AppHarbr, GeoEdge’s in-app ad quality and security platform, today (5th March, 2026) announced the release of the industry’s first In-App Network Ad Quality & Safety Performance Index, a benchmarking report measuring how ad networks perform on ad safety, user experience, and ad content compliance. 

The Index evaluates the quality of ads delivered across the mobile app ecosystem, offering publishers, developers, and studios new perspective on main ad quality visibility, measurable, and accountable. The research analysed 25 billion ads served across 500 mobile apps and more than 45 global ad networks, measuring performance using real in-app traffic rather than self-reported compliance.

Key findings from the report include:

• 50% of global ad networks failed to meet baseline ad safety standards, exposing users and publishers to malicious or policy-violating ads.
• iOS apps experienced nearly three times more malicious ads than Android apps.
• All evaluated ad networks failed ad skippability standards as Ad duration violations were widespread with 15–30-second ad units extended to 60–80 seconds. 

The Index reflects a growing shift in how mobile publishers evaluate ad demand. As malicious, intrusive, and policy-violating creatives increasingly bypass network and mediation safeguards, monetisation teams are looking beyond traditional metrics like eCPM to measure the true performance of ad partners. 

The index identifies top-performing ad networks based on their relative exposure to malvertising and non-compliant ads. Across gaming apps, Meta ranked as the overall leader in ad safety, followed by AppLovin, ironSource, AdMob, andAmazon Ads, delivering the lowest relative malvertising exposure rates. 

Across the broader app ecosystem, Meta, The Trade Desk, Equativ, Index Exchange, and TripleLift demonstrated strong performance in preventing malicious behaviours such as auto-redirects and scam funnels. The findings highlight structural shifts in the mobile advertising ecosystem, with header bidding SDK infrastructure increasingly associated with stronger ad quality performance.

AppHarbr’s ad quality technology continuously monitors in-app advertising environments, detecting and blocking malicious, intrusive, or policy-violating ads in real time across formats and geographies. The platform is integrated across a global portfolio of mobile apps spanning multiple verticals.

The full In-App Network Ad Quality & Safety Performance Index is available here

GeoEdge

GeoEdge offers ad quality and security solutions for Web, In-App, and CTV. It covers the entire ad experience—ad security, content, and quality to refine the user experience. Filter and replace off-brand, offensive, unwanted, or competitor ads. ...

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