Rakuten Viber blocks around 2% of ads on purpose.
At global scale, that is not a rounding error. It is a strategy. In this episode, we look at why one of the world’s largest messaging apps is willing to block demand in order to protect users, trust and long-term growth.
I’m joined by Sebastian Totte, Programmatic Partnerships Manager at Rakuten Viber, to unpack how a people-first super app approaches ad quality, why ad experience is app experience, and why giving an external tool the power to block any demand partner is a deliberate and sometimes uncomfortable decision.
Sebastian explains how Viber uses ad quality data to reduce user complaints, protect retention and even uncover new direct and PMP deal opportunities, all while operating across messaging, marketplace, dating and payments at massive scale.
This conversation is part of PlayerFirst Perspectives, a MobileGroove mini-series powered by AppHarbr. It’s a series about fixing ad quality and developing ad policies so users stay in your app or game, and you can enforce what you believe is right for your players.
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Be part of the Player First Collective on Slack, where marketers, product teams and platforms swap real examples of bad ads, policy fixes and UX wins, and compare notes on what’s working. Slack invite link - https://join.slack.com/t/playerfirstcollective/shared_invite/zt-3kcihn2oh-jXuCNSOYnqIFjynxegYUug
In this episode, Sebastian tells me:
- Why Rakuten Viber treats ad quality as a growth lever, not a cost, and why blocking around 2% of ads is worth it
- How a people-first super app thinks about monetization when ads are part of everyday communication, not just gameplay
- How Viber uses AppHarbr by GeoEdge to scan ads across all demand partners and finally get a single view of everything running on its inventory
- What granular ad policies look like in practice, including country-level rules, sensitive categories, domain controls and restrictions on redirects and auto-expand formats
- Why there is no appetite for leeway on deceptive or sexually explicit ads, even when they could drive short-term revenue
- Which metrics matter most when you take ad quality seriously, from fewer user complaints to better retention and cleaner app store reviews
- How ad quality data can reveal which domains hit your inventory most often and where direct deals may actually make sense
- What he’s watching next in ad quality, from AI-generated ads and more sophisticated scams to stricter regulation and ongoing enforcement challenges
Stay tuned for upcoming PlayerFirst Perspectives episodes on MobileGroove, where we continue to explore how publishers, platforms and partners are turning ad quality, policy and player trust into a real growth advantage.
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