Unity Advertising Services Content Policy

Last updated: February 7, 2024

This policy is incorporated within and is a part of the Advertising Terms of Service, or such other applicable agreements or Offering Identification between you and Unity Technologies SF or its applicable Affiliates, which governs your use of the Monetization Services and/or Advertiser Services (the “Covered Services”).

This policy helps users of our Covered Services learn what makes a great advertising and app experience for End-Users, as well as what is and isn’t allowed in your content used in connection with our Covered Services and how we moderate such content. We review content based on the requirements of this policy to ensure End-Users have a great experience on our network. You are required to comply with all aspects of this policy.

Before using any applicable Covered Services, please review the following information and ensure that all elements of your Ad(s) and/or Application(s) are in compliance. Please note that examples provided are for illustrative purposes only and are non-exhaustive. Moreover, as a user of the Covered Services, you direct Unity to action content in order to comply with the Digital Services Act (Regulation (EU) 2022/2065) and any other applicable laws. Unity will provide its users of the Covered Services with aggregate reporting regarding Unity’s compliance with the Digital Services Act upon the user’s request.

These policies are subject to change without notice. Unity reserves the right to reject or remove any Ad(s) or Application(s) in our sole discretion and at any time. Violations of this policy will be determined in Unity’s sole discretion.

Unacceptable Content

Unacceptable Content means any Prohibited Content or Restricted Content provided by a third party*.

  • Prohibited Content is any of Your Content that is not allowed on the product/ service pursuant to the terms applicable to such Offering.
  • Restricted Content is any of Your Content that it is not allowed on the product/ service pursuant to the terms applicable to such Offering without prior authorization by Unity or without additional requirements or restrictions.

*Please note: Unacceptable Content refers only to content provided by our customers. We do not have policy-based content restrictions for content provided by our customers’ end-users, e.g. a game-player. To understand what content restrictions may apply to our customers' end-users, please review the content policy of that customer.

1. Prohibited Content

Ads or Applications that contain, link or relate to content, goods or services that are listed below in the “Prohibited Content” categories are not permitted by Unity, and may not be distributed on or used with the Covered Services.

Deceptive or Misleading

Content that attempts to trick or deceive a user into taking some action for the purpose of attracting traffic or to obtain information from a user under false pretenses.

Examples: Promotion of offers/deals that are not actually available; “Clickbait” articles and websites; Phishing schemes.

Content that makes false, fraudulent, defamatory or misleading statements regarding any person or entity, including Unity or any of its customers, partners or competitors.

Examples: Content which implies an affiliation with or endorsement by a person or entity without their knowledge or consent; Trade disparagement.

Content that promotes services or products whose purpose is to enable users to bypass or deceive a public or private system, regulation, procedure, entity or individual.

Examples: Fake ID services designed to disguise the accurate age, name or other characteristics of the holder; Products or services that circumvent copyright protection; Products that have disabled copyright protection.

Content that purports to be truthful, but that is fraudulent, misleading, deceptive, or otherwise deliberately disseminates disinformation or mistruths.

Examples: “Fake news”; False information and features, including inaccurate device data or trick/joke functionality such as fake location trackers; Impersonation of other companies’ products or services; “Get rich quick” schemes.

All claims in all advertisements and campaigns must be substantiated, clear, and accurate.

Excessively Violent or Shocking Content

Content that depicts or contains excessive or gratuitous graphic violence or mutilation or that glorifies human suffering, death, self-harm or violence against humans or animals; Excessive or gratuitous portrayals of bodily fluids or waste.

Examples: Real or realistic and gratuitous portrayals of people or animals being killed, maimed, tortured, or abused; Photography or video of executions or graphic crime scenes.

Hateful or Discriminatory

Content that incites hatred against, promotes discrimination of, or disparages an individual or group on the basis of their race or ethnic origin, religion, disability, age, nationality, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or other characteristic that is associated with systemic discrimination or marginalization; Content promoting hate groups or hate group paraphernalia.

