[cmcaleer]

> The following fees apply when a user completes [...] any app installs within 24 hours of following an external content link

So does this mean a malicious competitor or motivated disgruntled user could fraudulently cause millions of app installs? With the scale smartphone activity fraud farms are at these days, paying a few thousand dollars on such a service to cause a developer to spend a few million dollars on worthless installs (or a lot of resources arguing with Google) seems like a worthwhile endeavour for the motivated.

[charcircuit]

A malicous competitor could also click on their competitors ads too. Antifraud is important.

[AnthonyMouse]

Antifraud is "important" but when the party in charge of implementing it makes more profit when there's more fraud, what result do you expect?

[charcircuit]

If linking to external content is not viable, developers will not continue linking to external content. If developers stop linking to external content Google stops making money. It's not an infinite money glitch if Google didn't go after fraud, it hurts the profit they can make from it.

[AnthonyMouse]

> If linking to external content is not viable, developers will not continue linking to external content.

So in other words, go back to in-app purchases processed by Google.

[binaryturtle]

I got my AdSense account disabled because "fraudulent click activity" or how they worded it (someone clicked my ads frequently, I assume?). Google then kept all the my hard earned 16++ EUR or so.

[jacquesm]

I can't wait until I'm professionally done so I never ever have to use a google product again.