Written by Pragmi
Key takeaways
- An SDK is a ready-made package of code and tools that adds a feature to your app.
- Every SDK adds size, updates, and policy responsibility, because the stores treat its behavior as yours.
- Some features, including the Sharklio offerwall, need no SDK at all: a signed link does the job.
What is an SDK?
An SDK, or software development kit, is a ready-made package of code, tools, and documentation that lets developers add a feature to their app without building it from scratch. An ad SDK shows ads, an analytics SDK counts what users do, and a payment SDK takes payments. You add the SDK to your project, call a few of its functions, and it handles the rest inside your app.
The word is also used for full toolkits that build apps for a platform, such as the Android SDK. In advertising and monetization, “SDK” almost always means a third-party library you add to your own app.
What is inside an SDK?
Open up a typical SDK and you find compiled libraries, the code that actually runs inside your app, plus an interface: the handful of functions you call, such as “initialize”, “show offerwall”, or “load ad”. Around that sit documentation and sample apps, and the configuration the SDK needs, such as keys, permissions, and settings. Many providers add a dashboard on their side where you manage settings and see reports.
Developers usually install SDKs with a package manager, such as Gradle on Android, CocoaPods or Swift Package Manager on iOS, or a package file in Unity.
SDK vs API: what is the difference?
An API (application programming interface) is a set of rules for how two pieces of software talk to each other, often over the internet. An SDK is a package you install that usually uses one or more APIs for you and adds ready-made screens, caching, and error handling.
| SDK | API | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Code you add to your app | An interface your code calls |
| Where it runs | Inside your app, on the user’s device | On the provider’s servers |
| Updates | You ship a new app version | The provider updates it on their side |
| Control over design | Often limited to the provider’s screens | Full, you build the interface |
| Effort | Low to start, ongoing updates | More building, fewer app updates |
Many providers offer both. For offerwalls there is a third option, a web link that opens in a WebView or browser, which Offerwall integration: iframe, link or API compares in detail.
Common types of SDKs in apps
- Ad SDKs and mediation: load banners, interstitials, and rewarded video, often from several networks at once.
- Offerwall SDKs: show a wall of offers inside the app and report rewards. Monetize a mobile game with an offerwall covers how games use them.
- Analytics SDKs: record sessions, screens, and events.
- Attribution SDKs: tell you which campaign brought each install. See What is an MMP?
- Payment, login, maps, and push notification SDKs for everyday features.
The hidden costs of adding an SDK
An SDK saves development time, but it is not free to carry:
- App size and performance. Each SDK adds code, and some start work when the app opens.
- Updates. When the SDK changes, you ship a new app version and wait for users to update.
- Conflicts. Two SDKs can depend on different versions of the same library.
- Privacy and policy responsibility. Google Play’s policy says that if you include an SDK, you are responsible for making sure its code and practices comply with Play policies, and that data an SDK collects in your app is treated as if you collected it directly. That affects your Data safety form.
- App Store requirements. Apple requires privacy manifests, and signatures when used as binary dependencies, for SDKs on its list of commonly used third-party SDKs when you submit a new app or add one of them in an update.
Google also runs the Play SDK Index, which shows usage data, the permissions an SDK requests, and links to its data guidance for widely used commercial SDKs. It is worth a look before you add a new one.
Checklist before you add an SDK
- Can a link, WebView, or server-to-server API do the same job without new code in the app?
- How much does it add to your app size, and does it run code at startup?
- What data does it collect, and does the provider publish guidance for Google’s Data safety form and Apple’s privacy manifest?
- How often does it need updating, and what happens to older app versions?
- Does it credit rewards on the device or confirm them to your server? Server-side confirmation is harder to fake.
- Can you remove it later without breaking other features?
Do you need an SDK for an offerwall?
Not always. Some offerwalls are SDK-first and give you a native screen inside the app. Others work as a web page that your app opens with a link. In the link model, your server builds a signed URL for the signed-in user, the app opens it in a WebView or the browser, and rewards reach your server through postbacks, so nothing on the device decides whether a user gets paid. You can change the wall’s look and offers without shipping an app update. For a side-by-side view of providers and how each one integrates, see Best offerwalls for publishers.
Adding the Sharklio offerwall without an SDK
You can skip the SDK entirely with Sharklio, so there is no extra library to ship or keep updated in your app. Your server builds one signed link, https://wall.sharklio.com/{APP_ID}?user_id=...&hash=..., which you open in a browser or WebView or embed in an iframe on your registered website, and your server credits users from our signed postbacks. The offerwall has not launched for publishers yet, and applications open soon. See how the Sharklio offerwall works and check what your server needs, then leave your email in the form at the bottom of this page and we will write once, the day it opens.
Frequently asked questions
What does SDK stand for?
Software development kit: a package of code, tools, and documentation that helps developers build a feature or an app for a platform.
Is an SDK the same as an API?
No. An API is an interface that software calls, usually on a server. An SDK is code you install in your app, and it often uses APIs behind the scenes.
Are SDKs safe to use?
Most are, but you are responsible for them. Google Play treats data an SDK collects as if your app collected it, and Apple requires privacy manifests for commonly used SDKs. Use SDKs from providers you trust and keep them updated.
Can I add an offerwall without an SDK?
Yes, with providers that support a web link or iframe. Your app opens the wall in a WebView or browser, and your server credits rewards from postbacks.