Examples: Compilations of assertions intended to prove that an individual or specific group is inhuman, inferior, or worthy of being hated; explicit or implicit claims that an individual or specific group is a threat.

Illegal Activities

Content that displays, promotes or facilitates any activities, services, products or materials that are illegal or prohibited by any applicable law, statute, ordinance, rule, regulation or court order in any jurisdiction where such content is made available.

Examples: Content promoting human trafficking; Facilitating organized crime or terrorism; Facilitating the creation or sale of false government documentation (e.g., passports, licenses, credentials); Hacking/cracking/malicious software; Content facilitating fraudulent behavior.

Intellectual Property and Third Party Right Abuse

Content, goods or services that infringe or misappropriate, or promote, facilitate, or induce the infringement or misappropriation of, any copyright, trademark, trade secret, patent or any other intellectual property or proprietary, privacy, or personality right. Unity may require additional manual review and approval for any claimed legitimate use of third party voices/images or trademarks in your Ads or Applications.

Examples: Applications which enable the unauthorized distribution of copyrighted content; Infringing file sharing apps (e.g., BitTorrent trackers, P2P file transfer apps, and other forms of piracy); Unauthorized video streaming apps; Facilitation of the sale of fake or counterfeit goods; Spyware and technology used for non-consensual surveillance including monitoring another person’s texts, phone calls, or browsing history.

Malicious/Deceptive Software or Operations

Content that contains, installs, links to, or prompts the download of any software containing questionable security, malware, spyware, adware, a Trojan horse, viruses or other harmful or deleterious software routines.

Examples: Ransomware, worms, rootkits, keyloggers, dialers, and other malicious programs or apps; Applications or software that disrupt an End-User’s ability to navigate their experience, e.g., by preventing an End-User from leaving a page or application; Content that takes up a sufficiently high percentage of an End-User’s CPU to slow down the operation of the mobile device.

Content, features or functionality that automatically redirects End-Users, initiates a download, or similar activity without intentional End-User action (e.g., without an intended click), or otherwise generates or simulates End-User actions or facilitates or encourages illegitimate or undesired End-User actions.

Examples: Content that auto redirects to a landing page; Applications or software that trigger an action on an End-User’s mobile phone (e.g., vibrations).

Content that is not capable of being displayed to End-User or is missing critical functionality.

Examples: Advertisement contains a blank image; Advertisement is missing the video media file for a video Impression.

Profane

Content containing lewd, vulgar, obscene, indecent or profane language.

Examples: Advertisements containing swear or curse words, or racial or sexual slurs.

Note: Applications may contain mature language subject to such Application’s age rating.

Sensitive Events

Content that lacks reasonable sensitivity towards or capitalizes on tragic events, including natural or human-made disasters, conflicts, or deaths.

Examples: Denying a major tragic event; Disrespectful portrayal of a tragic event; Capitalizing on a tragic event without discernible benefit to its victims.

Note: Unity reserves the right to remove or limit content permanently or for a period time in response to a sensitive tragedy, disaster, death or high-profile news event, particularly if such content may appear to exploit events for commercial gain or otherwise affect user safety.

Sexually Explicit Content

Content which contains or depicts graphic sexual acts intended to arouse, content which promotes or facilitates sexual acts in exchange for payment or compensation, or content which promotes or facilitates non-consensual, denigrating, or obscene sexual activity, including, but not limited to, pedophilia, rape, incest, bestiality, extreme or shocking sex, child pornography, or otherwise sexually suggestive content that relates to persons who are, or are suggested to be, under the legal age permitted in applicable jurisdictions.

Examples: Hardcore pornography; Sex acts such as genital, anal, or oral sex; Prostitution and escort services; Child sexual abuse imagery.

Weapons, Knives, Firearms, Ammunition and other Dangerous Products

Content that promotes products or features the sale of, or instructions to create, actual weapons or dangerous products of any kind; including guns, bombs, weapon accessories, fireworks, and/or ammunition.

