AppLovin's payment terms are a study in one-sided discretion. The money mechanics are ordinary — $100 minimum, NET 15 payouts — but the enforcement mechanics are not: AppLovin may withhold, adjust or offset payments on the basis of actual or merely suspected violations, "in its sole discretion," and it can suspend or terminate your account at any time, without cause and without notice. There is no published appeal process for invalid-activity holds, and no published rule on whether a terminated account's balance is ever paid.
What happened
Payouts run through Tipalti registration (dashboard → Account > Payments > Info, until Step #4 "Done"), and a completed tax form is mandatory with no exceptions — "AppLovin cannot remit payments without a completed tax form." US publishers file W-9; non-US file W-8BEN / W-8BEN-E. The threshold is $100 ($150 for wires), on a NET 15 cycle. Then the teeth: under §6(b) of the Terms of Use (effective July 14, 2026), AppLovin may withhold, adjust or offset payments based on amounts owed, advertiser refunds, invalid activity, or any actual or suspected violation — as determined by AppLovin in its sole discretion. "Invalid activity" is defined unilaterally: spam and bot traffic including self-clicks from your own IP or devices, purchased clicks, false impressions, mixed traffic — and only valid impressions are paid. AppLovin alone determines validity, and actual or suspected violations alike can trigger withholding. On termination, §11 allows suspension or termination at any time without cause or notice; "fees and payments" survive termination, but the Terms neither promise post-termination settlement nor state forfeiture — the biggest legal gap in AppLovin money cases. Liability is capped at $10,000 or the prior three months' payable amount, whichever is lower (§9). Disputes run through written notice, a 60-day informal window, then binding JAMS arbitration in Santa Clara County — except payment/withholding/offset disputes, which skip arbitration and can go straight to court (§14). Scope note: AppLovin only pays revenue from AppLovin Ads Manager and AppLovin Exchange (ALX); other networks' revenue routed through MAX is paid by those networks directly.
Who's affected
Publishers whose traffic gets flagged — including "suspected" invalid activity, where the burden of proof effectively reverses. Anyone whose account is terminated: the balance question has no contractual answer, so recovery depends on negotiation or the court carve-out. MAX developers should remember the split: only AppLovin-source revenue is AppLovin's to pay.
KappS's take
- Invalid-activity holds: there is no appeal form — the only channel is AppLovin Support tickets. Build the evidence file first: traffic-source proof, SDK compliance, remediation steps. Expect slow responses.
- Terminated balances: no published rule means no automatic forfeiture either — "fees and payments" surviving termination is the hook. For larger balances, the arbitration carve-out (payment disputes go to court) matters more than the $10k cap suggests.
- Prevention is the only reliable lever: MAX account email matching the store listing email, no self-clicking in testing, banner refresh of 10+ seconds, current SDK — the official best-practices list is short and worth following literally.