Targeting

This guide explains how to provide targeting information to an ad request.

Prerequisites

• Complete the Get started guide.

Request configuration

The RequestConfiguration object collects the global configuration for every ad request and is applied by MobileAds.SetRequestConfiguration().

Child-directed setting

For purposes of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), there is a setting called "tag for child-directed treatment."

Note: It may take some time for this designation to take effect in applicable Google services.

As an app developer, you can indicate whether you want Google to treat your content as child-directed when you make an ad request. If you indicate that you want Google to treat your content as child-directed, we take steps to disable IBA and remarketing ads on that ad request. The setting can be used with all versions of the Google Play services SDK via RequestConfiguration.TagForChildDirectedTreatment:

• Call TagForChildDirectedTreatment on RequestConfiguration with the argument TagForChildDirectedTreatment.True to indicate that you want your content treated as child-directed for the purposes of COPPA.
• Call TagForChildDirectedTreatmenton RequestConfiguration with the argument TagForChildDirectedTreatment.False to indicate that you don't want your content treated as child-directed for the purposes of COPPA.
• Do not call TagForChildDirectedTreatment if you do not wish to indicate how you would like your content treated with respect to COPPA in ad requests.

The following example indicates that you want your content treated as child-directed for purposes of COPPA:

RequestConfiguration requestConfiguration = new RequestConfiguration
{
    TagForChildDirectedTreatment = TagForChildDirectedTreatment.True
};
MobileAds.SetRequestConfiguration(requestConfiguration);

By setting this tag, you certify that this notification is accurate and you are authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the app. You understand that abuse of this setting may result in termination of your Google account.

Note: Apps in the Designed For Families Program as Primarily child-directed apps and users signed into Google accounts managed with Family Link automatically have all content treated as child-directed for all ad requests.

Users under the age of consent

You can mark your ad requests to receive treatment for users in the European Economic Area (EEA) under the age of consent. This feature is designed to help facilitate compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Note that you may have other legal obligations under GDPR. Review the European Union’s guidance and consult with your own legal counsel. Note that Google's tools are designed to facilitate compliance and do not relieve any particular publisher of its obligations under the law. Learn more about how the GDPR affects publishers.

When using this feature, a Tag For Users under the Age of Consent in Europe (TFUA) parameter will be included in the ad request. This parameter disables personalized advertising, including remarketing, for that specific ad request. It also disables requests to third-party ad vendors, such as ad measurement pixels and third-party ad servers.

The setting can be used with all versions of the Google Play services SDK via RequestConfiguration.TagForUnderAgeOfConsent:

• Call TagForUnderAgeOfConsent on RequestConfiguration with the argument TagForUnderAgeOfConsent.Trueto indicate that you want the request configuration to be handled in a manner suitable for users under the age of consent.
• Call TagForUnderAgeOfConsent on RequestConfiguration with the argument TagForUnderAgeOfConsent.False indicates that you don't want the request configuration to be handled in a manner suitable for users under the age of consent.

The following example indicates that you want TFUA included in your ad request:

RequestConfiguration requestConfiguration = new RequestConfiguration
{
    TagForUnderAgeOfConsent = TagForUnderAgeOfConsent.True
};
MobileAds.SetRequestConfiguration(requestConfiguration);

The tags to enable the Child-directed setting and TagForUnderAgeOfConsent should not both simultaneously be set to true. If they are, the child-directed setting takes precedence.

Note: This TagForUnderAgeOfConsent parameter is currently NOT forwarded to ad network mediation adapters. It is your responsibility to ensure that each third-party ad network in your application serves ads that are appropriate for users under the age of consent per GDPR.

Ad content filtering

The setting can be used with all versions of the Google Play services SDK via RequestConfiguration.Builder.SetMaxAdContentRating():

Apps can set a maximum ad content rating for their request configuration using the Call MaxAdContentRating on RequestConfiguration. AdMob ads returned for these requests have a content rating at or below that level. The possible values for this network extra are based on digital content label classifications, and should be one of the following MaxAdContentRating objects:

• MaxAdContentRating.G
• MaxAdContentRating.PG
• MaxAdContentRating.T
• MaxAdContentRating.MA

The following code configures a RequestConfiguration object to specify that ad content returned should correspond to a digital content label designation no higher than G:

RequestConfiguration requestConfiguration = new RequestConfiguration
{
    MaxAdContentRating = MaxAdContentRating.G
};
MobileAds.SetRequestConfiguration(requestConfiguration);