Examples: Firearm sales; Fireworks; Bump stocks; High capacity magazines; Instructions for manufacture of explosives.

Sensitive Data

Content which contains (i) passwords or authentication/authorization credentials of any kind, (ii) financial account information of any kind (including credit card numbers), (iii) passport, driver's license, social security or any other government issued identification numbers, (iv) health data (v) personally identifiable information knowingly collected from children as defined by child data laws, and (vi) any information under strict regulatory or contractual handling requirements (e.g., PCI, HIPAA and special data security laws).

2. Restricted Content

Ads or Applications that contain, link or relate to content, goods or services in any of the following “Restricted Content” categories are prohibited by Unity and may not be distributed on or used with the Covered Services unless you first obtain Unity’s prior written approval.

Restricted Content may, at Unity's sole discretion, be permitted in specific territories where and to the extent such Restricted Content complies with applicable laws and industry standards. Approval will further require that you meet certain Unity requirements, including, but not limited to, minimum Managed Account thresholds. To become a Managed Account, to request approval to run Restricted Content, or otherwise to learn more about Unity's content policies, please contact us.

Alcohol Content

Alcohol-related content must not glorify or incite the irresponsible consumption of alcohol, and should contain proper health warnings and responsible drinking messages, such as “drink responsibly,” “do not drink and drive,” etc.

Any alcohol campaigns targeting minors are not allowed. Advertising must not be directed toward individuals under the applicable minimum drinking age, or served in a context where it is highly likely it will be displayed to such individuals. This includes, but it is not limited to, the use of language, themes, expressions, graphic resources, audio or visual elements that may appeal to underage individuals, or using individuals who are or appear to be underage in promotional content or on the website.

All required disclaimers, age gating mechanisms and responsible drinking and health warnings must be present on the ad copy and/or the landing page as required by applicable law and industry regulation.

Gambling, Lottery, Sweepstakes, Fantasy Sports, and Real World Rewards

Unity supports only responsible advertisements and applications which abide by local gambling laws and laws governing real-world-reward applications, so content promoting any form of brick and mortar or online gambling, social casinos, real world reward gaming, fantasy sports, sweepstakes, or lotteries are restricted on the Unity network.

Ads and applications which promote gambling or real-world-reward products or services may be allowed on the Unity network following a review and approval process at our sole discretion, which may include submission of applicable gambling licenses and registrations for the applicable services and the territories in which such services operate or other documentation in our sole discretion. In all instances, ads and applications are not allowed to target minors and will be restricted to approved territories.

All required disclaimers, age gating mechanisms and responsible gambling disclosures must be present on the ad copy and/or the landing page as required by applicable law and industry regulation.

Financial Products and Services

Unity supports only responsible advertisements and applications which abide by local financial laws, so content promoting any form of brick and mortar or online products or services that relate to the management and/or investment of money or cryptocurrencies are restricted on the Unity network.

Ads and applications which promote financial products or services may be allowed on the Unity network following a review and approval process at our sole discretion, which may include submission of applicable licenses and registrations for the applicable services and the territories in which such services operate or other documentation in our sole discretion. In all instances, ads and applications are not allowed to target minors and will be restricted to approved territories.

All required disclaimers, age gating mechanisms and disclosures must be present on the ad copy and/or the landing page as required by applicable law and industry regulation.

Illegal Drugs or Restricted Substances

Content that promotes substances (including substances that may be legal under local law) that induce “highs” or otherwise alter the mental state for recreational purposes; content that promotes or facilitates recreational drug use, including medical or recreational drugs such as marijuana, even in jurisdictions where it may be legal under local law; content that promotes the sale of drug paraphernalia.

Examples: Illegal drugs; Recreational or herbal drugs (kratom, salvia, etc.); Accessories or paraphernalia associated with drug use; Drug dispensaries; Favorable depictions of hard drug use.

Medical or Healthcare

Content promoting medical, pharmaceutical, or healthcare related products and services, including, but not limited to, prescription drugs, over-the-counter medicines, birth control and fertility products, online pharmacies, non-government unapproved substances, medical treatments and procedures, and clinical trial recruitment.

