Google, TUNE Create Technology To Stop App Install Click Fraud

TUNE is integrating Google data into the TUNE Marketing Console to help eliminate click injection fraud in apps running on Android devices downloaded from the Google Play Store. 

The two companies, which announced the partnership Monday, have been working together since July. The solution came to light during a conversation at TUNE's annual marketing event Postback.

Peter Hamilton, chief executive officer at TUNE, said the two companies have working together for some time, but have not had direct cooperation with the platforms until now, which is why this step with Google is such a powerful one.

"This data connection with Google is exactly what the industry needs to completely stamp out the practice of fraudulent click injection, which will immediately eradicate nearly a third of mobile ad fraud," he said.  

Appsflyer also has been working with Google during the past few months to improve the accuracy and security of data. 

Click injection mobile app fraud is driven by bots or malware on Android devices. It can track when apps are installed into a device and an attempt is made to steal attribution credit by injecting a click for the install. TUNE executives believe this process makes up between 30% and 40% of mobile app fraud and costs brands between $500 million and $700 million in wasted ad spend annually. 

The Google Play team created a new API called Play Install Referrer, which pinpoints the exact moment when an app download begins, using data that has not been available in the past. TUNE executives say it is the first app measurement company to integrate this data into measurement software.

TUNE pushes this data into its marketing console and can now reveal each fake click that occurs between the moment an app is downloaded -- with help from Google data -- and opened, which TUNE monitors through its data and Attribution Analytics software.

In collaboration, the data shows marketers exactly when an app was downloaded and when it was opened, which enables the companies to eliminate click injection, a common form of app install fraud.

The move is part of Google's push to clean up the internet and apps -- not only by eliminating click and ad fraud, but also by cleaning up false and fake news.

One report suggests that Eric Schmidt, executive chairman of Alphabet, said in an interview at the Halifax International Security Forum during the weekend that Google is working to flush out Russian propaganda from Google News. The move was made after the company faced criticism that RT and Sputnik, Kremlin-owned media sites, had been given high placements in search engine query results in news and advertising platforms.

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