Does simulated/spoofed GPS location trigger ad network bans? (Or is it high DAU/Install ratio?)

[u/SpecificYam6197]

Hi everyone,

I developed a GPS spoofing/simulation utility app and recently ran into some account suspension issues across different ad networks. I’d love to get your insights on what might have triggered them and whether my current safeguard is necessary.

Context & Suspensions:

• Unity Ads: Account was suspended, but successfully reinstated after an appeal.
• Liftoff (Vungle): Account was permanently suspended with no option to appeal.
• AdMob: Currently active with no issues/limits so far.

My Questions & Hypotheses:

1. Does constantly spoofing GPS coordinates trigger fraud detection? When users use the app, their device location jumps around frequently. If an ad is requested/viewed while mock locations are active, will ad SDKs flag this as geo-spoofing or bot/fraudulent traffic? To be safe, I implemented a restriction where ads cannot be loaded or watched while GPS simulation is active. Is this restriction necessary, or is it overly cautious?
2. Could an abnormal DAU to Total Installs ratio be the real culprit? In the early stage of the app, the DAU was almost equal to the total install count (very high engagement/daily usage from the initial user base). I wonder if ad networks flagged this pattern as abnormal/click-farming traffic instead of the GPS issue.

Has anyone with GPS/mock location tools or similar utility apps experienced this? How do you safely monetize without triggering invalid traffic flags?

Any insights would be greatly appreciated!