Certain medical and healthcare products and services may not be permitted by Unity at all, while others may be allowed when restricted to approved territories (e.g., an advertising campaign for a prescription drug that has only been approved by the FDA will be restricted to the United States).

All required disclaimers and benefit/risk disclosures, statements and provisions must be present on the ad copy and/or the landing page as required by applicable law and industry regulation.

Other Sexual Content

Content that displays partial or full exposure of intimate body parts (whether blurred or censored).

Examples: Visible genitalia; Exposure of female breast (including partial exposure of lower or outer curve); Partial or complete exposure of buttocks.

Content that promotes fetishes, sex merchandise, or sexual aids/enhancers.

Examples: Advertisements for lubricants, aphrodisiacs, vibrators and other sex toys.

Content that promotes or facilitates sexual entertainment or dating sites with the clear intent for sexual encounters.

Examples: Promotion of strip clubs or adult expos; Hook up sites; Sexually suggestive streaming and chat sites or applications.

Political and Religious

Election related content, including content regarding political parties, candidates, PACs, ballot measures, or fundraising for political parties, candidates, PACs, and ballot measures is not allowed without Unity’s explicit approval.

Content cannot exploit sensitive political or religious issues for commercial gain or promote extreme political or extreme religious agendas or any known associations with hate, criminal or terrorist activities.

Content that exploits political agendas, sensitive political issues or uses “hot button” political issues or names of prominent politicians is not allowed regardless of whether the publisher or advertiser has a political agenda.

Tobacco/Vaping

Content that promotes any form of tobacco or nicotine-related products, including vaping and electronic cigarettes.

Examples: Tobacco, cigarettes or cigars; e-cigarettes and vapes cartridges; Hookah bars; Pipes; Rolling papers; Filters.

VPN Applications

Applications using the Monetization Services whose purpose is to provide users with virtual private networks across public network connections or other similar services.

3. Maturity Guidelines

Although the above policies set out Unity’s general guidelines for all Ads and Applications using the Covered Services, within such guidelines you must also ensure that your Ads and Applications are appropriate for the maturity level of the intended End User based on industry standards and regulations.

Actions Due to Unacceptable Content

Depending on the product/ service the Unacceptable Content appears on, Unity may take some or all of following actions:

  • Provide information about a user
  • Remove/ disable access to/ restrict visibility of content
  • Not approve the content for upload
  • Require modification of content
  • Suspend/ terminate portions of the service
  • Suspend/ terminate an account
  • Suspend/ terminate/ restrict monetization of content
  • Alert local authorities if we are suspicious of a serious criminal offense

In determining whether to suspend or terminate an account, the following circumstances are taken into account:

  • If an account provides prohibited content, particularly if such content is illegal
  • If an account repeatedly violates our content restrictions

As a user of the Services, you direct Unity to action content in order to comply with the Digital Services Act (Regulation (EU) 2022/2065) (“DSA”) and any other applicable laws. Unity will provide its users of the Unity Offerings with aggregate reporting regarding Unity’s compliance with the DSA upon the user’s request.

If you are subject to an action under Article 17 of the DSA and we have your electronic contact details, we will provide you with a Statement of Reasons.

Please note: Advertisers on Unity Ads will find this information readily available at Creatives page and Creative Packs page on the dashboard. You can opt-in to receive email notifications at this location.

Procedures & Measures for Content Moderation

Most of our products conduct content moderation activities as a result of a report. You can see how to report restricted content below under "Reporting Unacceptable Content".

The following products/ services have additional procedures and measures for content moderation as outlined below.

Unity & ironSource Ads

Unity may use both automated and human review means of moderation, including:

  1. A review of content prior to displaying such content to ensure compliance with our content policies and procedures prior to distribution, and
  2. Allowing viewers of the content to report such content.

