Advertising Terms & Ad Policy

A Campaign is a sponsored placement of one app you have listed on IndieStore, shown in the “Sponsored” areas of the site (the side panel on desktop and the sponsored strip on mobile) for a fixed term of 30 consecutive days, for a one-time, prepaid fee you choose (the Rate), with a minimum of $100.

You are buying placement, not results. We do not guarantee any number of impressions, clicks, visits, sign-ups, sales or other outcomes. Delivery depends on how many people visit IndieStore and is not within our control.

Sponsored placement never affects organic rankings, Trending, Charts, leaderboards or search results.

• You must be at least 18 years old and able to form a binding contract, or be authorised to bind the business you represent.
• You may only advertise an app that you have listed on IndieStore under your own account and that complies with our Terms of Service.
• We may verify your identity or authority and may refuse any Campaign at our discretion before it goes live.

Sponsored positions are ordered by a published, deterministic rule:

• Category priority. On a category page, and on any app page in that category, Campaigns that chose that category are shown before all others.
• Rate. Within the same priority group, a higher Rate is placed above a lower Rate.
• Ties. Campaigns with the same Rate are ordered by the time payment was confirmed: the earlier payment is placed higher. Paying the same Rate as an existing Campaign places you directly after it.
• Batches. Up to five Campaigns are displayed at a time. If more Campaigns are live, they are shown in further batches of five that rotate approximately every 10 seconds on desktop, or are reachable by swiping on mobile. Batch one (the highest positions) is always displayed first.
• Own page. A Campaign is never shown on its own app's page.
• All sponsored cards are the same size and design. Position is the only difference.

Your position can change during your term as other Campaigns start or end. In particular, a Campaign that starts later at a higher Rate will be placed above yours. A Campaign starting later at the same or a lower Rate will be placed below yours. The position preview shown before purchase is an estimate based on Campaigns live at that moment and is not a guarantee.

• Your term starts when we confirm your payment (not when you create the Campaign) and ends 30 days later.
• Rate lock: the Rate you paid is fixed for your full term. We will never charge you more or ask you to top up to keep your slot during the term, and your Campaign will not be removed because someone else paid more.
• Campaigns do not auto-renew. To continue after your term, start a new Campaign at the Rate of your choice; your new position will follow the rules in section 3 at that time.
• If we pause your Campaign for reasons not caused by you, the paused time is added back to your term.

• Campaigns are priced in US dollars and prepaid in full before they go live. Creating a Campaign is free and does not oblige you to pay.
• Payments are processed by Dodo Payments, which acts as the merchant of record and applies its own terms. Checkout may show the equivalent amount in your local currency. We never receive or store your card or bank details.
• Your Rate is the pre-tax amount we actually receive for the Campaign, in US dollars. If the amount is changed at checkout, the amount paid becomes your Rate; payments below the US$100 minimum are not activated and are refunded.
• Prices exclude applicable taxes unless stated. Any taxes, duties or levies that apply are shown at checkout and are your responsibility.
• An unpaid Campaign stays in “Awaiting payment” and does not run. We may cancel unpaid Campaigns after 14 days.

• Before payment: you can cancel any Campaign at no cost.
• Within 24 hours of going live: you may request a full refund by emailing us, provided your Campaign has not been removed for breaching these Ad Terms.
• Rejected before going live: if we decline your Campaign after you paid, we refund you in full.
• Removed by us without your fault (for example, we discontinue sponsored placements or the site is unavailable for more than 72 consecutive hours): we refund the unused days pro rata, or extend your term, at your choice.
• Removed for a breach of these Ad Terms or our Terms of Service: no refund for the remaining term, to the extent permitted by law.
• Otherwise, fees are non-refundable once the 24-hour window has passed. Nothing in these Ad Terms limits any non-waivable rights you have under consumer protection law.
• If you file a chargeback for a Campaign that ran as described, we may suspend your advertising access until it is resolved.

Your sponsored card shows your app's name, logo, tagline and website from your listing. You are responsible for all of it, and for the page it links to. Ads must:

• be accurate, not misleading, and consistent with what users actually get on the linked page;
• comply with all laws that apply to you and your audience, including consumer protection, privacy and advertising-standards rules (for example the ASCI Code in India and FTC guidance in the US);
• hold all rights needed for any names, logos, trademarks or content used.

We do not accept ads for or that contain:

• illegal products or services, or content facilitating illegal activity;
• malware, spyware, phishing, credential harvesting, or deceptive downloads;
• adult or sexually explicit content, gambling, weapons, tobacco, vaping, drugs or drug paraphernalia;
• financial or investment schemes promising returns, unregistered securities, or crypto token sales;
• unsupported health, medical or weight-loss claims;
• hate, harassment, violence, or discrimination;
• political or issue-based advertising;
• impersonation of another person, brand or IndieStore itself, or fake endorsements;
• anything that infringes intellectual property or privacy rights.

We may review, decline, pause or remove any ad that we reasonably believe breaks these rules, with or without notice.

• Every sponsored placement is clearly labelled “Sponsored”. You may not ask us to remove or disguise this label.
• Sponsored links use rel="sponsored nofollow", as search engines require for paid links. A sponsored placement does not provide search-engine link value.
• Links include tracking parameters (utm_source=indiestore, utm_medium=sponsored, ref=indiestore.lol) so you can measure results in your own analytics.

• An impression is counted when at least 50% of your sponsored card is visible on screen for at least one continuous second, at most once per ad per page view.
• A click is counted when a visitor clicks your sponsored card.
• We filter traffic we believe is invalid, including known bots and automated clients, requests from other websites or embedded frames, and repeated impressions or clicks from the same device or network beyond daily limits. Your own views and clicks are never counted.

Metrics are provided for your information. Because Campaigns are sold for a flat Rate and not per impression or click, metrics do not affect the price you pay. Our measurements may differ from third-party tools, and our filtering methods are confidential to prevent abuse.

• You warrant that your ad and the linked page are lawful, accurate and owned or licensed by you.
• You will not attempt to inflate, manipulate or interfere with metrics, rankings or other advertisers' Campaigns.
• You grant us a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free licence to display your app's name, logo, tagline and link in sponsored placements during your term and in records of past placements.

Sponsored placements are provided “as is” and “as available”. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we disclaim all warranties, express or implied, including merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and non-infringement, and any warranty of results.

To the fullest extent permitted by law, our total liability arising out of or relating to a Campaign is limited to the fee you paid for that Campaign, and we are not liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential or punitive damages, or for lost profits, revenue, data or goodwill.

You will defend, indemnify and hold harmless IndieStore and its operators from any claims, losses, damages and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising from your ad, your linked page, your app, or your breach of these Ad Terms or applicable law.

We may update these Ad Terms. Each update gets a new version number. A Campaign that is already paid runs to the end of its term under the version you accepted, unless a change is required by law. New Campaigns require acceptance of the current version.

These Ad Terms are governed by the laws of India. Subject to any non-waivable rights you have in your country of residence, the courts at Hyderabad, Telangana, India have exclusive jurisdiction. Before starting any formal proceeding, you agree to contact us and try in good faith to resolve the issue for at least 30 days.

Questions, refund requests or reports about an ad: ads@indiestore.lol.