Today we are officially announcing an update to our Incent Policy. We are now allowing two types of messages that we previously did not allow. This update does not mean that all of our incent policies are completely gone, so before we jump into the update, let’s briefly talk about incent and why we don’t allow it.
Why is incent not allowed?
The first mistake when it comes to incent is believing that your job is to drive downloads. If this was the case, incent would be great. However, the advertisers we partner with are looking for users. Real people using and enjoying their apps. Real users spending money on their apps. Real users connecting every day to watch their favorite creator “go live” (hint, hint). I guess I made it clear now.
Policy Update - the details
We previously did not allow people to use challenge statements like “Beat my high score”. This one is a fun one to explain because it shed light on a lot of our Trust and Safety processes. “Beat my high score” was originally linked to poor performance. It means that people downloaded the app, opened it for 30 seconds, and stopped using it because the creators promoting through this method were some sort of incent.
In the last few months, after removing some of these creators from the platform, we allowed a few people to test that language again and we were happy to see better results than before.
If you are a creator who does some sort of live stream, you can use language similar to “Follow me / join me on a live stream app” as long as you actually show up. In the last few months, we have seen creators being active on BIGO, FAM, and YUBO with great results for both their own growth and their campaigns.
What has not changed - we DO NOT allow the following:
- Engagement bait such as download app for a shoutout.
- Giveaways and raffles such as download the app for a free iPhone
- Direct message request as a call for action (And yes, our team will DM you if we see stories such as DM me for a shoutout): "DM me once you downloaded these apps." "Let me know when you downloaded the apps in my bio." "DM me for a prize."
- Asking for support: "Support me by downloading the apps in my bio." and "I am getting paid for each download, so swipe up."
- Language instructing followers to download the app for 30 seconds: This is not technically incent but it is exactly what we are trying to avoid - remember long-term users should be your goal, not quick downloads.
As an indirect result of our incent policies, we don’t allow live streaming or sharing links directly with fans or friends. By the way, we call both of these practices “unapproved ads”.
The easiest way to make sure you are up to date when it comes to policy and guidelines is to remember to only use ads from our library and always submit your ads. By the way, if you feel like your account was disabled as a result of a policy we no longer have in place, please contact us through our reinstatement flow. You can read more about here and by contacting us.