Teams who are engaged in the content moderation process are trained and review content to ensure compliance with our content policies and procedures. Ads may be reviewed prior to distribution and upon receipt of a content report to determine compliance and appropriateness, including to ensure age-appropriate content is shown where applicable.

Automation tooling might be used to analyze content the following ways:

  • To detect certain restricted content occurring in an ad
  • To determine an appropriate audience for an advertisement
  • To detect low quality indicators and block if a threshold is met
  • To flag or suspend accounts engaging in fraudulent activity if a threshold of violations is met
  • To detect malware and suspicious activity

Where we use automation, we ensure safeguards are in place such as:

  • Human determination and review of threshold criteria
  • The inclusion of human review
  • Communication with those subject to a moderation action
  • The inclusion of an appeals process

Tapjoy Offerwall

Unity uses human review for moderation, including:

  1. A review of each offer and advertiser to ensure compliance with our content policies and procedures prior to distribution, and
  2. Allowing viewers of the content to report such content.

Teams who are engaged in the content moderation process are trained and review content to ensure compliance with our content policies and procedures. Offers are reviewed prior to distribution and upon receipt of a content report to determine compliance and appropriateness.

Reporting Unacceptable Content

If you are based in the European Union, you can provide notice of unacceptable content here. Once received, a member of our team will review the report and take any necessary action. There is no automation or algorithmic decision making in this process.

If you would like to report an Intellectual Property infringement under the DMCA, please see IP Policy & Takedown Requests

If you are based in the European Union, and are making a report through the ticketing desk provided above, please be aware that the below information is required to identify content.

  • Unity Ads
    • We will need a screenshot or the IDs listed in “Build Info”. To obtain this please follow these steps:
      • Step 1: Click the Shield-in-Hand icon - You should see this icon in the lower corner of the screen while the Ad is running. Tap the icon to enter the Privacy Settings pop-up.
      • Step 2: Click "Build Info" - You should see the Build Info text at the bottom of the Privacy Settings pop-up. Tap it to enter the Build Info page. Alternatively, you may also tap the Report Ad text and report the offending Ad.
      • Step 3: Take a Picture of the Screen - For most phones, you can capture a screenshot by pressing the Home and Power buttons at the same time. For those without a Home button (some Samsung Galaxy phones), press Volume Down and Power buttons.
  • ironSource Ads:
    • creative screenshot
    • name of advertiser
    • the app on which the Ad showed
    • time
    • country location where the Ad was shown
  • Tapjoy Offerwall:
    • The Advertising entity you have an issue with
    • The offer instruction page screenshot
    • The app on which the Ad showed
    • Time
    • Country location where the Ad was shown

Additional reporting mechanisms are outlined below.

Please note: While the below are valid mechanisms for reporting content, they are not intended to satisfy a Notice and Action mechanism (Article 16) under the DSA. For Article 16 notices, please use the European Union mechanism listed above.

Unity Ads

You can additionally report content by clicking on the hand icon in the ad and selecting “Report ad”.

ironSource Ads

You can additionally report content by clicking the “i” icon and selecting the “Report an Ad” tab. If you are reporting an ad through this system, please include the required information for us to identify the ad, i.e.: 1) screenshot, 2) name of advertiser, 3) the app on which the ad was shown 4) approximate time (hour, minute) ad was shown, and 5) the country in which the ad was shown.

Tapjoy Offerwall

You can additionally report content by contacting our customer support services through the Offerwall’s progress page and Tapjoy’s website at: https://tapjoy.helpshift.com/hc/en/3-offerwall/contact-us/.

Appealing Content Moderation Restrictions

If you believe we have made an incorrect decision about a content moderation restriction imposed on your content or account, you may submit an appeal with your Covered Services point of contact.

Recommender System Transparency

While not Online Platforms, the following services have provided the below transparency around how we determine which ads/offers to show. Those based in the EU who are viewing ads or offers will also be able to see similar information on the ad/offer they are viewing.

What is considered in determining which ad/offers to show?

