Written by Krisztián Stark
Key takeaways
- Google Play does not ban rewarded user acquisition, but it forbids incentivized ratings and reviews, inflating installs to manipulate placement, and apps whose main function is rewarding installs of other apps.
- The safest rewarded campaigns pay for a real goal inside your app, such as finishing the tutorial or reaching level 5, and never mention ratings.
- Policy text changes, so read the current User Ratings, Reviews, and Installs and App Promotion pages before you launch, and treat this guide as general information.
Does Google Play allow incentivized installs?
Yes, with limits: Google Play does not ban rewarded user acquisition, but it draws hard lines around it. Its Developer Program Policies prohibit incentivized ratings and reviews, inflating install counts by illegitimate means to manipulate an app’s placement, apps whose main functionality is rewarding users for installing other apps, and promotion that is deceptive or sends users to Google Play without an informed choice. Rewarding people for actually using your app, through a rewarded ad or an offerwall, is a common acquisition channel that sits inside those lines when it is designed carefully.
This guide summarizes the policy pages that matter and how they apply to campaigns. It is general information, not legal advice. Google revises its policies regularly, so read the current text in the Policy Center before you launch.
The Google Play policies that apply
| Policy page | What it says, in short | What it means for incentivized campaigns |
|---|---|---|
| User Ratings, Reviews, and Installs (Store Listing and Promotion) | Developers must not manipulate the placement of any app, including by fraudulent or incentivized reviews and ratings, or by incentivizing users to install other apps as the app’s main functionality. | No reward may ever depend on a rating or review. Installs must come from real people, not bots or automated services. |
| App Promotion | Apps must not engage in or benefit from deceptive or harmful promotion, including tactics that redirect users to Google Play or download apps without informed user action. | The user must know what they are installing and choose to do it. Google adds that you are responsible for the ad networks and affiliates promoting your app. |
| Spam | No apps whose primary purpose is to drive affiliate traffic to a website, or to show a webview of a site without the owner’s permission. | A rewards app needs its own real functionality, not just a wrapper around someone else’s site. |
| Better Ads Experiences | Rewarded ads, where the user explicitly chooses to watch or engage with an ad for an in-app reward, are allowed as long as they follow all Developer Program Policies. | An opt-in reward inside an app is a recognized format, not a loophole. |
| Enforcement Process | Violations can lead to a rejected update, removal of the app, or suspension, and suspensions count as strikes against the developer account. | Repeated or egregious violations can end with related developer accounts being terminated. |
Google’s summary on the User Ratings, Reviews, and Installs page is short: earn positive ratings with a good experience, prompt users in a clear and non-deceptive way, and do not offer rewards or incentives for ratings or reviews, use deceptive pop-ups, or use automated services to inflate installs or ratings.
What Google has said about incentivized installs
Google explained its thinking in a 2017 Android Developers Blog post, Google Play’s policy on incentivized ratings, reviews, and installs. It defined an incentivized action as one where the user is offered money, goods, or the equivalent in exchange for a rating, review, or install. It then made three points that still shape how the channel is used:
- Incentivized installs can be a legitimate user acquisition channel for some developers.
- Google said it would monitor and filter incentivized installs in its systems, including removal from the top charts, and that apps may be removed from the store if warranted.
- It found that incentivized users generally have lower retention and make fewer in-app purchases than users from paid or organic channels, and advised against incentivized actions as a general rule.
The blog post is context, not the rule. The binding text is the current policy, and since 2017 it has added the line about apps whose main functionality is incentivizing installs of other apps. The practical lesson from both: a reward for an install alone buys a number that Google may discount and that retains poorly. A reward for real use avoids both problems.
Allowed and not allowed at a glance
| Practice | Status under Google Play policy |
|---|---|
| Rewarding a user for any rating or review, even “honest” ones | Prohibited |
| Offering a discount or coins in a notification that asks for a high rating | Prohibited, listed as a common violation |
| Bots, click farms, or automated services that inflate installs | Prohibited |
| A rewards app whose main functionality is paying users to install other apps | Prohibited by the User Ratings, Reviews, and Installs policy |
| Ads that open the store or start a download without informed user action | Prohibited by the App Promotion policy |
| Opt-in rewarded ads inside your app | Allowed if all other policies are followed |
| Asking for a rating through the official in-app review prompt, with no reward | Allowed |
| Rewarding real users, through a third-party channel, for reaching a goal in your app | Not named as prohibited in the policy text; Google may filter incentivized installs from charts, and the campaign must follow every policy above |
Reviews are the line people cross most often, usually by accident with “install, play, then rate us” instructions. Can you pay for app reviews? covers that rule on both stores, plus the US FTC rule on fake reviews.
