> The developer website answered with an error, a rate limit or a bot-protection page instead of the file. Crawlers that verify app-ads.txt, including buyers', may be blocked the same way.

Source: https://appsupplyindex.com/fix/app-ads-txt-unreachable · Updated: 2026-10-07 · License: CC BY 4.0 (App Supply Index)

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[Learn](https://appsupplyindex.com/learn/) · How to fix

# app-ads.txt can't be fetched by crawlers: common causes

Updated Oct 7, 2026 · data from 12 App Store genres · top free + top grossing charts · US · iOS + Android

**Short answer:** The developer website answered with an error, a rate limit or a bot-protection page instead of the file. Crawlers that verify app-ads.txt, including buyers', may be blocked the same way.

**0 of 883**
ad-monetized top US apps in this index have this finding (0%)

## Why it matters

Bot protection and CDN firewalls often block automated requests by default, including requests for app-ads.txt, which is meant to be read automatically.

## How to fix it

1. Exempt /app-ads.txt from bot challenges and rate limits in your CDN or firewall.
2. Check that the server returns HTTP 200 for the file from outside your network.

## Questions

### Is my app penalized for this?

No. Apps whose file can't be fetched aren't graded.

## Related

- [What is app-ads.txt?](https://appsupplyindex.com/learn/what-is-app-ads-txt)
- [DIRECT vs RESELLER](https://appsupplyindex.com/learn/direct-vs-reseller)
- [How the index checks files](https://appsupplyindex.com/methodology)

Based on the [IAB Tech Lab
ads.txt/app-ads.txt](https://iabtechlab.com/ads-txt/) and [sellers.json](https://iabtechlab.com/sellers-json/)
specifications. Numbers are automated observations of public files on the date above.