Is there many of you developing and publishing Android apps as opposed to just advertising on them? Since about September, Google have taken a much stricter stance on app violations and are banning Play store dev accounts left, right and centre.
Over on forums.makingmoneywithandroid.com we're trying to figure out how Google are linking accounts. We use fresh CCs, fresh VMs, IPs etc but Google somehow link them and blanket ban.
The best we've come up with is each suspicious act is given a points score. Accrue enough points and your accounts are manually reviewed and connected together using whatever criteria they can use. Then you get a blanket ban. This fits the narrative as everybody's accounts were all blanket banned at the same time as their other accounts.
What we need to know is how Google is linking them. Even empty accounts with no apps were banned for one guy!
So I'm asking if anyone has tips from their adwords experience as surely Google use similiar systems.
Could it be the origin of VCCs?
I know Facebook used to simply ban a bank thats VCCs where used for a lot of ad account burning.
Also do you get your IPs and VMs from the same provider? Try others
i don't use VCCs. it costs $25 to open a dev account, i pay random college students to open the accounts and I give them €50 on top of the $25.
my IPs currently are from random hosting accounts where I install a VPN. but i'm going using home consumer connections in the future.
the question is how Google linked my accounts between completely different IPs, credit cards, etc.
thanks for the reply though, any new info is something for us to incorporate
are you already using different pcs / laptops for creating & accessing your accounts? google about "canvas fingerprinting", maybe thats how they link your accounts.
Are you using the same Apps across multiple accounts? They could simply be comparing source codes for matches.
Google's feelers are pretty pervasive.
If I was running multiple accounts I would definitely want each one running in a dedicated VM/VPS with it's own IP and completely unlinked billing source.
Like adivity mentioned, there's probably some common code in the apps you're uploading, which would make it very easy for them to find your other apps. Common callback domains, comments, some kind of custom code you've got in all of them... this is probably how you're being caught.
If you are re-skinning the same App and copying/uploading it across multiple accounts then its very easy for them to trace elements in your code.
There's an enormous amount of spam like this on Android atm - guys uploading the same apps daily but just with slightly different names/graphics and rotating through a few dozen Dev accounts. If you get classified in this group then they will come after you hard no matter what you do.
personally I think re-skins will die very soon...too many people abusing it and with the code being the same its super easy for them to trace it.
yes, they could be fingerprinting code.
https://torrentfreak.com/google-pate...at-bay-140404/
that's a patent for a system where they ignore very common code but fingerprint unique enough stuff.
BUT I use a pretty esoteric obfuscator and it would be unusual that a standard decompiler could read the code. then again, it's Google!
it's the not knowing what's a signal that's the worst. i already coded a resources obfuscator for the filenames but they could be checking the file hashes. we're all up in a heap in our Skype group, basically nobody knows anything.
to remove all possible signals we can think of would be a huge amount of work.
i just posted this question here to see if anybody had tips from the adwords angles, thanks for the replies. i think it's time for a process of elimination and to burn a few accounts
also, they banned 2 empy accounts of mine. no apps uploaded ever. and did the same to other guys in our group. so it's more than code checking.
I ran some accounts that laster for 11 months. I didn't see you mention this - Did you export the app from different eclipse?
In every eclipse installation there's a unique signature, so generate the apk files from a new computer with a fresh new install.
But honestly, this is not a long term strategy. I made the shift to AM for this reason.