Our systems account for various considerations, such as:

  • Identifiers: Device IDs, app-specific or developer-specific IDs, and IP address.
  • Device information: Technical details like time zone, app name/version.
  • Ad performance data: Views, clicks, installs, in-app actions, purchase levels (optionally provided by the advertiser).
  • Personalization Status: Whether a user has personalization enabled/ disabled.

For certain users, as instructed by our publishers (e.g., due to it being a child-directed app), we will not collect and use cross app identifiers, such as advertiser ID, for deciding which ad to serve.

Our systems automatically weigh the importance of these factors to determine the most relevant and engaging ads for each individual. This dynamic process ensures you receive the best possible experience, tailored to your preferences and/or device capabilities.

How can a user modify the influence of these considerations?

User choices will vary depending on the service the user is viewing the ad/offer on.

Unity Ads
  • You cannot opt-out of receiving ads in games or apps using Unity Ads, but you can take steps to opt-out of certain personalized ads, within the ad unit, by clicking or tapping the Data Privacy icon
ironSource Ads and Tapjoy Offerwall
  • Current controls exist to allow you to control how we collect advertising ID - Updated versions of iOS, and Android, enable you to control use of your Advertising ID. please follow the below instructions:
    • iOS devices (iOS 14+): go to Settings > Privacy > Tracking > Allow Apps to Request to Track. Please note that if you use more than one device, you need to opt-out separately in each device.
    • Android devices: Please follow the instructions set forth at: https://support.google.com/ads/answer/1660762 (under Mobile Controls). Please note that if you use more than one device, you need to opt-out separately in each device.

Termination of Services

You can terminate your use of the Services by giving notice. You can find the grounds for termination as well as any notice requirements in the Advertising Terms of Service

Digital Services Act

The below are provisions applicable to EU Residents under the Digital Services Act (“DSA”).

Transparency Reports

We have prepared the following transparency reports to comply with our obligations under the DSA.

Redress Options

In connection with the DSA, certain individuals or entities in the EU have available to them certain redress options, outlined below.

The redress options below do not preclude you from seeking judicial redress or any rights under applicable Terms of Service or such other applicable agreements between you and Unity Technologies SF (“Unity”) or its applicable Affiliates, which governs your use of the Services.

Notices submitted under Article 16

If you submitted an Article 16 notice through our Content Report Ticketing System, received a notification about the decision, and have concerns regarding the outcome, you may submit a complaint here.

Appealing a Decision

If we have taken an action on your content or account and you wish to appeal it, you may reach out to your point of contact.

Out of Court Dispute Settlement

If you remain dissatisfied with the outcome of our internal review, you have the option to engage in a dispute settlement process outside of the court system. This is a non-binding process that allows you to have your dispute reviewed by a neutral third party. You are entitled to select any out-of-court dispute settlement body that has been certified by your Member State.

Judicial Proceeding

If you believe that your concerns are not adequately addressed through our internal mechanisms or out-of-court settlement, you have the option to pursue legal action through the appropriate legal channels, such as filing a lawsuit or complaint in accordance with the applicable laws and regulations.

Suspension of Users under the DSA

Submitting Manifestly Unfounded Notices & Complaints

If you misuse our complaint notification system by frequently submitting complaints that are manifestly unfounded, we may suspend your access to the complaint notification system. We will notify you prior to enacting a suspension.

We consider three unfounded notices or two unfounded notices alleging offences referred to in Articles 3 to 7 of Directive 2011/93/EU to be sufficient for a suspension.

A suspension will last 30 days, and we will issue a warning prior to enacting it. A second suspension will increase to 60 days, a third to 90 days, and so on.

Designated Point of Contact

Pursuant to Articles 11 and 12 of the DSA, DSA Compliance has been designated as Unity’s point of contact for communications with Member State authorities, the European Commission, the European Board for Digital Services, and recipients of the service.

  • For inquiries, please email DSA Compliance
  • To submit reports under the DSA, please do so here.

The EU Member State in which we have our main establishment is Denmark. The language(s) which can be used to communicate with Unity are English and Danish.