I was a big fan of Google and they didn't give any tips or warning before it happened. I let my friends try the game on my phone and I played sometimes and I guess that's what they call "invalid activity"? Seriously I am disappointed at Google and thinking about switching to other ads platform...Any suggestions?
If you are using banners then facebook would be the one. But you can't fake clicks with any of the ad networks. That's just not how they work. Don't ever click on ads once your game is live. It's best to disable them completely. If you do it repeatedly that's what happens. They suspend your account. Or even worse, they ban you.
Thanks Christoph! what do you mean by fake clicks? if my game is live, i can't play my game? I mean sometimes I accidentally click on ads....So go with Facebook for banner, what about interstitial ads?
There are no accidents. At least not for Google. For interstitials I would set up Heyzap Mediation with Heyzap, Facebook, Unity and Vungle. But the same applies. There are no accidents. Ah, and before I forget. The problem is you, not your friends. If Google sees your friends tapping on ads all the time then they just ban their devices and IPs so they won't generate any revenue anymore. But if they see the developer intentionally (or as you say: accidentally) click on ads, then it can be much worse than only a suspension. Actually, I think you were lucky.
I set up a store with a no ads option for each of my games. That way I can have my game on my phone and my wife too without ads. I had Admob suspend me once too. I learned never even play the game with their ads live. Only in testing mode.
Thanks @jamong I still use Admob but I added Facebook, Chartboost, and Applovin for all of it. Admob seems to do the best for me on all the apps.