Two different apps, two different risks
Every incentivized install involves two parties, and the policy hits them differently.
- The advertised app. Its risk is manipulation of placement: inflated install counts, bot traffic, and above all any reward linked to ratings. You are responsible for the networks and affiliates that promote it, so choose partners whose rules match Google’s.
- The app that pays the reward. If you publish a rewards app on Google Play, the main functionality line is aimed at you. An app that is little more than a list of “install this app for coins” offers is the pattern the policy describes. Give your app its own purpose, and read the current text before you rely on any one offer type.
A rewards website or Discord server is not a Google Play app, so the Play policies on the host app do not apply to it, but the advertised app’s rules still do.
Safe campaign designs that pay for real use
- Pay for an in-app goal, not the install. “Install from the starting link, finish the tutorial, reach level 5, and screenshot the level badge with your player name.” The goal proves real use and gives you something to check.
- Split the journey into steps. Pay a small amount for the install and more for later goals that your server reports, such as account creation, day 3 return, and level 10.
- Send users to the official listing. Each user opens your Google Play page and taps Install themselves. No auto-downloads, no fake system alerts.
- Describe the app honestly. Say what the app is and what the user must do. Inflated promises bring users who leave and complaints you cannot answer.
- Never mention ratings. Not in the task, not in the proof, not as an optional extra. Let real users rate later through your normal in-app prompt.
- Pace the volume. Daily caps spread completions out, so you can check retention and proof quality before you scale.
Illustrative example: install-only vs a three-step offer
A puzzle game pays $0.40 per install and gets 1,000 installs for $400. Only 120 players reach level 10, so each engaged player costs $3.33. A three-step offer pays $0.10 for the install, $0.30 for finishing the tutorial, and $1.20 for level 10. With 1,000 installs, 600 tutorials, and 150 players at level 10, the spend is $100 + $180 + $180 = $460, or $3.07 per engaged player, and the campaign attracted users who wanted to play. All numbers are invented to show the math; your rates will differ. The CPI calculator and LTV and CAC calculator help you price your own steps.
For how rewarded users behave and where the channel fits in a plan, read Incentivized traffic explained.
Special cases: testers and policy-breaking tasks
New personal developer accounts must run a closed test before production access. Paying people to install a test build and leave it untouched gives Google no real engagement to see. The Google Play 12 testers rule explains how to recruit testers who give feedback. On ad networks, tasks that break another platform’s rules are refused, and What campaigns are not allowed on Sharklio lists the categories.
Red flags in an incentivized install campaign
Any mention of stars, ratings, or reviews. A price per install with no follow-up goal, at a volume far above your organic installs. Instructions that tell users to uninstall afterward. A partner that cannot explain how it filters bots. Promises to “rank your app” or “boost your chart position”, which is exactly what the policy forbids.
Rewarded campaigns that pay for real use on Sharklio
Every Sharklio campaign is reviewed by our staff before it goes live, and tasks that ask for ratings or reviews, or otherwise break another platform’s rules, are rejected. A task campaign pays only for completions you approve, from $0.01 each, for a goal you choose, such as reaching level 5 with a screenshot as proof. A multi-step offer campaign pays for up to 15 steps that your own server confirms by postback. You can target by country, device type, and OS, and set hourly or daily caps. See Sharklio for advertisers.
Frequently asked questions
Are incentivized installs against Google Play policy?
Not as such. Google has called them a legitimate acquisition channel for some developers, but its policies forbid using them to manipulate placement, forbid apps whose main function is rewarding installs of other apps, and Google may filter them from the top charts.
Can I reward users for rating my app on Google Play?
No. Google Play’s policy lists offering an incentive for a rating as a common violation, and that applies to any rating, not only five-star ones.
Are rewarded ads allowed on Google Play?
Yes. Google’s Better Ads Experiences policy says rewarded ads that the user explicitly chooses to engage with are allowed, as long as they follow all Developer Program Policies.
What happens if my app breaks the incentivized review rules?
Google can reject an update, remove the app, or suspend it. Suspensions count as strikes against your developer account, and repeated strikes can lead to account termination.
